Weekend preview: Ferrari in pursuit of titles in Australia and France

The final rounds of the GT World Challenge Australia and Ultimate Cup Series will take place this weekend at Bathurst in Australia and Paul Ricard in France, respectively. In both series, several Ferraris will be on the track in pursuit of victory and the championship title.

GT World Challenge Australia. The season concludes with two races on Bathurst’s demanding 6.213 km Mount Panorama circuit. Two Ferrari 296 GT3s will compete, both fielded by Arise Racing in the Pro-Am class. Car number 1, crewed by Liam Talbot and Chaz Mostert, is the championship leader with 140 points. Their teammates, Elliott Schutte and Jaxon Evans, in sister car number 8, hold third place with 106 points. A 458 Italia GT3 will also debut in the Trophy category for older-generation cars, driven by Stephen Coe for Stephen Coe Racing.

The two races, both lasting one hour, will run on Saturday, 9 November at 12:45 p.m. and Sunday, 10 November at 2:55 p.m.

Ultimate Cup Series. The Ultimate Cup Series season concludes at the Paul Ricard circuit. French drivers Jean-Bernard Bouvet and Jean-Paul Pagny, competing in Visiom’s Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020, have already secured the GT Endurance Series championship. For this event, fellow Frenchman Romain Iannetta joins them. The car will compete in the UCS1 class.

The six-hour race kicks off on Sunday, 10 November at 11 a.m.

In the GT Sprint Cup, four Prancing Horse cars will compete for the title. Championship leader Francesco Atzori will race in the UCS1 class, driving Scuderia SR&R’s Ferrari 488 GT3 number 3. The Italian team will also field the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo number 353, driven by Irishman Lyle Schofield and Portuguese driver Lourenço Monteiro in class UCS3. French driver Patrick Michellier will also compete in this category, driving CMR’s Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo number 73 alongside Frédéric Lacore and Kévin Parsa, who will pilot Racing Spirit of Léman’s Ferrari 488 Challenge number 91. All four teams will also participate in the UCTC category, exclusively for Maranello cars.

Four races are scheduled for the Ultimate GT Sprint Cup, each lasting 25 minutes: The first three will take place on Saturday, 9 November, at 8:15 a.m., 12:35 p.m., and 4:45 p.m., with the last race scheduled for Sunday, 10 November, at 8:45 a.m.

All times are local.