The GT4 European Series Northern Cup returns to action this weekend, when it heads to Austria for round three of season on the 4.326km Red Bull Ring. A total of 32 cars will take part in the event on the circuit situated close to the city of Spielberg in the Austrian Alps. The weekend begins on Friday with two, 60-minute Free Practice sessions. Qualifying takes place at 08.30 on Saturday, with the first race getting underway that afternoon at 16.25. Race 2 will start at 11.00 on Sunday.
In the Pro-AM category Ekris Motorsport drivers Ricardo van der Ende and Max Koebolt aim to increase their points lead. The Dutch duo finished on the podium of all four races this season, but didn’t win a race of the GT4 European Series Northern Cup yet. After two rounds Van der Ende and Koebolt have collected 66 points. Ekris Motorsport also leads the Team’s championship with its Ekris M4 GT4.
Matt Nicoll-Jones and William Moore, currently third overall with 35 points, face a marathon weekend. Shortly after the race in Austria has finished, the two Academy Motorsport Aston Martin drivers will head to Silverstone to take part in the British GT Championship. Street Art Racing, the only team competing in both the Northern and Southern Cup, will also fly the Aston Martin flag in Austria. Denis Dupont and Jérôme Demay will once more race the team’s Vantage.
After a disastrous weekend at Brands Hatch, PROsport Performance is looking to bounce back in Austria. The team scored no points in Great Britain, but defending champion Jörg Viebahn hopes to take home some valuable points from the Red Bull Ring, the circuit he had his spectacular crash on the final lap in 2015. The German team is set to run three cars in Austria.
The Las Moras Racing and Allied-Racing cars suffered extensive damage in accidents during their previous GT4 European Series outing, but the teams rebuilt their cars and are ready to race at the Red Bull Ring this weekend. The Las Moras Racing McLaren 570S GT4 of Luc Braams and Duncan Huisman will be joined by that of Equipe Verschuur (Csaba Mor and Finlay Hutchison) and the Spanish-based Bullitt Racing McLaren of Stephen Pattrick and Andrew Meyrick.
RN Vision STS will once again enter two Porsche Cayman CS MR GT4s in the Pro-AM class in Austria, with Gabriele Piana returning to the team. The German team tested at the Red Bull Ring last week, hoping to finish on the podium this weekend, after finishing in fourth place twice so far this season. Charlie Fagg will drive the Sean Walkinshaw Racing Nissan 370Z GT4 again. Fagg aims to repeat the strong Brands Hatch performance, where only a penalty cost the British team a shot at victory in Race 2
Giuseppe Ghezzi and Manuele Mengozzi are the AM category leaders as the series heads to Austria. Two wins and a second-place finish mean the Autorlando Sport duo has a 21-point lead over Scuderia Villorba Corse driver Manuele Gostner, who won the last race at Brands Hatch. A total of four Scuderia Villorba Corse Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4s have been entered this weekend
Dario Cerati and Maurizio Fondi (Autorlando Sport) are third in class, followed by Eduard and Bianca Anton. In Austria Eduard Anton will drive the SIN Cars SIN R1 GT4 all by himself, as his sister is taking her exams
Besagroup Racing Team is back in action after a successful debut at Brands Hatch. Franjo Kovac and Cora Schumacher finished third in Race 2 with their Porsche Cayman CS MR GT4 and would like to repeat that result again in Austria
Misano Race 2 winners HP Racing return to the series and have entered a Porsche Cayman CS MR GT4 for Wolfgang Risch and Coach McKansy, while Sellite Racing Team is also set to return in Austria following a crash in Qualifying at Misano.
At the Red Bull Ring CERTINA watches will be awarded to the pole sitters in Pro-AM and AM for the first time, as part of the recently announced partnership with Swiss watch brand. The watches will be handed out on the podiums after both races.
