Zakspeed Planning Full Blancpain GT Effort in 2017

Following an aborted 2016 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup campaign, Zakspeed is planning a full Blancpain GT Series program next year with the Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The Peter Zakowski-owned team initially planned to field a Mercedes for Darryl O’Young, Alex Tagliani and Jean-Frédéric Laberge in the Endurance Cup this year, but following a couple of tests and debut race at Monza, the program ended prematurely due to the drivers pulling out.

For the final Endurance race of the season, Zakspeed has returned to the series with an entry for Nikolaj Rogivue, Sebastian Asch and Luca Ludwig this weekend, as the team is learning the intricacies of the series in preparation for next year.

Asch and Ludwig claimed the ADAC GT Masters drivers’ title in 2015 and are currently fourth in the series standings.

While Zakspeed has excelled in the sprint racing format so far, it’s aiming for a top-five finish this weekend.

Zakowski confirmed to Sportscar365 that the team is working towards a full Blancpain GT campaign next year, while it will also continue in the ADAC GT Masters.

“We already have one car as good as confirmed for the Endurance Cup and we are still working on adding the Sprint Cup races to our program,” he told Sportscar365.

Even though it is not expected there will be more clashes between the Blancpain and ADAC calendars next year, the former DTM driver said the programs would be run by different crews.

Zakspeed has also entered a Mercedes for the Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai in January.