BLANCPAIN GT SPORTS CLUB SET FOR TITLE SHOWDOWN IN BARCELONA - RNW | RacingNewsWorldwide.com | Your latest racing news
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BLANCPAIN GT SPORTS CLUB SET FOR TITLE SHOWDOWN IN BARCELONA

BLANCPAIN GT SPORTS CLUB SET FOR TITLE SHOWDOWN IN BARCELONA
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Champions will be decided when the 2019 Blancpain GT Sports Club reaches its conclusion at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend.

The Overall and Titanium Cup champions are to be determined and will join Stephen Earle – who wrapped up his third Iron Cup title last time out at Spa – on the end-of-season honour roll.

Reno Racing’s Jens Reno Moller and Kessel Racing’s Murod Sultanov are set to battle for the Overall championship. Both drivers have been on fantastic form throughout the year and are the only two to have scored an outright podium at every event held so far.

A win and a second place in the previous round at Spa gave Moller a 38-point advantage heading into the finale, but Sultanov was hot on his heels all weekend in Belgium and will be keen to cause a title upset in Spain.

Moller is once again driving a Honda NSX GT3 Evo, while Sultanov will be behind the wheel of one of Kessel’s three Ferrari 488 GT3s.

The closest championship battle is for the Titanium Cup, which has been fought intensely this year between Barcelona 2018 pole-sitter Coach McKansy and Lee Mowle.

German ace McKansy, who drives a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for HP Racing International, has a 17-point lead over ERC Sport’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 driver Mowle heading into the final round.

The pair have been well-matched all season, with McKansy taking seven class podiums to Mowle’s equally impressive six – the main differentiator being the British GT convert’s non-start in Misano race two.

Several drivers to have raced in previous Blancpain GT Sports Club rounds are returning for the Barcelona showdown.

One of these is Luigi Lucchini, who took a memorable outright win aboard a Ferrari 458 GT3 at Paul Ricard in June, which marked his fourth victory in the Blancpain GT Sports Club. The BMS Scuderia Italia driver will pilot the same car this weekend.

Another is Pierre Feligioni – a Blancpain GT Sports Club competitor from 2016 to 2018 – who will be at the wheel of a Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 run by the Boutsen Ginion team.

Denis Remenyako, who took his maiden series win in the second Spa race, will drive Capital Racing Team’s Mercedes-AMG GT3, while Pavel Strukov will be aiming to improve on his season-best sixth place finish at Spa with the StileF Squadra Corse Ferrari squad.

Dilantha Malagamuwa and Angelique Detavernier make up the pairing for HB Racing’s two-car attack this weekend. Both drivers will be competing in Lamborghini Huracan GT3s, forming one of three multi-car team lineups.

In addition to Sultanov’s title-contending car, Kessel Racing has two other Ferraris in the field with Iron Cup champion Earle and Canadian racer Rick Lovat also lining up for the Swiss squad.

Another team running multiple 488 GT3s is the AF Corse-run Spirit of Race operation, which has cars for Louis Philippe Soenen and Frederic Fangio.

Audi GT2 to make race debut

The Barcelona season finale will also play host to the international debut of a hotly anticipated new sportscar, the Audi R8 LMS GT2.

Launched in July, the 640hp beast has been demonstrated at automotive events around the world but has yet to perform in a competitive setting.

American James Sofronas will be behind the wheel of the car, which is being entered by multiple Blancpain GT Series teams’ champion Audi Sport Team WRT.

Both races from Barcelona will be live streamed on the Blancpain GT Sports Club Facebook page, website and GTWorld YouTube channel.

Blancpain GT Sports Club Schedule: Barcelona*

Saturday 28 September

09:30 – Free Practice

12:00 – Qualifying

17:05 – Race 1

Sunday 29 September

11:00 – Race 2

*All times are local (GMT+2)

Source. SRO Motorsports Group

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