Off to Silverstone

The inaugural season of the GT4 European Cup was noted for its varied grids and exciting racing. The short sprint races provided exceptionally close races, ideal for the spectators, and the first two races at Silverstone were no exception.

So the GT4 European Cup will be heading back to Silverstone to start its 2008 season, with a new orange logo, a much larger grid, a new Sports Light category – but with all intentions to repeat the excellent performance of 2007 and to provide some thrilling, close action on track for the British spectators.

For this first round of 2008, the format will be slightly different from the rest of the events, due to timetable constraints.  Two thirty-minute sprint races, with a standing start, will give a first impression of the 2008 grid.  From Monza onwards, the weekends will include three races : two 25-minute sprints, and a 50-minute longer race, with a pit stop for optional driver change.

So who is on the grid for 2008 ?  The Aston Martin N24 cars dominate the GT4 European Cup, with no fewer than nine entered for this first round.  Austrian team Jetalliance has four cars,  with three entered by British teams : two from Chamberlain and one from RS Williams, as well as Belgian team Speedlover and Swiss team RFC Consulting.  Drivers include experienced Austrian Vitus Eckert, two of last year’s competitors, David Scott and David Brooker Carey, and newcomer Michael Mallock.
But the Aston Martin cars will face plenty of competition.  2007 Cup Winner Eric De Doncker will be back to defend his title with his Motorsport98 Mustang FR500C.  The team will enter a second car for François Kicq, who also competed last year.  A third Mustang is entered by VDS Racing Adventures, also of Belgium, for Raphael Van Der Straten.  Guino Kenis will be back, with the G&A Motorsport BMW Z4, as will André Grammatico with the Espace Bienvenue BMW. FIA GT3 team S-Berg is entering a BMW for Russian drivers Provomov and Kuzminyk.  Nissan 350 Z cars are entered by Solution F and  Pro Motorsport, where Rick Pearson and Derek Palmer are the drivers.  And a newcomer to the GT4 class is the Corvette C6, entered by 2007 FIA GT3 Team Champions Martini Callaway, with two Dutch drivers, Rogier Kroymans and Danny van Dongen.

KTM is a major name in two-wheeled motorsport, but Silverstone will see a new beginning, as KTM X-Bow makes its debut in four-wheeled competition.  Entered by Reiter Engineering, the car will take part in the new Sports Light category.  A lot of effort has gone into converting the KTM road car into a racing machine, thanks to a collaboration with Dallara and Reiter Engineering.  One car will be driven by German ADAC GT Masters Champion Christopher Haase and former British F3 driver Dennis Retera, while Catharina Felser will be the only female driver in the Cup to date.  More cars are due to join at Monza, once their homologation is complete, including a Sports Light version of the Lotus 2/Eleven, the Gillet Vertigo and the new German sportscar Yes!

For 2008, the GT4 European Cup will also enjoy TV coverage, with a 26-minute highlights programme on pan-European channel Motors TV, repeated a number of times.

2008 is looking good – so see you at Silverstone for the first round of the exciting new season !

 

2008-04-17