RNW Staff

Alex Zanardi is perhaps the most enabled man in the world. The loss of his legs in a 2001 Indy Car accident is the most identifying characteristic in the most recent chapters of his life, but is certainly not the most defining characteristic of the rich and, in many ways, enviable life he has led.

McLaren Automotive continues its drive to develop future racing talent with confirmation of the drivers who will participate in its 2019 Driver Development Programme (DDP).  Introduced for 2018, the initiative is designed to support and nurture young, up-and-coming GT drivers, providing a base for a career in motorsport.

Australian outfit AMAC Motorsport will switch to Lamborghini’s new-for-2019 Huracan GT3 Evo when the team competes in Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia next season.

Will Stevens will once again carry the Panis-Barthez Competition colours in the 2019 ELMS program and for the next 24 Hours of Le Mans – subject to confirmation by the ACO. The 27-year-old Briton, under Triple A management – led by Didier Coton-, has shown all his talent on track throughout the past season by climbing twice on the podium and signing a pole position on the wet in Spa. Former Formula 1 driver and the french team shared a common desire to extend their collaboration. Will is joining the latest newcomer Rene Binder in the Ligier JS P217 # 23. The third driver of the line-up will be announced in due course.

H.R. Owen Ferrari is celebrating a historic Ferrari Challenge Pirelli AM. championship win in style, returning the victorious 488 Challenge car to London. Driven by H.R. Owen Ferrari GB driver, Chris Froggatt, to ten victories across Europe’s most famous circuits, the Challenge car settled into its new role, turning heads in London’s Knightsbridge.

British GT’s 2019 calendar will again feature a total of nine races following confirmation of the format for Donington Park’s additional round on June 22/23.

The 2018 GT racing year ends like it has begun: with victory for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. Last weekend’s FIA GT Nations Cup in Bahrain saw the RAM Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Salih Yoluc and Ayhancan Guven (both TUR) claim victory and thus came full circle after the first win of the year in January 2018 by Abdulaziz Al Faisal (KSA), Yelmer Buurman (NED), Hubert Haupt (GER) and Gabriele Piana (ITA) for BLACK FALCON in the 24-hour race at Dubai. These two achievements bookend a season that can hardly be exceeded in terms of highlights. 

Toronto, Ont.

The brand new McLaren 720S GT3 came tantalisingly close to a stunning win on its global competitive debut at the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi on Saturday December 15. The first GT racer designed and built in-house by McLaren Customer Racing dominated much of the second half of the race at the Yas Marina Circuit before suspension trouble dropped the car to a nevertheless impressive fifth place.

Never before has Audi Sport customer racing been equally successful with its customers in international motorsport: On its tenth anniversary, the customer racing department reports 256 individual race victories (+63 % versus 2017), a total of 634 podiums (+46 %), 21 overall drivers’ titles (+40 %) and 38 additional class titles (+217 %). The Audi RS 3 LMS and Audi R8 LMS GT3 model ranges and the Audi R8 LMS GT4 that debuted in the customer’s hand account for these successes.

Craft-Bamboo Racing is proud to announce a new, long-term partnership with legendary German marque, Mercedes-AMG from 2019. The Hong Kong team’s strong partnership with Mercedes-AMG will bolster the team’s chances to take the top step of the podium at some of the biggest GT3 events on the global motorsport calendar.

Sean Walkinshaw produced a star performance in the annual Gulf 12 Hours at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, 15th December, with an outstanding third place finish for the Attempto Racing Audi squad – mere days after confirming his entry in the ultra-competitive Middle East event.

Preparations for Alessandro Zanardi’s (ITA) guest appearance at the 24-hour race at Daytona (USA) have entered the critical phase. On Saturday, the BMW works driver completed the first test with BMW Team RLL at the Daytona International Speedway in the US state of Florida. Zanardi will be competing in the BMW Team RLL #24 BMW M8 GTE at the classic endurance race (26th/27th January 2019).

Aston Martin’s new Vantage GT3 secured its first podium finish in the season-ending Gulf 12 Hours endurance race at the Yas Marina Circuit, in Abu Dhabi.

Kessel Racing Ferrari crews powered to a double victory in the 2018 running of the Gulf 12 Hours conquering both the outright win and the Gentlemen class. Alessandro Pier Guidi, Davide Rigon and Michael Broniszewski were always in contention for the win but also benefited from a suspension failure on the McLaren that was leading and was forced to a lengthy pitstop. Ferrari official driver Rigon crossed the line first to secure the team’s fourth straight victory in the Abu Dhabi endurance race.

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 drivers Ahmad Al Harthy, Jonny Adam and Darren Turner almost secured podium success for Oman Racing during the annual Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, 15th December, with a highly competitive top four finish.

R-Motorsport’s last race this year at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi was also a debut for the team, as the Swiss outfit from Niederwil deployed the brand-new GT3 vehicle made by Aston Martin, the Vantage V8 GT3, for the first time. Marvin Kirchhöfer, Jake Dennis and the team’s new driver Ricky Collard had the honour of giving the car its first race outing. After a promising start, the #96 Aston Martin Vantage V8 GT3 dropped way down the field following a stop for repairs lasting 35 minutes and crossed the line in 18th place overall and P6 in the GT3 Pro class at the end of the 12 hour race split into two six-hour segments.