Weekend preview: titles up for grabs in European races

Ferrari faces a busy weekend, competing in Austria at the Red Bull Ring in the DTM and ADAC GT Masters championships, in Italy at Mugello for the European Le Mans Series and Michelin Le Mans Cup, and in Spain at Barcelona for the International GT Open and GT Cup Europe.

DTM. The seventh and penultimate round of the DTM will take place at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, the second event of the season held outside Germany. It promises to be a decisive weekend in the title race. While the top three in the standings hold an advantage, Emil Frey Racing’s Jack Aitken is not out of the running in the Ferrari 296 GT3 number 14. He currently sits fourth in the standings, 50 points behind the leader. The Briton will try to make the most of his last opportunities, building on his excellent form after his third win of the season in Race-1 at the Sachsenring. His teammate, Thierry Vermeulen, will also line up for the Austrian round in the number 69 Ferrari. After Friday’s free practice, the programme includes Qualifying 1 on Saturday from 9.20 to 9.40 a.m. and Race-1 from 1.30 to 2.30 p.m. On Sunday, Qualifying 2 runs from 9:45 to 10:05 a.m., with Race-2 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

ADAC GT Masters. Two Ferrari 296 GT3s will be on the grid for the fifth and penultimate round of the ADAC GT Masters series this weekend at the Red Bull Ring in a programme that includes the DTM round. Emil Frey Racing will compete with car number 14, driven by Alain Valente and Jean-Luc D’Auria, fresh from taking a first podium finish of the season with a second place in Race-1 at Spa-Francorchamps. The Racing One team fields the second Ferrari, number 6. Ernst Kirchmayr, Ferrari Challenge Europe champion and 2021 Finali Mondiali Coppa Shell winner will drive the car alongside Italian Fabrizio Crestani, who brings experience from various European championships.

On Saturday, qualifying is from 8:45 to 9.05 a.m., and Race-1 is from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. Qualifying runs from 10:20 to 10:40 a.m. on Sunday, and Race-2 is from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m.

ELMS. The European Le Mans Series championship holds its second Italian round. After the Imola leg, the series is preparing for the 4 Hours of Mugello, the penultimate round of 2024. Forty-three cars are registered, including 11 in the LMGT3 class, featuring six Ferrari 296 LMGT3s. The title race is tight with only one point separating the top two teams and a mere 24 points between the first nine crews. Thanks to its runner-up finish in Belgium, GT Racing’s Ferrari 296 LMGT3, car number 86, now lies second with drivers Riccardo Pera, Ferrari official driver Davide Rigon, and Michael Wainwright on 52 points, just one point behind the leaders. The Ferrari line-up also includes Formula Racing’s number 50, driven by Johnny and Conrad Laursen alongside Ferrari official driver Nicklas Nielsen, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the 499P in the FIA WEC World Championship; AF Corse’s car number 51, with Charles-Henri Samani, Emmanuel Collard, and Nicolas Varrone; Spirit of Race’s car number 55, featuring Duncan Cameron, David Perel, and Matthew Griffin; Kessel Racing’s number 57, crewed by Takeshi Kimura, Esteban Masson, and official driver Daniel Serra; and JMW Motorsport’s car number 66, with Scott Noble, Jason Hart, and Ben Tuck.

After qualifying on Saturday, the four-hour race will begin on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

Michelin Le Mans Cup. Round five of the Michelin Le Mans Cup on Saturday, 28 September, at Mugello, will be decisive in the title race. Following their podium finish in Belgium, AF Corse’s Ferrari 296 GT3 number 51, driven by Alessandro Balzan and Matt Kurzejewski, tops the standings with 82.5 points, 27 ahead of the number 88 Ferrari, also from the Piacenza-based team, driven by Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini, whose first win of the season came at Spa-Francorchamps. Another Ferrari sits third in the standings. Kessel Racing’s number 74, crewed by Fran Rueda Mateos and Andrew Gilbert, is just two points behind Toledo and Agostini. The Swiss team’s number 12 is in fourth, with David Cleto Fumanelli and Frédéric Jousset 12 points off the podium.

Biogas Motorsport’s number 23 with Spaniards Josep Mayola Comadira and Marc Carol Ybarra completes the Maranello manufacturer’s line-up. Free practice is on Friday while qualifying will be on Saturday from 12:30 to 12:45 p.m. The race kicks off at 5:50 p.m. and finishes at 7:40 p.m.

International GT Open. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hosts the penultimate round of the International GT Open season, with a seasonal record of 37 cars on the grid. Nicola Marinangeli and Vincent Abril, with Spirit of Race’s 296 GT3 number 51, lie third on 68 points, 38 behind the Pro class leaders.

Marco Pulcini tops the standings in the Pro-Am category with 87 points, followed by Eddie Cheever on 74. The two drivers race together in Spirit of Race’s Ferrari 296 GT3 number 27. Their closest challengers are on 58 points. AF Corse’s Ferrari 296 GT3 number 16, crewed by Marcelo Hahn and Allam Khodair, is in sixth position. Pellin Racing’s 488 GT3 Evo 2020 number 23 competes in the same class with Thor Haugen and Paolo Ruberti. The other Ferraris in the class are 296 GT3s: AF Corse’s number 25, with Alessandro Cozzi and Giorgio Sernagiotto; the same team’s number 55, driven by Laurent De Meeus and Jamie Stanley; and Spirit of Race’s number 88, with Gino Forgione and Michele Rugolo.

The Am Series features the 296 GT3 from Olimp Racing, driven by Stanislaw Jedlinski and Krystian Korzeniowski, plus AF Corse’s number 61, piloted by Ziad Ghandour, who claimed victory in his debut race at the Red Bull Ring.

The Saturday programme includes qualifying from 11:05 to 11:35 a.m., followed by the 70-minute Race 1, with the green flag at 4:15 p.m. On Sunday, qualifying takes place from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m., with the second 60-minute race starting at 1:30 p.m.

GT Cup Europe. This weekend sees the fifth round of the series at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, before the grand finale in October at Monza. The Spanish event will be crucial in deciding the leading contenders for the final title push. Currently, Luca Ludwig and Iván Velasco, driving the number 80 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo for MERTEL Motorsport, lead the Pro-Am standings with a 17-point advantage over their nearest rival and a 19-point gap to the third-placed competitor. Lorenzo Ferdinando Innocenti is in fifth position, racing in Barcelona with Andrea Belicchi in the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo, car number 17, for Rossocorsa Racing. Two other MERTEL Motorsport cars also compete in Pro-Am: car number 84, driven by Arturo Melgar and Stefano Bozzoni, and number 85, with Jorge Cabezas and Anny Frosio.

In the Am class, Alba Vázquez and Laura Van den Hengel drive the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo number 83, while Leon Chen and Mike Speakerwas crew number 82, and Steven Liquorish and Mauro Trentin will be in car number 81.

The programme includes free practice on Friday. After qualifying on Saturday, Race-1 will kick off at 1:40 p.m. and finish at 2:30 p.m. The second race, also 50 minutes long, will start at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday.

All times are local.