Weekly Racing Roundup (2.5.18)

Photo: ADAC GT Masters

News & Notes

***Dries Vanthoor and Pierre Kaffer will be part of the lineup for a new team, EFP by TECE (pictured), running two Audi R8 LMS GT3s in the ADAC GT Masters. Kaffer will drive alongside Elia Erhart while Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour winner Vanthoor will be joined by Florian Spengler.

***It will be 19-year-old Vanthoor’s first time in GT Masters after a breakout year which saw him win the GTE-Am class in his debut attempt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Kaffer competed in the Hockenheim GT Masters round in both 2016 and 2017 but has never had a full-season program in the series. Both Erhart and Spengler have been GT Masters regulars in recent years, meanwhile.

***The LMP3 Cup championship will allow the recently-unveiled Ligier JS P4 onto its grids this year as the series expands to a multi-class format for its second series. The UK-based championship has created the PT4 class for the Ligier and Radical RXC.

***BMW will return to the British GT Championship after a one-year absence with Century Motorsport running two BMW M4 GT4s in the series. The team served as a Ginetta factory-supported team in both classes last season. Ben Tuck and Ben Green have been announced as the first driver pairing with the second expected soon. 

***Frederic Vervisch will team up with Nicolaj Rogivue in one of Aust Motorsport’s two Audi GT3s racing in GT Masters. The Belgian driver returns to the series for the first time since his partial-season entry with Montaplast by Land Motorsport in 2016.

***Two other Audi GT3 lineups for the German series have also been announced with Max Hofer the latest driver confirmed in Phoenix Racing’s two-car entry, to drive alongside Philip Ellis, while Christopher Friedrich and Lance David Arnold will team up in Car Collection Motorsport’s return to the series.

***HubAuto Racing is the latest team to enter Blancpain GT Series Asia in the GT3 class although the Taiwanese squad is yet to confirm which manufacturer it will run. The team competed in the GT4 category last year before moving up to the top class for a one-off appearance at Shanghai with a pair of Porsche 911 GT3 Rs.

***Delahaye Racing Team is set to race a pair of Ginetta G55 GT4s in the GT4 European Series, while Schwede Motorsport will compete with two Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MRs. Team owner Phillip Bethke will share one of the Porsches with Marc Basseng and the second car will be driven by Rudolf Schulte and Dominik Schraml.

***Jarett Andretti will compete in the Pirelli World Challenge TCR class with David Tilton Racing, driving a Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, while The Racing Company is set to enter an Audi RS 3 LMS TCR driven by Jerimy Daniel and supported by M1 GT Racing, meanwhile.

***Ombra Racing and Vincenzo Sospiri Racing have both announced International GT Open entries with Lamborghini Huracan GT3s. Ombra will run two cars in its return to the series after being absent since 2014, while VSR is set to campaign one car.

***SPS Automotive Performance has also confirmed it will return to GT Open with an unchanged lineup of Tom Onslow-Cole and Valentin Pierburg in its Mercedes-AMG GT3, while Spanish squad Teo Martin Motorsport has revealed plans to enter up to three BMW M6 GT3s with Andres Saravia the first confirmed driver.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.