33 Cars for 12H Mugello

A 15-car GT3 field will headline this weekend’s Michelin 12H Mugello, which serves as the opening round of Creventic’s European season.

While last year’s race winners GP Elite do not return to the event, a total field of 33 cars is set to battle on the Tuscany circuit, complete with GT3 representation from six manufacturers.

Ferrari is the best represented brand in the top class with five cars, followed by Mercedes-AMG with four.

CCC Kessel Racing, last year’s polesitters, return with their No. 8 Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by David Fumanelli, Marco Frezza, Marco Talarico, Alessandro Cutrera and L.M.D.V.

Italian squad Pellin Racing field a pair of cars, one 488 GT3 Evo 2020 for Thor Haugen and Paolo Ruberti, while a 296 GT3 has been entered for Lisa Clark and Kyle Marcelli.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship regulars Era Motorsport kick off their European campaign with the No. 81 Ferrari set to be driven by Kyle Tilley, Dwight Merriman and Jake Hill, while longtime series regulars Scuderia Praha are also represented with a single 296 GT3.

New to GT3 competition are RedAnt Racing, as the Belgian squad steps up from Porsche one-make racing with a single Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for Ayrton and Yannick Redant, Kobe de Breucker and Mercedes-AMG veteran Kenneth Heyer.

The team revealed the car during a shakedown at Circuit Zolder last week, with plans to contest the full European campaign.

Heart of Racing Team, fresh off the Aston Martin Valkyrie’s WeatherTech Championship debut, will be in action with its Mercedes-AMG operated by SPS Automotive Performance and driven by team principal Ian James, Gray Newell and Hannah Grisham.

Hofor Racing, meanwhile, will make its first appearance with an Evo-spec Mercedes-AMG driven by Michael Kroll, Chantal Prinz, Alexander Prinz and Maximilian Partl.

Porsche is represented by a pair of entries, including a Proton Huber Competition 911 GT3 R spearheaded by reigning LMGT3 world champion Klaus Bachler, teaming up with Manuel Lauck and Joerg Dreisow.

A second Porsche has been entered by series regulars Manamauri Energy by Ebimotors, while JUTA Racing and Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport each field a single Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

ARC Bratislava return with their Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo driven by Miro Konopka, Zdeno Mikulasko, Gerhard Tweraser and Jiatong Liang, while E2P Racing is set for its first racing outing with a newly acquired Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

Elsewhere, a four-car GT4 class is headlined by the Venture squad that took a class win in last year’s 24H Barcelona.

The British squad will contest the full European campaign with a single Mercedes-AMG GT4, set to be driven by Neville Jones, Christopher Jones, Matthew George and Matthew Higgins.

The Lotus Emira GT4 will make its series debut with Lotus PB Racing, while CWS Engineering and CCS Racing complete the class with a single Ginetta G56 GT4 and Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS, respectively.

The 12H Mugello will run to Creventic’s traditional two-part format, with the opening seven-hour segment kicking off on Saturday at 11 a.m. CET (6 a.m. EST) before the remaining five hours will be contested on Sunday.

Both qualifying and the race will be broadcast live on the Creventic Motorsports TV YouTube channel.