• International GT Open to be main feature in this year’s programme of
the traditional Euro Spa Race week-end
• Teams and drivers ready to taste Spa "Magic" for the first time
• Two Spa races to play key role in Ferrari-Porsche duel in GTA
• No less than 5 makers to battle for victory in GTS - Outstanding TV
coverage to bring the action all over Europe
Everything is set for a great event in Spa-Francorchamps which will see this week-end the debut of the International GT Open in what is considered one of the most beautiful and difficult circuits in the world.
The superb track in the Belgian Ardennes is also known as ‘the circuit of the four borders", because of its proximity to Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and because racing fans flock in from these countries, and also from Britain, at every major event. No surprise thus that the traditional end-of-May meeting, of which this year the International GT Open is the stellar feature, is called Euro Spa Race.
The very expert and international fan crowd will be able to see another chapter of the Ferrari-Porsche duel in GTA (with the = ectacular Sun-Reds as outsiders in a track that could suit them very well) and of the battle between five manufacturers (Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Corvette, Viper and Ferrari) in GTS. In both categories, this third round of the season is expected to be of crucial importance in the definition of the championship trends.
As expectation grows and everybody tries to master the many variables of this demanding track, the entry list for the Spa GT Open, supported and supplied by Dunlop, was officially released today, with a total of 32 cars expected.
The British IN2Racing, with a Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 for Britons Paul Hogarth and James Pickford, is confirmed as a new entry. So are some changes in driver line-ups, with former DTM-star Marcel Fässler and current Euro GT3 champion Henri Moser sharing the seat of the Swiss Ferrari of the Trottet Racing and GP2 driver Giacomo Ricci re-joining the Villois Racing.
Latest modifications concern Mike Corse, with the come-back of the youngest of the Piccini brothers, Giacomo, and the debut of former F.3000 driver Marco Mocci in one Racing Box’s Lamborghinis. The two main Lamborghini teams, Racing Box and Mik Corse, are joining forces for the occasion, as the former is also busy this week-end qualifying its LMP2 car in Le Mans.
A similar cooperation is taking place between GPC Sport and Durango, who enter their usual two Ferrari F430 GT2. The latest change concerns Scuderia Giudici, with Giudici and Raimondi driving a Dodge Viper instead of their usual Ferrari F430, which sustained severe damages in a fire two weeks ago in Valencia.
As customary, the International GT Open will benefit from extensive TV coverage, the widest of any GT2 and GT3 series. The two races of the Spa GT Open will be broadcasted live in Spain (Canal +), Italy (Nuvolari TV) and Portugal (Sport TV) and delayed in all Europe through Eurosport, which reaches out to 105 million households in 54 countries and 19 languages.
Extensive summaries of the two races are also provided in France (Motors TV), Belgium (BeTv), Austria (ÖRF) and the Middle East (ART). Additional coverage in Spain is granted by Popular TV, Canal 9 and Teledeporte.
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