The Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe is back on track over the weekend with the stars of the sprint series competing in the sixth round after the Italian stage at Misano where the Ferraris did very well. The GT3s will be at Zandvoort in Holland, which from next season will be part of the Formula 1 calendar 34 years after the last race, held in 1985.
Track from another era. The Zandvoort circuit is near the seaside resort of Zandvoort on the Dutch North Sea coast. The technically challenging track is 4,307 metres long with the wind and sand off the sea presenting a further challenge. Among its 14 turns, we should mention the Tarzan, a sharp right immediately at the end of the starting straight that was the scene of Gilles Villeneuve’s memorable overtaking of Alan Jones during the Dutch Grand Prix in 1979.
Pro-Am Cup. Returning to the present, two Ferrari 488 GT3s will race in the Pro-Am Cup: AF Corse, with Andrea Bertolini and Louis Machiels at the wheel, and Rinaldi Racing, with the proven duo of Rinat Salikhov and David Perel. The AF Corse crew, after a successful weekend at Misano with first and third place, is only 9.5 points behind the overall leader of the Blancpain GT Pro-Am standings, Jim Pla. In the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe, Salikhov and Perel are 7 points off the leaders Keen and Hamaguchi, thanks also to the second and fourth places they took at the Romagna circuit.
Am Cup. After dominating their class during the Misano weekend, the drivers of HB Racing will try to extend their championship lead. Florian Scholze and Wolfgang Triller occupy first position on 70 points.
Programme. The action on the Dutch track starts today with free practices, while on Saturday qualifying takes place at 9:30 am local time followed by the first race of the weekend at 2:35 pm. Race-2 is on Sunday at 2:15 pm.