The Barcelona circuit will host the final round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup this weekend, with the #51 Iron Lynx Ferrari leading the drivers’ and teams’ standings in the Pro class, where Pier Guidi could retain the title won last year. Nine 488 GT3 Evo 2020s will start the three-hour race, including the Sky Tempesta Racing entry, which with Chris Froggatt, can claim the title in the Pro-Am class.
Pro. On the eve of the fifth round of the series, Alessandro Pier Guidi, Côme Ledogar, and Nicklas Nielsen top the drivers’ standings with a 13-point lead over the #32 Audi WRT crew of Dries Vanthoor, Charles Weerts and Robin Frijns. Iron Lynx has an eight-point advantage over the Belgian team. So far this season, the #51 Ferrari crew has clocked some very positive results, embellished by an impressive win at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The provisional championship leaders will once again enjoy the #71 488 GT3 Evo 2020’s support, crewed as at the Nürburgring, by Antonio Fuoco, Callum Ilott and Alessio Rovera. The Italian driver will again stand in for Davide Rigon. The latter has been working on the simulator for a few weeks to prepare for his return to the track.
Silver Cup. David Perel, Benjamin Hites and Fabrizio Crestani will represent Rinaldi Racing in the category, looking for the podium that has escaped them so far more due to bad luck than any fault of the team. This will not be an easy task, considering that it is a very competitive field, as the standings show.
Pro-Am Cup. In the class with the highest number of cars and six Ferraris set to start, Chris Froggatt is one step closer to becoming champion, following up on the Overall and Sprint Cup titles won in 2020. The British driver will take on the Catalan track in the Sky Tempesta Racing 488 GT3 Evo 2020, flanked by Jonathan Hui, second in the standings on 82 points, six from his teammate, and Rino Mastronardi. The championship leaders will, as usual, share the pit lane with the two AF Corse cars, driven by Bertolini-Machiels and Cameron-Griffin, who will bring their experience to bear in what is usually a fascinating event. After their experience at the Paul Ricard, the ‘Iron Dames’ trio are back with Sarah Bovy, Doriane Pin, and Michelle Gatting. Completing the line-up of Ferraris at the start are the 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Jeroen Bleekemolen, Christian Hook and Manuel Lauck, once again at the wheel of a Ferrari after the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Tim Kohmann, Francesco Zollo and Giorgio Roda, who will take to the track in the colours of Kessel Racing.
Esports GT Pro Series. As usual, the Endurance Cup races will also include the virtual series, which awards points to the teams for the overall standings. Once again, the virtual Ferraris of Iron Lynx and Rinaldi Racing will be on track. The race will run on Saturday from 6:20pm to 7:20pm.
Schedule. After Friday’s free practice, qualifying will take place on Sunday from 9am to 10am to decide the starting grid for the race, held from 3pm to 6pm.