The International GT Open 2016 heads to the United Kingdom for its last round before the summer break: it will be the legendary Silverstone GP Circuit, which has become one of the most popular fixtures of the calendar, to host the fourth round of the season, and if current forecasts are right, good weather will again be part of the warm welcome that the GT Sport series always receive at the Northamptonshire track!
Interest for the GT Open and its sister series, the Euroformula Open, is rising steadily in the UK, and this is reflected not only by the increased number of British teams in both series, but also by the reactions of fans and media. Interestingly enough, Britain’s leading TV sports chancel BT Sport, who broadcast live GT Sport series in the country, will deploy significant mobile means at Silverstone to offer enhanced coverage of the event (up to 5 hours per day), including features and interviews from the paddock.
Fans at the track will enjoy a rich and exciting race programme, as the Formula V8 3.5 joins for the second time this year, alongside a regular and spectacular partner such as the Radical European Masters.
At Silverstone, the GT Open will hit the half-season mark, as Sunday’s Race 2 will be the one opening the second part of the season. Yet, anything is far from done with regard to the title battles, which, this year, appear closer than ever. The British round will certainly see some interesting duels. Thomas Biagi and Fabrizio Crestani, with the Orange1 Team Lazarus Lamborghini Gallardo took the lead of the points standings at the Ricard, thanks to a consistent effort throughout the first part of the season, but Shaun Balfe and Phil Keen, who led up until France, are more than eager to fight back.
In their home race, Balfe Motorsport will hit the track with their new car, a McLaren 650S, which replaces the ageing Ferrari F458 used for some years by the Lincolnshire-based squad. “A car switch in the course of the season is never an easy thing, but we are impressed by the performance of the McLaren”, says Shaun Balfe.
Third in contention and raising its game race after race is the BMW M6 of Miguel Ramos.As from this round, the Portuguese will partner with a new team mate: young (21) Dutchman Pieter Schothorst, who has experience with single-seaters and GTs, is replacing Roldán Rodríguez for the rest of the season. The other pair of BMW Team Teo Martín, Fernando Monje-Gustavo Yacamán, are determined to clinch their first win of the season. Always to be taken in consideration among potential winners are other regular British stars of the GT Open, like the McLarens of Garage59, with Duncan Tappy-Michael Benham and Côme Ledogar-Alexander West, and the TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage of Euan Hankey-Salih Yoluc.
Silverstone, though, will offer quite a number of interesting novelties. First among all, a new entry with a stellar pair: GT heroes Tomas Enge and Craig Dolby will be at the wheel of the Lamborghini Gallardo REX of a brand new British Team, Wessex Motorsports, in what is only the second race for the new squad led by Nigel Mustill. Back to the series will be Spain’s Baporo Motorsport with its Ferrari F458 for Davide Roda and a driver to be designated.
In the GT-Am category, the fight is also on. As current leader Stéphane Lémeret will not be available for this round, Filipe Barreiros (in the V8 Racing Renault RS01, this time shared with popular Martin Short) and ‘Manuel Da Costa’-‘Miguel Sardinha’ (with the Sports&You Mercedes AMG) will have a perfect take-over opportunity.
In GT-Am too, British teams will be very well represented. FF Corse, one of the biggest GT teams in England, and whose base is a few yards from the track’s gate, will make its debut in the GT Open with a Ferrari 488 entrusted to Jamie Stanley-Paul McNeilly, ahead of a possible continued presence in the series.
Radical, on its side, is doubling its presence with two RXC Turbo GT3 cars for Colin Noble- Steven Burgess and Robert Wheldon-Thomas Ashton, the latter under RAW Motorsport banner .