The 2017 GT4 European Series Southern Cup reports back for action on September 9-10, with a much-anticipated event held at the famous Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours.
Round four of this year’s campaign will see a 30-strong field take to the former grand prix venue, with six manufacturers represented – Aston Martin, BMW, Ginetta, Maserati, McLaren, and Porsche.
As Southern Cup riders and runners enter the second leg of the season, championship gaps are extremely close across the Pro-Am and AM standings. The previous meeting at Dijon-Prenois also served to show that every constructor involved has a shot at overall and class victories.
With high-speed corners and more technical portions, Magny-Cours’ 4.411km layout will enable all competitors to utilise their strengths in what could be a pivotal weekend for the title fights.
PORSCHE/GINETTA POISED TO RESUME PRO-AM DUEL?
The first three Southern Cup events featured thrilling on-track battles in the Pro-Am category, most notably between the CD Sport-entered Porsche Cayman Clubsport MR GT4s and Speed Car’s Ginetta G55 GT4s.
Mike Parisy and Gilles Vannelet are currently top of the tables with four podium finishes in six races but the #30 Porsche remains in the hunt for a maiden win this year. Their nearest championship rivals, Benjamin Lariche and Robert Consani (#8 Ginetta) took advantage of their Dijon-Prenois Race 2 victory to narrow down the gap to a mere five points.
CD Sport and Speed Car can both rely on another duo of race-winning line-ups in their battle for the Teams’ honours. Morgan Moullin-Traffort and David Hallyday share the wheel of the #31 Porsche, while Rodolphe Wallgren and Gaël Castelli compete aboard the #444 Ginetta.
Many other outfits can challenge for the top step of the podium this weekend, starting with Martinet By Alméras, which claimed its maiden win of the season in Dijon thanks to Steven Palette and Henry Hassid on the #18 Porsche. On the #22 Cayman, Olivier Estèves has shown steady progress alongside two-time FFSA GT champion Anthony Beltoise.
Having burst onto the stage at the previous round, Stéphane Tribaudini seeks to cement his new status, as the Nice-based gamer-turned-racer makes the step up to the Pro-Am category with Nyls Stievenart on the #111 Ginetta entered by Classic and Modern Racing (CMR). The Charly Bourachot-led team also fields the #26 G55 for the front-running pairing of Soheil Ayari and team-mate Nicolas Tardif.
After winning this year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa over the summer, Saintéloc Racing returns to the national scene with two Caymans for Valentin Simonet-Sebastien Dumez (#66 machine) and Gregory Guilvert-Manuel Rodrigues (#69 entry).
Porsche remains the main supplier in the Pro-AM FFSA GT championship, with the German make’s battalion also including Team Racing Technology’s Cayman Clubsports.
“I am expecting another hotly-contested weekend, similar to what we had in Dijon,” said Jim Pla, who partners Pierre Sancinéna on the #1 Porsche. “Nevers Magny-Cours features an interesting mix of fast sectors and slow-speed corners, kerbs that you can ride and attack when pushing, as well as several overtaking opportunities.” Team-mates Franck Leherpeur and Jimmy Antunes will once again compete aboard the #11 charger.
The Porsche family is completed by Vic’Team’s #64 Cayman (Olivier Jouffret-Eric Tremoulet); the #5 Riviera Motorsport-run Porsche (Christophe Hamon-Lonni Martins); and the two TFT Racing-entered Caymans driven by Niki Leutwiler-Ander Vilariño (#2 machine) and Éric Clément-Romain Iannetta (#19 entry)
ASTON MARTIN, BMW, AND MCLAREN ALSO IN THE HUNT
Having shown strong pace last time out in Dijon, BMW enters this weekend’s event with renewed ambitions. “We’re excited to get back to racing at Nevers Magny-Cours, which is a venue I really like!” enthused Julien Piguet, who drives BMW Team France’s #9 BMW Ekris M4 GT4 alongside Frederic Johais. “We’re entering the second half of the season pretty fired up in the light of our progress in Dijon where we were in the mix for a podium finish, if not the outright victory”.
Energy By ART is equally motivated after the #3 McLaren 570S GT4 of Simon Gachet and Bruno Hernandez also displayed competitive speed at the previous round. Besides, the Georges Kaczka-led outfit is quite familiar with the former F1 track, where it will also field the #4 Porsche for Gregoire Demoustier and Alain Ferté.
Last but not least, Aston Martin is poised for a two-pronged attack on the Pro-Am class with the #44 Vantage GT4 entered by British experts Generation AMR SuperRacing (James Holder/Matthew George) and Belgian team Street Art Racing’s #117 entry. The latter claimed its first podium finish of the season in Dijon with Eric Cayrolle and Arno Santamato at the wheel.
