Weekend preview: Ferrari on the track in three continents

Several championships featuring Ferrari cars are coming to a close this weekend, including some with realistic title hopes. Prancing Horse cars will compete across three continents: Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The events include the European Le Mans Series and Le Mans Cup at Portimão, the DTM and ADAC GT Masters at Hockenheim, the International GT Open and GT Cup Open at Monza, the Super GT at Autopolis, and the GT World Challenge Australia in Sydney.

ELMS. Six Ferrari 296 GT3s will compete in the 4 Hours of Portimão, the final round of the European Le Mans Series season. The crew of Kessel Racing’s number 57 car, with official driver Daniel Serra alongside Takeshi Kimura and Esteban Masson, arrive as leaders in the standings, seeking to secure the title. Various other crews are also in the mix, starting with GR Racing’s car number 86, featuring Davide Rigon, Michael Wainwright, and Riccardo Pera, who are just eight points behind the leaders. Other competitors include Formula Racing’s 296 GT3 number 50, with the Danish pairing of Johnny and Conrad Laursen; AF Corse’s number 51, driven by Charles-Henri Samani, Emmanuel Collard, and Nicolas Varrone; Spirit of Race’s number 55, with Duncan Cameron, David Perel, and Matt Griffin; and JMW Motorsport’s number 66, with Scott Noble, Jason Hart, and Ben Tuck.

The weekend kicks off on Thursday, 17 October, with free practice. Qualifying is on Friday, 18 October, and the four-hour race will run on Saturday, 19 October, starting at 3.30 p.m.

Le Mans Cup. Given that Matthew Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan in AF Corse’s Ferrari 296 GT3 number 51 have already secured the drivers’ and team titles at Mugello, this last race of the season will be a chance for everyone to showcase their skills and aim to bring home a victory. Five Prancing Horse cars will take part: besides the newly crowned champions, Kessel Racing brings two cars on the track with Frédéric Jousset and David Fumanelli in number 12 and Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda Mateos in number 74. Next is Biogas Motorsport’s number 23 car, driven by Spaniards Josep Mayola Comadira and Marc Carol Ybarra, while Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini take the wheel of AF Corse’s number 88.

The Le Mans Cup weekend kicks off on Thursday, 17 October, with free practice, followed by qualifying on Friday, 18 October. The 110-minute race is scheduled for Saturday, 19 October, at 11.30 a.m. local time.

DTM. As usual, the Hockenheim track hosts the final round of the DTM season. Two Ferrari 296 GT3s will be on the track, fielded by Emil Frey Racing: Briton Jack Aitken, in car number 14, is no longer in the title race but will aim to add to his three victories this season. Meanwhile, Dutchman Thierry Vermeulen, in car number 69, will look to return to the podium.

DTM Race-1 at Hockenheim will take place on Saturday, 19 October, at 1.30 p.m., with Race-2 on Sunday, 20 October, at the same time.

ADAC GT Masters. The Hockenheim circuit is also the venue for the finale of the ADAC GT Masters, in which a Ferrari 296 GT3 has been competing throughout the season with Emil Frey Racing. The number 14 car, driven by Swiss drivers Jean-Luc D’Auria and Alain Valente, is chasing its first win of the season.

The first of the two one-hour ADAC GT Masters races at Hockenheim kicks off on Saturday, 19 October, at 3.15 p.m., with the second race on Sunday, 20 October, at the same time.

International GT Open. Monza’s Brianza circuit will host the final round of the International GT Open season, which, for the occasion, will be a single 500 km race. Six Ferraris will line up on the grid, including one in the Pro class: Nicola Marinangeli and Vincent Abril, in the AF Corse 296 GT3 number 51, will attempt to close the 12-point gap to the championship leaders and claim the title. Four cars are registered for the Pro-Am class, with the notable absence of newly crowned champion Marco Pulcini: Marcelo Hahn and Allam Khodair in AF Corse’s 296 GT3 number 16, Thor Haugen and Paolo Ruberti in Pellin Racing’s 488 GT3 Evo 2020 number 23, Laurent De Meeus and Jamie Stanley in AF Corse’s 296 GT3 number 55, and Gino Forgione and Michele Rugolo in Spirit of Race’s 296 GT3 number 88. In the Am class, Stanislaw Jedlinski and Krystian Korzeniowski will drive Olimp Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3 number 5.

The race, covering a maximum distance of 500 km or 175 minutes plus one lap, kicks off on Sunday, 20 October, at 12 p.m.

GT Cup Open. Monza will also host the final round of the GT Cup Open season, which will feature two 50-minute races. Seven Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo cars will be on the grid, three in the Pro-Am class and four in the Am. Mertel Motorsport drivers Iván Velasco and Luca Ludwig will need to defend their 17-point lead in the standings from their closest rivals. The German team will also field two additional cars in the Pro-Am category, driven by Arturo Melgar-Alba Vazquez Redondo and Jorge Cabezas-Anny Frosio. Mertel Motorsport will field three more cars on the track in the Am class, crewed by Steven Liquorish-Mauro Trentin, “Leo Chen”-”Mark Speakerwas”, and Laura van den Hengel-Tommaso Lovati. Street Art Racing will compete in the Am class with car number 007, driven by Pascal Bachmann and Jahid Fazal-Karim.

The first race will run on Saturday, 19 October, at 5.35 p.m., with the second on Sunday, 20 October, at 4.40 p.m., both lasting 50 minutes.

Super GT. The third-to-last round of the Japanese Super GT season will be held at the Autopolis track in Oita Prefecture. Two Ferrari 296 GT3s are entered in the GT300 class: Ponos Racing’s number 45, driven by Lilou Wadoux and Kei Cozzolino, arrives after an excellent second place in the Sugo race, while Team LeMans’ number 6, driven by Yoshiaki Katayama and Roberto Merhi Muntan, is aiming for its second podium of the season.

The three-hour race takes place on Sunday, 20 October, at 1 p.m. local time.

GT World Challenge Australia. Sydney Motorsport Park will host the penultimate round of the GT World Challenge Australia season and the final endurance race of the series. This round features a single three-hour race, with two Ferrari 296 GT3s entered by Arise Racing GT: championship leaders Liam Talbot and Chaz Mostert in car number 1, and Elliott Schutte and Jaxon Evans, currently third in the standings, are in car number 8.

The three-hour race begins at 6.45 p.m. local time on Saturday, 19 October.