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.
A total of 41 cars have been entered for the final round of the 2021 championship, with 16 entrants in the Silver Cup, 14 in the Pro-Am Cup and 11 in the Am Cup. It is the first time the GT4 European Series visits the Spanish venue, which held its inaugural race exactly 30 years ago.
United Autosports duo odds-on favourite to seal Silver Cup title in Barcelona
Bailey Voisin and Charlie Fagg are the favourites to seal the Silver Cup drivers’ title in Barcelona. A strong weekend at the Nürburgring saw the #23 United Autosports McLaren crew take a pole position and two second-place finishes. They now lead the Silver Cup with 177 points. United Autosports wrapped up the Silver Cup teams’ title last month.
The #8 CMR Toyota duo Stephane Lemeret and Antoine Potty head to Spain 44 points shy of Voisin and Fagg. For the Belgian pairing victories in both races at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya are essential, coupled with disaster for the leading pairing. At the Nürburgring Lemeret and Potty had a double DNF.
The battle for third place in the Silver Cup is still very close. Xavier Lloveras and Lluc Ibanez head into their home race with 89 points. The #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG pairing holds a two-point advantage over the #32 United Autosports McLaren of Dean Macdonald and Gus Bowers. Macdonald and Bowers scored a pole position, a second-place finish and victory in Germany.
V8 Racing duo Thijmen Nabuurs and Jop Rappange (#17 Chevrolet) are currently fifth in the Silver Cup with 76 points, just seven points ahead of Vincent Beltoise and Loris Cabirou (#30 CMR Alpine) with 69 points. AKKA ASP drivers Paul Evrard and Timothé Buret (#88 Mercedes-AMG) are seventh with 63 points.
Joel Sturm will be joined by Bastian Buus in the #22 Allied Racing Porsche for the final round of the 2021 season, with Buus replacing fellow Danish driver Nicolaj Møller-Madsen. Konstantin Lachenauer and César Gazeau (#27 AGS Events Aston Martin) and Tom Canning and Ruben del Sarte (#55 Mirage Racing Aston Martin) round out the Silver Cup top 10 ahead of the final race weekend of the 2021 season.
Francesco Guerra joins Jean Luc D’Auria at Trivellato Racing by Villorba Corse, replacing Jamie Caroline in the #70 Mercedes-AMG, while the #35 Selleslagh Racing Team Mercedes-AMG is entered in the Silver Cup in Barcelona with American Alex Papadopoulos joining Jakub Knoll.
Completing the 16-car Silver Cup grid are the #4 Team Speedcar Audi of Robert Consani and Benjamin Lariche, the #12 Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW of Cem Bolukbasi and Berkay Besler, the #14 Saintéloc Racing Audi of Roee Meyuhas and Clement Seyler and the #74 CD Sport Mercedes-AMG of Enzo Joulie and Sébastien Baud.
Pro-Am and Am Cup runners-up to be decided in Barcelona
The drivers’ and teams’ titles in the Pro-Am and Am Cups were decided last month, but there’s still a lot to race for in Spain with runner-up undecided in both categories.
At the Nürburgring Saintéloc Racing duo Fabien Michal and Grégory Guilvert clinched the Pro-Am Cup title in race 1, but retired from the last race after a first-corner crash. The #42 Audi crew is eager to end the season with more silverware.
Luca Bosco (#34 Selleslagh Racing Team Mercedes-AMG) has set his sights on the runner-up spot in the Pro-Am Cup and, together with Maxime Soulet again, will do whatever he can to stay ahead of the #87 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG of Jim Pla and Jean-Luc Beaubelique. Bosco has scored 132 points, 12 more than Pla and Beaubelique. The Centri Porsche Ticino pairing of Max Busnelli and Ivan Jacoma is fourth in the Pro-Am Cup with 116 points.
In the Am Cup Michael Blanchemain and Christophe Hamon in the #69 Team Fullmotorsport Audi clinched the title with double victory in Germany. The #3 CMR Toyota crew of Wilfried Cazalbon and Andrea Benezet lead the fight for second place in class with 129 points. Paolo Meloni and Massimiliano Tresoldi in the #50 W&D Racing Team BMW are in third place, 22 points shy of the Toyota pairing.
Technically Nicolas Gomar and Eric Herr (#89 AGS Events Aston Martin) and Benjamin Ricci (#61 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG) are also still in contention for the runner-up spots in the Am Cup.
The Pro-Am and Am Cup grid are bolstered by a number of guesting entries. AKKA ASP will bring a fourth Mercedes-AMG to Barcelona, with Christophe Bouret and Pascal Gibon set to race the #53 entry in the Am Cup, while Arkadia Racing is set to run a second Alpine in the Pro-Am Cup.
2021 season ends with four days of action in Spain
Running in Barcelona gets underway on Thursday with a four-hour test session in which all teams can get acquainted with the 4.7km circuit, which has not hosted a GT4 European Series round before. Friday features two one-hour practice sessions (11:00 and 15:10).
Qualifying will take place on Saturday morning at 11:25, with the first of the two races set to get underway at 16:40. The final race of the season will take place on Sunday at 11:30. Both races and qualifying can be viewed live on the GTWorld and GTWorld Français YouTube channels.
Source. SRO Motorsports Group
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