RNW Staff

Following a lengthy stint on the sidelines after his accident during the Spa 24 Hours in August, Jack Aitken will at last return to the wheel of his Emil Frey Lamborghini Huracán for the final round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe season in Barcelona this weekend.

The Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands has come down to a three-man charge for the Pro class championship entering the penultimate weekend of the premier one-make series’ inaugural season. The October 8 – 10 visit to VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) will provide 28 drivers across three classes (Pro, Pro-Am and Pro-Am 991) the opportunity to reach victory lane in two, 45-minute races. The 3.27-mile, 17-turn Alton, Virginia-area track is among the most beautiful natural terrain road courses in North America as well as one of the most challenging. Now deep within the final third of calendar, Rounds 12 and 13 of the 16 race schedule promise intense competition in the series which highlights driver skill in equal Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars. 

Porsche Cars Australia (PCA) is pleased to confirm the remaining rounds of both the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia and Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Championships subject to regional borders between the required states opening up in time.

Event names rarely do justice to what unfolds on track. However, in the case of the Michelin GT Challenge At VIR, the title is a perfect representation of what the four Porsche customer race teams will face. The two-hour and 40-minute feature event on Saturday, October 9 at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) is the second time of the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season that the GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) cars will challenge for overall race victory. WeatherTech Racing will carry the banner of the German sports car maker at the Alton, Virginia-area track while Pfaff Motorsports, Wright Motorsports and Team Hardpoint target a GTD podium sweep.

Wright Motorsports is Virginia bound for the final IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sprint race of the year, the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR. Wright Motorsports will participate in the weekend with a three-series effort, racing in WeatherTech, the Michelin Pilot Challenge, and Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands.

CarBahn with Peregrine Racing is entering the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup finale with its targets locked on the top step of the podium.

The 2021 GT4 European Series will draw to a close this weekend (7-10 October) at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with the drivers’ title in the Silver Cup and runner-up spots in all other classes still up for grabs.

Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Kevin Estre (France) will compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin GT Challenge to run at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), Oct. 8-9. 

Team GRT Grasser Racing had a tough time during the fifth round of the 2021 ADAC GT Masters at weekend. The Austrian outfit once again showed strong pace with their four Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVOs at the Sachsenring, but results did not live up to their high expectations in the end. A place on the front row of the grid and P4 for Lamborghini pro driver Franck Perera and Silver class driver Rolf Ineichen in Sunday’s race were only small consolation for a missed opportunity.

International GT3 racing driver Ahmad Al Harthy returns to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend, 9th/10th October, for the final race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup season – an event in which the Oman Racing driver is setting his sights high.

Two 488 GT3 Evo 2020s will line up for AF Corse, with the support of Garage Francorchamps, in the remaining two rounds of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. They will aim to secure the Prancing Horse a title still missing from its rich list of triumphs.

DXDT Racing added two more podium finishes to the 2021 results tally this weekend at Sebring International Raceway. Racing in both the Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by aws and the TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School, the team celebrated two second-place finishes with drivers Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper in the No. 19 Mercedes AMG GT3 R.

Taylor Hagler charged to the lead on her first full green-flag lap of competition Sunday at Sebring International Raceway, taking her third Pro-Am victory of the season in Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS competition.

Dundee racing driver Finlay Hutchison will make a little piece of motorsport history just days from now when he becomes the first competitor in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS Endurance Cup to race the brand-new Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II car – during the season finale.

United Autosports are excited to head to the final round of 2021 GT4 European Series after having already won the Teams Championship last time out at the Nürburgring. 

Another strong drive from Daniel Juncadella enabled Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing to earn more DTM championship points in the second race of the weekend at Hockenheim.

Thanks to his fourth win, Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing) has kept the fight for the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland crown open. At round 14 at the Sachsenring on Sunday, the Porsche Junior beat Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech) and Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite) to the flag. Heading to the season finale at Hockenheim (22 to 24 October), Saturday’s winner ten Voorde sits at the top of the leaderboard, 24 points ahead of Güven. Fifty points are still up for grabs. “I knew that I had to win to improve my chances in the race for the title. And I used it. Now I have to repeat this result at the final event,” said Güven. The team classification decision has already been made: With two races remaining before the end of the season, GP Elite has secured overall victory here at the Sachsenring.

The title race in the German GT Championship is moving towards a thrilling climax: four races before the end of the season, championship leaders Ricardo Feller (21/CH) and Christopher Mies (31/Düsseldorf, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) have seen their advantage cut to just two points after finishing fifth in their Audi R8 in the Sunday race at the Sachsenring. Whilst they may not have won the race, the real winners on Sunday were Luca Stolz (26/Brachbach) and Maro Engel (36/Monte Carlo, both Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT), who thrilled the many spectators with an impressive manoeuvre in the final corner, which earned them second place in the race and the championship standings. With their fourth runner-up finish in a row, the two Mercedes-AMG works drivers completed a one-two for their employers, as fellow Mercedes men Igor Waliłko (24/PL) and Jules Gounon (26/F, both Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing team) converted pole position into a commanding victory. Third place went to the Porsche duo of Thomas Preining (23/A) and Christian Engelhart (34/Starnberg, both Küs Team Bernhard). “A really great day,” celebrated the victorious Gounon. “I just love this circuit. It was here that I claimed my maiden GT3 victory in 2016. That kick-started my career. To win here again is fantastic. Everything came together. Pole, fastest lap and victory – it doesn’t get any better. We are now the outsiders in the title race!”

With a consistent yet determined showing, Liam Lawson (Red Bull AF Corse) claimed an excellent runner-up spot in the second race of the DTM weekend at Hockenheim to edge further away at the head of the overall standings. The driver now holds a 14-point advantage over the nearest second-placed rival in the countdown to the final round of the season. Alex Albon in the other Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 (AlphaTauri AF Corse) posted sixth place.

The ADAC GT Masters will line up at a strong mix of seven attractive circuits in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands in 2022, and will also feature a new highlight. Next year’s calendar is based on stability: the 16th season of the series will, as has become tradition, kick off at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben from 21st to 24th April. An exciting new feature is the Family & Friends Festival at the Lausitzring in August. The ADAC GT Masters is providing early planning certainty – not only through next year’s calendar, but also the television package for 2022. Next year’s entertaining support programme will again include ADAC GT4 Germany, ADAC TCR Germany and ADAC Formula 4, while the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland will also feature on the same bill as the ADAC GT Masters on six occasions.