Maranello 10 January 2020
For the first time in Blancpain GT Sports Club history, a driver has been crowned champion in the Iron Cup for a third consecutive year: Stephen Earle. The driver from Kessel Racing, at the wheel of a Ferrari 488 GT3, secured the title with two races still left to run, with the feat mathematically sealed at the end of Race-2 at Spa-Francorchamps. The American rounds off a campaign that saw him a constant menace to the rivals in the Overall class, chalking up eight wins out of ten races, to put the driver ahead of both Louis-Philippe Soenen – the only other competitor to win twice – and Canadian Rick Peter Lovat.
In the Overall class, Murod Sultanov took the title fight with Jens Reno Moller down to the wire in the final Barcelona race, but his withdrawal in Race-1 at Paul Ricard prevented him from clinching the final victory. The season, however, remains a positive one for the driver in the Kessel Racing livery, as it does for the other drivers involved in the series, including Mario Cordoni, who finished fifth overall. Also featuring on the roll of honour were Christian Hook, who posted first and second at Misano and Luigi Lucchini too, victor in the first race at Paul Ricard aboard the 458 Italia GT3.