26 August 2016
Budapest, 26 August 2016 - A bumper grid of 70 drivers and 35 GT3 cars comprising eight different manufacturers takes to the Hungaroring for the penultimate round of 2016’s Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. The championship’s one-hour Qualifying and Main Races, staged at Hungary’s 14-turn, 4.381km Formula 1 venue for the first time, could be crucial to deciding not only who scoops the various drivers’ and teams’ Sprint Cup titles but also the overall Blancpain GT Series crown, which tallies the results of all 10 Sprint and Endurance Cup meetings.
Pro-Am Cup. There won’t be Ferraris in the Overall class but all the three cars entered in two different classes have very strong potential. Michal Broniszewski and Giacomo Piccini’s five class wins from six starts has helped the Kessel Racing pair to establish a 26-point lead over Morgan Moullin Traffort and Jean-Luc Beaubelique (Mercedes) in the Sprint Cup’s Pro-Am category. This weekend there are a maximum of 34 points on offer this weekend - one for pole, eight for winning the Qualifying Race and another 25 for the Main Race – so the target for the Kessel Racing’s 488 is to earn 9 points more than the Akka ASP crew.
Am Cup. Things are a little more clear cut in the Am Cup where Claudio Sdanewitsch and Stéphane Lemeret can wrap up the Sprint Cup class title this weekend thanks to their 53-point lead over Christian Hook and Steve Parrow, also driving a Ferrari, precisely the 458 Italia of Black Pearl Racing by Rinaldi.
Schedule. First practice gets underway today ahead of Saturday’s Qualifying Race and Sunday’s Main Race. It is possible to follow every session live via official streaming and timing on the series website.