The DTM and ADAC Masters championships return with an “away race” on the Dutch track of Zandvoort, while in the Land of the Rising Sun the new Japan Cup season begins with two Ferrari 296 GT3s entered.
DTM. Round three for the DTM championship, which comes to the Netherlands on the Zandvoort circuit. Two Ferrari 296 GT3s from Emil Frey Racing are pairing up to put themselves to the test on the 4,259-metre track with its characteristic dunes: Jack Aitken will be in number 14 and Thierry Vermeulen in number 69. Both drivers will be trying to make up for the two Lausitzring sessions, which were also compromised by some contact. Vermeulen will certainly be one of the most motivated, the only Dutch driver on the entry list. He will doubtless want to do well on his home track.
The first DTM race will kick off at 1.30 pm. on Saturday, while the second session will start at 4.30 p.m.
ADAC Masters. The Zandvoort circuit on the Dutch coast is the venue for the second round of the ADAC GT Masters season, which takes place on the same weekend as the DTM championship. The last time the ADAC GT Masters had a leg on this circuit, in 2022, the Emil Frey Racing team won both races. This year the Swiss team will be entering the number 14 Ferrari 296 GT3 with the pairing of Jean-Luc D’Auria and Alain Valente, who had finished seventh and sixth in the previous Oschersleben event.
Race-1 is scheduled from 3.15 to 4.15 p.m., with Race-2 set for Sunday from 1.25 to 2.25 p.m.
Japan Cup. The Sportsland Sugo track in the Miyagi Prefecture will host this weekend, in conjunction with the leg of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Japan, the opening round of the new Japan Cup championship which, as of this year, will no longer be part of the GT World Challenge Asia.
Among the entries in the new format are two Ferrari 296 GT3s, including reigning Am class champions Yosuke Yamazaki and Yodan Tsujiko of the Comet Racing team, intent on defending their title. The second manufacturer’s car, number 98, will be driven on the track by the K-Tunes Racing team with drivers Daisuke Yamawaki and Shinichi Takagi competing in the Pro Am class.
After qualifying on Saturday, the programme includes the two races on Sunday, which will take place from 10.30 to 11.35 a.m. and from 3.15 to 4.20 p.m. (All times are local.)