LAMIC BROTHERS KEEN TO BOUNCE BACK IN AM, MASERATI IN THE HUNT
The racing is set to be just as exciting in the FFSA GT AM championship, where current points leaders Paul and Jean-Philippe Lamic are looking to return to winning ways with the #54 Vic’Team-run Ginetta.
The two brothers are sure to face stiff competition from a host of challengers that include the #34 Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 driven by Philippe Marie and Jean-Claude de Castelli. The GP 34 by Gemo Motorsport entry was in the hunt for a podium finish in Dijon until it fell foul of poor weather conditions.
Movie stuntman Jean-Claude Lagniez and crew-mate Gregoire Depauw continue to fly the BMW Team France banner aboard the #6 Ekris M4 GT4, while L’Espace Bienvenue’s André Grammatico is primed to re-join the fray with the #17 BMW M3.
Elsewhere, Michael Blanchemain returns to partner uncle Jean-Luc on the #27 Imsa Performance Porsche they drove to a class victory at the iconic Pau Grand Prix. The younger Blanchemain and his wife were indeed about to welcome a child around the same dates as the round in Dijon, which meant Michael had to skip the event.
Ginettas are rounding up the AM contingent, with Speed Car entering the #445 G55 for Philippe Salini, who is set to make his Southern Cup debut this weekend. Fellow newcomer Gwenaël Delomier will team up with Sylvain Debs in the #999 CMR-run Ginetta. The team also fields the #65 machine for Alain Grand-Didier Moureu, as well as the #666 G55 for Nogaro Race 1 winners Georges Cabanne and Fabien Michal.
WIN FFSA GT GRID WALK PASSES AND GO BEHIND THE SCENES WITH ENDURANCE-INFO!
SRO Motorsports Group has once again teamed up with GT4 European Series Southern Cup media partner Endurance-Info to give away 50 Grid Walk passes for this weekend’s event held at Nevers Magny-Cours. To enter the prize draw, just go and register on endurance-info.com.
We are also taking you behind the scenes with exclusive access to areas that are usually restricted from the public, with fans also able to approach teams and drivers in the paddock! To register for the activities on offer (see detailed list below), please head over to endurance-info.com as well.
NEVERS MAGNY-COURS ACTIVITIES
Track walk
Go behind the scenes – Visit race control, time keeping, media center, etc.
Guided tour of a garage with introduction to the team
Thematic conferences – Learn more about the multiple facets of motor racing through three conferences open to the public
Journalism, PR, and communication in motorsports
An introduction to the GT4 European Series Southern Cup, Porsche Carrera Cup France, PEUGEOT 308 Racing Cup, and Coupe de France Renault Clio Cup
Sporting management of a racing series
CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Each of the six GT4 European Series Southern Cup rounds features more than four hours of track time split between two 60-minute practice sessions, two 15-minute qualifying sessions – one to decide each race’s grid –, and two 60-minute races each with a mandatory pit-stop. The compulsory stop and associated driver change must take place between 25 and 35 minutes of each hour-long race.
Besides the Pro-Am and AM standings, SRO Motorsports Group and Pirelli, the official tyre supplier for the GT4 European Series Southern Cup, have also launched the Pirelli Junior Cup in both GT4 European Series, an initiative aimed at supporting Bronze or Silver drivers (per FIA categorisation) aged between 16 and 30.
Points are awarded to the top-10 finishers overall and in class, based on the traditional FIA system below:
1. 25pts – 2. 18pts – 3. 15pts – 4. 12pts – 5. 10pts – 6. 8pts – 7. 6pts – 8. 4pts – 9. 2pts – 10. 1pt
Since last May’s Pau Grand Prix, Pro-Am and AM GT4 European Series Southern Cup pole sitters are presented with a CERTINA watch on the podiums after the races, as part of a new official partnership between the championship and the Swiss watch brand.
NEVERS MAGNY-COURS SCHEDULE*
Friday 8 September
11:30 – 12:30: Free Practice 1
15:15 – 16:15: Free Practice 2
Saturday 9 September
10:15 – 10:55: Qualifying (15’ + 10’ + 15’)
15:00 – 16:00: Race 1
Sunday 10 September
14:50 – 15:50: Race 2
*All times are local
TV COVERAGE
Both GT4 European Series Southern Cup races are streamed live on the championship’s official website and SRO Motorsports Group’s GT World YouTube channel. You can also catch up highlights of the Nevers Magny-Cours weekend with an 80-minute programme shown on media partner la chaine L’Équipe on Saturday 16 September at 10:45, France time.
GOOD TO KNOW
The FFSA GT once again serves as top billing in an action-packed racing weekend that includes a strong cohort of partner series, starting with the French F4 championship, which is nurturing up-and-coming single-seaters talents under the stewardship of the French motor racing federation.
The Porsche Carrera Cup France, PEUGEOT 308 Racing Cup, and French Renault Clio Cup are also set to star around the 4.411km circuit to form round four of the relaunched FFSA Circuits championship in a must-attend event.
