A total of 27 GT4 cars will take part in the opening round of the Competition102 GT4 European Series at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, which is a significant increase and also a new record. In addition to last year’s front runners V8 Racing and Racing Team Holland by Ekris Motorsport, promising newcomers are welcomed to the championship like Reiter Engineering that participates with eight KTMs X-BOW GT4. Both races, held in the same weekend as the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, will be streamed live on gt4series.com.
Reigning champions Jelle Beelen and Marcel Nooren will once again compete with the successful Chevrolet Camaro GT4. The Dutch V8 Racing drivers face competition from team mates Duncan Huisman and Luc Braams.
After a difficult season last year, 2014 champion Racing Team Holland by Ekris Motorsport is aiming to strike back with two Ekris M4 GT4 vehicles. One car already debuted successfully during the final round held at Misano in 2015. The BMWs have been fine-tuned for the upcoming season.
The Dutch squad may expect fierce competition from PROsport Performance. The German team enter three Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4 vehicles with race winner Peter Terting teaming up with Daniel Rymes from the Czech Republic. Jörg Viebahn, fifth in the standings last year, partners with Mike Hansch. Former DTM driver Carsten Struwe also competes with the new Porsche under the umbrella of the German team.
Reiter Engineering fields eight KTMs X-BOW GT4, piloted by young and up and coming drivers, supported by talented mechanical engineers and marketing students. It’s part of the ‘Reiter Young Stars’ programme, providing a playground to develop themselves. Both female and male champion of this programme receive a GT3 seat in the 2017 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup.
Race winners Sofia Car Motorsport is represented by endurance racing experts Hendrik Still and Andreas Gülden, driving the Sin Cars Sin R1 GT4 in the PRO division.
A total of six Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 cars are welcomed on the starting grid at Monza. Villorba Corse enters three vehicles, Maserati Spa and Swiss Team enter one each. Villorba Corse’s Luca Anselmi / Giorgio Sernagiotto and Swiss Team’s Mauro Calamia / Giuseppe Fascicolo are registered in the PRO division.
One of the contenders in the AM category is 2014 champion André Grammatico who makes his return with the BMW M3 GT4. The Frenchman now faces competition from at least Allied Racing BMW M3 drivers Jan Kasperlik and Dietmar Lackinger, Street Art Aston Martin Vantage GT4 competitors Albert Frédéric Bloem / Jérôme Demay and two of the Maserati’s.
The first fifty minute-race starts at 13:55 hr on Saturday 23 April. The lights for the second race will go out at 11:15 hr on Sunday 24 April. Both races will be streamed live on gt4series.com. For frequent updates do also check Twitter and Facebook.
The Competition102 GT4 European Series consist of six rounds, held at premier race tracks in Europe and partnering top level GT or touring car championships except from the last round in Zandvoort where the GT4 category will be the main programme. The championship includes two endurance races and one round at a street course.
SRO Motorsports Group, architect of modern GT Racing
SRO Motorsports Group was founded by Stephane Ratel and has specialised in the promotion, support and organisation of many national and international motorsport series since 1995.
In 2016, SRO Motorsports Group will promote several championships and series, such as the Blancpain GT Series, including the iconic Total 24 hours of Spa, the British GT Championship, the Blancpain Sports Club with the GT Sports Club and the Ultracar Sports Club, the GT4 European Series and the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
SRO Motorsports Group runs also the SRO Race Centre by MMC, a high-level technical centre at the Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France.
SRO has offices in London, Paris and Liège.
Pirelli, official tyre supplier
Pirelli is a tyre manufacturer and world leader in the automotive industry. It has an exclusive relationship with over 50 racing series worldwide, including Formula One.
Pirelli has a long and illustrious history in endurance racing, and has also claimed a huge variety of class wins in GT racing all over the world. The design of the new Pirelli GT tyres meets the needs of GT racing while maintaining the performance characteristics that endurance drivers have appreciated in the past. The slick tyres used for GT racing are branded Zero: just like the slicks that have become a central feature of Formula One. The name P Zero is used in the highest categories of motorsport such as GT racing.
Competition102, unique fuel for maximum performance
Competition102 is premium petrol with an octane number of 102. The unique high octane number of 102 (RON 102) and MON number of at least 90 ensures optimal performances. Competition102 is suitable for all petrol-powered vehicles: from classic (Formula 1) cars and normal passenger vehicles to cross motorcycles and high performance racing cars. Competition102 fuel is exclusively produced, stored and distributed by Salland Olie Maatschappij B.V. in the Netherlands. It’s available at over 60 petrol stations nationwide and is sold in 60-litre barrels.
Calendar 2016
24 April 2016 Monza Blancpain Endurance Series
15 May 2016 Pau Grand Prix de Pau
12 June 2016 Silverstone British GT Championship*
10 July 2016 Spa-Francorchamps British GT Championship**
25 September 2016 Hungaroring DTM
9 October 2016 Circuit Park Zandvoort Finaleraces
* 3h endurance race
** 2h endurance race