RNW Staff

Spa-Francorchamps, one of the most iconic tracks in global motorsport, hosts the third race of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship this Saturday, 29th April – an encounter which Ahmad Al Harthy hopes will mark a turning point in his rookie WEC season.

Race winner Jeffrey Lee joins Mercedes-AMG driver Maxi Goetz in the first of Craft-Bamboo Racing’s two Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS entries.

Porsche Penske Motorsport travels to round three of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC feeling confident. At the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the works team is determined to build on its successful outing in Portugal’s Portimão, where the LMDh-compliant Porsche secured its first podium result in the WEC. Three “Made in Flacht” hybrid prototypes will contest the Hypercar class: In addition to the two factory cars, the customer outfit Hertz Team JOTA fields a 963 for the first time. In the GTE-Am class, five other Porsche customer teams fight for victory with six 911 RSR from Weissach.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival will not be the only event making music in New Orleans, Louisiana this weekend, as SRO America brings multiple championship battles to New Orleans Motorsports Park for two packed days of sports car racing. Four Flying Lizard Motorsport entries will compete in the event, racing in Rounds Five and Six of the GT America Powered by AWS and Rounds Three and Four of the Pirelli GT4 America series. With three Aston Martin Vantage GT4 cars and one Porsche 911 GT3 R, the Lizards have multiple attempts to hit it big in the Big Easy.

Liqui Moly Team Engstler Motorsport will line up in its first season in the ADAC GT Masters in 2023. In Chinese driver Dylan Yip and Kwanda Mokoena from South Africa, the team from Wiggensbach in the Allgäu region of Germany is putting its faith in two international rookies. In recent years, the team has won multiple titles in ADAC TCR Germany and now goes in pursuit of success in the ADAC GT Masters as well as the DTM. The new Engstler duo will make their debut at the opening round of the iconic GT3 series, which takes place on 10th June as part of the “Festival of Dreams” at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg.

Toro Verde GT made its Porsche Sprint Challenge GB debut at Donington Park at the weekend (April 22/23), with the team’s hard work and perseverance unfortunately not being reflected in the results. 

Team Parker Racing made its return to the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup at Monza at the weekend (22/23 April), relieved to reach the flag after a trying weekend with its new type 992 Porsche GT3 R.

Recent Sepang 12 Hours winners Andrew Haryanto and James Yu Kuai will team up in the second of Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS entries this season. 

KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) dominated the SP10 class in the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers, winning twice from pole position, to lay down a marker ahead of the ADAC TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

Team Parker Racing claimed three victories and two further podium appearances on a successful start to its Porsche Carrera Cup GB season, held at Donington Park at the weekend (April 22/23).

BMW M Motorsport works driver Daniel Harper kicked off his second season in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with a sensational breakthrough podium finish at Monza this past weekend (22/23 April).

K-PAX Racing had to endure disappointment at the opening round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup when a technical problem ruled the team out of a likely podium finish.

Team Parker Racing opened the 2023 Porsche Sprint Challenge GB season at its home circuit, Donington Park at the weekend (April 22/23), claiming three overall podium finishes.

Reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD class champion team, Heart of Racing [HoR], will make its FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] debut at Spa-Francorchamps, in Belgium, this weekend.

Porsche Sprint Challenge GB arrived at Donington Park for the first weekend of the 2023 season. As part of a three-year agreement starting this year, it runs exclusively on the TOCA package. On six race weekends, the championship will race in support of the British Touring Car Championship, four of those – including the season-opener – also alongside Carrera Cup GB.

Porsche Carrera Cup GB – the fastest single-marque GT racing championship in the UK – got its 21st season underway at Donington Park, the shorter 1.98-mile National circuit hosting two races on Sunday 23 April. In the year’s first race, 16-year-old newcomer Robert de Haan (Richardson Racing) became the youngest overall race winner in championship history. Porsche Carrera Cup GB 2022 / 2023 Junior Adam Smalley (Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Team Parker) drove to the second win of his Porsche racing career in round two.

ROWE Racing made a dream start to the 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS season with a one-two finish for the BMW squad launching the new campaign at Monza. The #98 machine of Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly started the opening Endurance Cup race from pole and was never under serious pressure for the win. For much of the three-hour run it was perused by fellow BMW squad Team WRT, only for both of the Belgian squad’s cars to hit problems before the chequered flag. 

Ross Wylie, from Thornhill near Dumfries, got his Porsche Carrera Cup GB campaign off to a flying start at Donington Park last weekend (22-23 Apr). Ross swept his Glenturret Porsche Carrera Cup car to third place in the Pro-Am category in the opening race and fourth in the second – denied a second podium by a mere 0.647secs. 

GRT celebrated a successful start to the 2023 season last weekend in Italy. For the Austrian Lamborghini team, the opening round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Powered by AWS was up at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on April 22 and 23. On the iconic circuit just outside Milan, 55 entries took to the first test of strength in the prestigious endurance series. For Grasser Racing, the race debut with the new Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 proved a success with a podium in the Silver Cup.

PK Carsport, the 2022 Fanatec GT2 European Series champions, returned to their race-winning ways with new driver duo Peter Guelinckx and Stienes Longin bagging their first win of the season at Monza.