While other racing championships haven’t even started yet, the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook is already reaching the halfway point of its 2017 season. After the season-opener in Dubai and the following rounds at Mugello and the Red Bull Ring, the beautiful Circuit Paul Ricard at Le Castellet in the south of France will now be hosting round four, the Hankook 24H CIRCUIT PAUL RICARD (5-7 May, 2017). The provisional entry list includes 30 teams with GTs, touring cars and 24H Specials. No less than 26 different nationalities will be represented on the grid.
Last year, German Porsche team Herberth Motorsport came out on top in the Hankook 24H CIRCUIT PAUL RICARD. The Porsche with drivers Alfred Renauer, Robert Renauer, Daniel Allemann and Ralf Bohn took the lead on Saturday afternoon already and went on to win with a margin of no less than 14 laps after a trouble-free race. Of course, the Herberth Motorsport Porsche team, that already enjoyed success with victory in the Hankook 24H DUBAI and the inaugural Hankook 12H RED BULL RING this year, will be back in action at Circuit Paul Ricard, with the same driver line up as last year. British team RAM Racing finished second at Paul Ricard last year, and three of the four drivers that raced its Mercedes-AMG GT3 back then will now be on the grid again, once more with a Mercedes-AMG GT3, but now under the ROFGO Racing banner for the team’s maiden entry in the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook. German Roald Goethe and Brits Stuart Hall and Jamie Campbell-Walter have teamed up with French racing stalwart Nic Minassian for this year’s race. In the best ROFGO tradition, the Mercedes will be sporting the iconic Gulf racing colours.
Opposition in the A6 class, that will once more be split up into an A6-Pro and an A6-Am category, will come from various teams with Mercedes-AMG GT3 (with team points leaders Hofor Racing, French team IDEC Sport and SPS automotive performance), Audi R8 LMS (with three cars entered by Car Collection Motorsport), GP Extreme’s pair of Renault R.S. 01 cars, the Scuderia Praha Ferrari and the Vortex V8. The 991 class consists of three Porsche 991 Cup cars, including one from PROsport Performance, the team that is jointly leading the GT teams’ standings, tied on points with Hofor Racing. The SP2 class includes three Porsches, one MARC Focus V8 and a GC Automobiles GC 10 V8. The SP3-GT4 class consist of a Lotus, a Ginetta and a Porsche. Good competition is again expected in the TCR class with six entries and four different brands: Audi, Honda, Peugeot and SEAT. Dubai TCR class winners Cadspeed Racing with Atech will be back with its Audi RS 3 LMS, while French Team Altran Peugeot will be eager to shine on home soil with its pair of Peugeot 308 Racing Cup Cars. Insightracing from Denmark is new to the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook with its Honda Civic TCR and an all-Scandinavian line-up with drivers from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Last but not least, DUWO Racing from Luxemburg will be competing in the CUP1 class with its BMW M235i Racing Cup car.
Thursday, 4 May, is reserved for rent-a-car rides and private testing. Free practice is scheduled on Friday, 5 May, from 14.00 till 15.30 hrs, followed by qualifying in two groups, from 16.45 till 17.30 hrs for the classes D1, A2, A3, CUP1, TCR, SP3-GT4 and from 17.45 till 18.30 hrs for the classes A6, SPX, SP2, 991 and 997. On Saturday, 6 May, there is a warm-up from 11.00 till 11.30 hrs. The race starts at 14.30 hrs.
Hankook is the exclusive tyre supplier and title sponsor of the event while Panta racing fuels is the official fuel supplier. BRM is the official timekeeping partner and provides the trophies for the prize-giving ceremony. SPAA05 provides LED displays indicating the position of each car in the race. The following companies are present with sales and service booths in the paddock: BRM watches, Stand21 for racing apparel, DRD international for stickers, Global Crave for freshly squeezed orange juice and Speedcom for radio communication equipment and support.
