After a 17-year absence, the Italian GT Championship returns this weekend to the beautiful Autodromo di Pergusa, a historic circuit located on the Italian island of Sicily. Although the event will run behind closed doors, fans will get to enjoy via their TV screens a great mixture of GT3, GT4, and GT Cup machinery conquer the very fast paved ring around Pergusa lake.
The top class, consisting of the same brands that were present during the opening round of the Italian GT Sprint series such as Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and BMW, will all be competing against each other in a three-hour battle which includes two driver changes and as many refueling stops.
Among the new entries is the #27 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo of Scuderia Baldini, being piloted by ex-Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella, multi-time Italian GT champion Stefano Gai, and 2018 champion Daniel Zampieri. The Ferrari team is back after winning the 2019 title, having taken a year off to sit out the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and fully focus on the car dealership in Rome.
Easy Race drivers Mattia Greco and Fabrizio Crestani, Italian GT Sprint Race 1 winners at Monza two weeks ago, will be joined by Luca Filippi, while Carrie Schreiner and Sean Hudspeth will be joined by Antonio Fuoco in their AF Corse 488 GT3. SR&R has also confirmed Luca Demarchi, Nicholas Risitano, and Edoardo Barbolini behind the wheel of their GT Cup classed Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo. More international Ferrari flair comes from Swiss-based Kessel Racing, whose 488 GT3 will be piloted by GT World Challenge Europe regulars David Perel from South-Africa and American Steve Earle.
The two Audi Sport Italia Audi R8 LMS GT3s will be driven by all-Pro line-ups, with factory driver Mattia Drudi joining team regulars Riccardo Agostini and Lorenzo Ferrari, while the Czech Filip Salaquarda and Pole Karol Basz will share driving duties in the #14 car with Vito Postiglione.
BMW Team Italia has confirmed it will bring two cars to Pergusa, one M6 GT3 and one M4 GT4. The GT3 car is set to be driven by Stefano Comandini and Marius Zug, with factory driver and endurance specialist Bruno Spengler confirmed as the team’s third driver. Giuseppe Fasciolo and Nicola Neri will be joined by the fast 19-year-old Swede Alfred Nilsson in the GT4 machine.
Two Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evos will be present as well, one being fielded by Imperiale Racing for Andrea Amici, Alberto Di Folco and British racer Stuart Middleton. The second Huracán GT3 will be fielded by LP Racing for Pietro Perolini, Angelo Negro, and Lorenzo Veglia.
The opening weekend of the Endurance series kicks off this Saturday with two free practice sessions, one from 9:00-10:00 and the second from 11:30-12:30, followed by three qualifying sessions from 18:00-19:05. The 3-hour race is set for Sunday at 11:00 local time. Live coverage will be available on GT REPORT.
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