Zandvoort Sunday Notebook

***Belgian Audi Club Team WRT dominated this morning’s warm-up in sunny but cold conditions. The No. 2 Audi of Frédéric Vervisch posted the fastest time, 0.283 quicker than the No. 1 car of Robin Frijns. Series leader Maxi Buhk and Vincent Abril ended the session in P7, 0.726s off the pace.

***WRT used the Audi R8 LMS ultra GT3 it runs for Belgian gentleman racer Jean Michel Baert in the GT Sports Club to replace Laurens Vanthoor’s heavily damaged chassis. This car runs as the No.2 entry of Frédéric Vervisch and Nicki Thiim, while the original No. 2 Audi of Christopher Mies now carries No. 1 following the change in lineups prior to this weekend.

***The Belgian Audi squad wasn’t the only team that had to source a new car following the Misano incident. Bentley Team HTP reverted to one of the Continental GT3s it usually fields in the ADAC GT Masters for Silver Cup drivers Jules Szymkowiak and Max Van Splunteren, which now features a white livery. HTP owns five Bentley Continental GT3s at the moment.

***As well as offering standard arrive and drive packages and driver coaching in 2016, JRM will continue with its Race Driver Development Program that is open to one new driver each year and gives “a guaranteed three-year route to becoming a paid pro driver”. JRM is also planning to launch a Young Driver Academy in the Blancpain GT Series with the winner receiving the chance to race in a pro seat the following year.

***Following his first year of GT competition with Nissan in the Blancpain Endurance Series, Martin Plowman will most likely step up to a full season program in North America in 2016, representing JRM as its pro driver and coach.

***Kessel Racing will continue in the Blancpain Endurance Series next year, where it hopes to field at least two cars, mixing the new Ferrari 488 GT3 with their current 458s. The Swiss team is also evaluating adding the Sprint Series to its program, which would make it eligible to receive the full amount of prize money on offer in the Blancpain GT Series.

***No American GT3 teams showed up at Zandvoort in the end. Following the cancelation of the Baku World Challenge season finale in Azerbaijan, the invitation for top three PWC teams to join the BSS at Zandvoort remained intact, although Sportscar365 understands that the costs of the logistics would no longer be covered.

***Following its debut in the Blancpain Sprint Series last weekend, Lamborghini’s Squadra Corse team headed to Vallelunga, Rome for a two-day test session reserved for the drivers who are part of the Young Drivers and GT3 Junior Programs. Former Italian F3 and International GT Open champion Daniel Zampieri, Florian Spengler, Kei Cozzolino, Andrea Amici and Corey Lewis were all evaluated behind the wheel of the Huracan GT3.

***According to Autosport, the COTA round of SRO’s new Intercontinental GT Challenge is set to be a five or six-hour enduro and not three hours, as was originally announced at the unveiling of the series a couple of weeks ago.