The Spanish of Kurdish heritage will contest the fourth round of the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season, which takes place in the famous “Green Hell”. Tutumlu, defending the colors of Kurdistan Racing Team, is back at the wheel of the ST Racing with Rinaldi-run Ferrari 296 GT3 sharing the driving duties with Samantha Tan and Jon Miller.
Isaac Tutumlu is ready for a new chapter of top endurance racing at the Nürburgring, which hosts the fourth event of the 2023 GT World Challenge Endurance Cup this weekend. The renowned German circuit was built in the 1920s and it still remains as one of the most famous motorsport venues all around the world. The 3 hours of Nürburgring will be held on the “GP-Strecke” or F1 layout consisting of 4.569 km with changeable weather as one of its characteristic features.
Tutumlu will drive the ST Racing with Rinaldi-entered Ferrari 296 GT3 teaming up with Canadian Samantha Tan and American Jon Miller. The new Ferrari-built GT3 machinery proved to be extremely competitive during the past Spa 24 hours, despite the team was forced to retire at midnight after being caught in a chain-reaction incident. Tutumlu and his teammates achieved their first podium of the season at Paul Ricard 1000km, where they brought a second-place in Pro-Am Cup home with the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020, and their sights are set on adding more rostrums to their tally in the class.
“I’m looking forward to racing at the Nürburgring once again as I really love this circuit. After 1000km and 24-hour events, we are ready for a shorter event consisting of 3 hours of non-stop action. I have plenty of experience there, as I enjoyed driving at the Ring during events of the Porsche Supercup, the International GT Open, the Blancpain GT Series or the DMV GTC. Besides, the Nürburgring was where Kurdistan Racing Team achieved their first podium back in 2019. Fond memories”, explains Tutumlu. He underlines that “the new Ferrari is pretty competitive as we already shown at Spa. Hopefully, we will have a problem-free race and we will be able to fight for a podium finish in our Pro-Am Cup. Besides, weather forecast predicts some rain, which will certainly add up extra spice.”
Tutumlu will hit the track on Friday morning during Bronze test. Saturday’s single free practice session will take place at 08:30 with prequalifying scheduled at 12:25. On Sunday morning, qualifying session is due to take place at 08:45 with all three drivers in each car taking qualifying duties. The 3-hour race is set to start at 14:45. All track action will be streamed live on GT World YouTube channel. All times are CET.