The GT4 European Series is back in racing action at the Nürburgring next weekend when a 42-car grid will tackle the German venue’s 5.1km Grand Prix circuit.
It represents the fifth round of the 2021 season and, with just two race meetings left, the battle for the Silver Cup, Pro-Am Cup and Am Cup titles is heating up. Indeed, this could prove to be a championship-deciding weekend.
Silver Cup: United Autosports McLaren and CMR Toyota share points lead ahead of Nürburgring
United Autosports drivers Charlie Fagg and Bailey Voisin (#23 McLaren) closed the points gap to Stephane Lémeret and Antoine Potty (#8 CMR Toyota) and now lead the Silver Cup on number of wins this season. Both crews are on 133 points and know every point scored at the Nürburgring is vital, including the point for pole position.
With 104 points left on the table in the two remaining meetings and the gap between third and tenth in the points standings just 36 points, it is too early to say who will leave the Nürburgring as the number three in the Silver Cup. Two strong results for Vincent Beltoise and Loris Cabirou in the #30 CMR Alpine at Spa means they are just six points behind the currently third-placed #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG of Lluc Ibanez and Xavier Lloveras.
A race win for the #22 Allied Racing Porsche at Spa bumped Nicolaj Møller-Madsen and Joel Sturm from seventh to fifth, with César Gazeau and Konstantin Lachenauer (#27 AGS Events Aston Martin), and Paul Evrard and Timothé Buret (#88 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG) all within 20 points of third place. Thijmen Nabuurs and Jop Rappange (#17 V8 Racing Chevrolet), Gus Bowers and Dean Macdonald (#32 United Autosports McLaren) and Tom Canning and Ruben del Sarte (#55 Mirage Racing Aston Martin) complete the top ten ahead of the Nürburgring round.
German teams Zakspeed and Dörr Motorsport will take part in the fifth round of the 2021 season as guest entries in the Silver Cup. 2020 GT4 European Series Silver Cup champion Théo Nouet and his regular ADAC GT4 Germany teammate Jan Marschalkowski will race the #13 Zakspeed Mercedes-AMG, while Ben and Phil Dörr are set to share the #97 Dörr Motorsport Aston Martin.
Entries from Team Speedcar (Audi), Saintéloc Racing (Audi), Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport (BMW), Trivellato Racing by Villorba Corse (Mercedes-AMG), CD Sport (Mercedes-AMG) and AGS Events (Aston Martin) complete the 19-car Silver Cup grid at the Nürburgring.
Pro-Am Cup: Match point for Saintéloc Racing Audi’s Michal and Guilvert
Fabien Michal and Grégory Guilvert could clinch the Pro-Am Cup title at the Nürburgring. The Saintéloc Racing Audi pair have a 72-point lead over Luca Bosco, who will share the #34 Selleslagh Racing Team Mercedes-AMG with Maxime Soulet again in Germany. Bosco is just one point clear of Centri Porsche Ticino drivers Max Busnelli and Ivan Jacoma in the #718 Porsche.
Jim Pla and Jean-Luc Beaubelique, who dropped to fourth in the Pro-Am Cup standings after Spa, hope to score some solid points and get the #87 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG back into the top three in the category.
A total of 13 cars are set to contest the Nürburgring round in the Pro-Am Cup, with the top four joined by regular entries from Team Speedcar (Audi), Hella Pagid – racing one (Audi), Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport (BMW), Allied Racing (Porsche), Arkadia Racing (Alpine), Team Fullmotorsport (Audi) and NM Racing Team (Mercedes-AMG), as well as a Zakspeed Mercedes-AMG for Robert Haub and Gabriela Jilkova. Moritz Kranz and Jakub Knoll are set to race the #35 Selleslagh Racing Team Mercedes-AMG at the Nürburgring.
Am Cup: Title battle continues at the Nürburgring
The battle for the top position in the Am Cup remains the same, with Team Fullmotorsport Audi drivers Michael Blanchemain and Christophe Hamon leading the CMR Toyota drivers Wilfred Cazalbon and Andrea Benezet by 15 points.
One point separates the drivers currently battling for third in the Am Cup standings. W&D Racing Team BMW pair Paolo Meloni and Massimiliano Tresoldi have collected 84 points, while AKKA ASP’s Benjamin Ricci has scored 83 points so far. AGS Events Aston Martin drivers Nicolas Gomar and Eric Herr are not far behind with 79 points.
Street Art Racing (Aston Martin), Allied Racing (Porsche), Saintéloc Racing (Audi) and SVC Sport Management (Toyota) will all enter one car in the Am Cup, while Henrik Lyngbye Pedersen and Markus Lungstrass will return to action at the Nürburgring, after missing the previous round at Spa. The return of the #18 Aston Martin results in a 10-car grid for the Am Cup at the Nürburgring.
Another busy weekend for GT4 European Series teams
Track activity for the GT4 European Series gets underway on Thursday with an optional test session between 13:00 and 17:30. The first Free Practice session takes place on Friday at 09:40, followed by a second session at 13:50.
Qualifying for the two races is scheduled for Saturday at 11:55 and will be shown live on the GTWorld YouTube channel as well as the GT4 European Series website and Facebook page. Both races are also shown live and will get underway on Saturday at 17:15 and Sunday at 10:00.
The GT4 European Series will be part of another action-packed weekend for Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS, which will stage its three-hour Endurance Cup race on Sunday afternoon. There is also action from TCR Europe and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, as well as the Fanatec Esports GT Pro Series in the Fanatec Esports Arena.
Source. SRO Motorsports Group
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