Weekend preview: Ferrari competing in Germany and Portugal

In Europe, Ferraris will take to the track in Germany at the Sachsenring in the DTM and the Nürburgring in the NSL, while Estoril in Portugal hosts the Ultimate Cup Series.

DTM. Leg six of the DTM runs at the Sachsenring, returning to the German series’ calendar for the first time since 2002. With its fast corners and tight sections, the track is famous for its height differences, including a descent that peaks at 12.8% and climbs of up to 10%. Two Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3s will line up on the grid, fresh from a positive experience at the Lausitzring where Jack Aitken, in the number 14 car, claimed his first championship win of the season. The number 69 of Thierry Vermeulen, who finished both races of the previous round in the top ten, will also be there.

The programme includes free practice on Friday 8 September, from 11.10 to 11.55 a.m. and from 3.30 to 4.15 p.m. On Saturday 9, qualifying is from 9.05 to 9.25 a.m. and Race-1 from 1.30 to 2.30 p.m. Sunday 10 September will see the same schedule for Race-2.

NLS. After the summer break, the cars return to action in the NLS Championship with the two six-hour races of the 12 Hours of Nürburgring. This weekend, the Nürburgring Endurance Series sees the 63rd edition of the ADAC ACAS Cup on Saturday. The race will run on a new track for this championship, which includes the entire GP circuit and the Nordschleife. On Sunday, the 62nd ADAC Reinoldus will use the “NLS” variant, which connects part of the GP circuit to the North Ring.

The starters include the number 19 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Racing One, in the SP9 Pro-Am class, with drivers Christian Kohlhaas, Stefan Aust, Jacob Schell and Luca Ludwig.

Qualifying is on Saturday 9 September, from 8 to 9.40 a.m., while Race-1 will start at 3.30 p.m. On Sunday 10, qualifying is from 8.30 to 10 a.m., and Race-2 sets off at 12 p.m. 

Ultimate Cup Series. The Ultimate Cup Series heads to Portugal for round four with the 600 km of Estoril. This circuit previously hosted championship events in 2019 and 2021. The Visiom team is battling for the championship with the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 number 1 in the Endurance GT – Touring Race class. The crew for this trip is Jean Bernard Bouvet, Jean-Paul Pagny and David Hallyday.

In the UGT3B class, Xavier Pompidou, Philippe Papin and Roland Marchix will drive the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo number 74 of XP Racing.

In the Sprint GT-Touring Challenge, in the UGT3B class, the SR&R team fields two Ferrari 488 Challenge Evos: number 13 with Alessio Bacci and Lorenzo Cossu and number 33 with Edoardo Barbolini and Francesco Atzori. A third 488 Challenge Evo, the number 73 of the CMR team, with driver Patrick Michellier, also features on the entry list.

In the Sprint GT, Friday 8 September is for free practice and qualifying, while on Saturday 9, Race-1, Race-2 and Race-3 take place from 9.55 to 10.20 a.m., 12.30 to 12.55 p.m. and 4.05 to 4.55 p.m., respectively. Qualifying for the Endurance GT is on Saturday 9 from 2 to 2.55 p.m. The four-hour event kicks off on Sunday 10 September, at 2 p.m. (All times are local.)