Five Ferraris at Nürburgring for GT WC Europe

The GT World Challenge Europe – Endurance Cup returns to the spotlight this weekend at the Nürburgring, featuring five 296 GT3s in the third round of the series, with five Ferrari official drivers. Alessandro Pier Guidi, Alessio Rovera, and Davide Rigon will share car number 51, while Thomas Neubauer will be in the 296 GT3 number 71. Both represent the AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors team in the Pro class. Andrea Bertolini competes in the Bronze class with AF Corse’s Ferrari number 52. The three-hour race on the 5.137-kilometre, 17-turn “GP” track starts on Sunday 28 July at 3 p.m. (local time).

Pro Class. After their second-place finish at the 24 Hours of Spa in June, a race they long dominated, Pier Guidi, Rovera, and Rigon come to Germany aiming to confirm their status among the key players of the endurance series. In the number 71 “sister” car, Neubauer, in his first season as a Prancing Horse official driver, will partner Vincent Abril and David Vidales. The crew will seek to make up for the Belgian round where the trio retired prematurely after 236 laps.

Bronze Class. After two podiums in two races, Bertolini returns to the iconic German track with Louis and Jef Machiels in the AF Corse Ferrari number 52, among the favourites for the category title. Two other cars from the Maranello manufacturer are also at the starting line in the demanding class involving teams of professionals and gentlemen drivers: the number 93 of Sky Tempesta Racing, crewed by Eddie Cheever, Jonathan Hui and Christopher Froggatt, and the number 333 of Frikadelli Racing with drivers Klaus Abbelen, David Perel and Felipe Fernandez-Laser.

Unlike the season’s first two races, the two Ferraris of the Kessel Racing team will not take part in the 3 Hours of Nürburgring. Nicolò Rosi, who was at Spa in the number 8 car, was involved in an accident that left him with a rib fracture. The driver has not yet fully recovered, so the team has not registered the car. Crew number 74 won’t be at the start because of driver John Hartshorne’s personal commitments.

The situation. Pier Guidi, Rovera, and Rigon are third in the overall drivers’ standings, 15 points behind the leaders, while AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors is third in the teams’ standings, 14 points behind. In the Bronze class, Bertolini and L. and J. Machiels lead with 57 points, 14 ahead of Hui, Froggatt, and Cheever. The teams’ standings see AF Corse in first position, ahead of Sky Tempesta Racing.

The programme. The Bronze Test will run on Friday, 26 July, from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. Saturday 27 July, features free practice from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and pre-qualifying from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. On Sunday 28 July, the combined qualifying session runs from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m., determining the starting grid for the race from 3 to 6 p.m. (local time).