“Monza, eccoci!” (Monza, here we come!): one of the most traditional, awaited and well-attended rounds of the International GT Open is around the corner. The legendary Autodromo Nazionale and the last days of summer in Lombardy are ready to welcome a series that has never missed the appointment with Monza, precisely the circuit where it all started in 2006. Italian teams and drivers have always been one of the driving forces of the International GT Open; that, and the well-known passion for racing of Italian fans, explains the special excitement that always surrounds this round.
There is another reason to that as well: the position in the calendar, as the penultimate round, always adds the extra ‘heat’ of title battles reaching the defining moment. It won’t be any different this year, on the contrary, as the championship is being as closely-fought as it could be. An all-Italian package, Giovanni Venturini on an Imperiale Racing Lamborghini Huracán, will arrive at home race as the sole leader, but his advantage on the second is only 4 points. Albert Costa-Philipp Frommenwiler, with the Emil Frey Racing Lexus RC F, which proved to be the “surprise” of the year and have collected more race wins (3) than any other pair, are ready to challenge the standings leader, with other serious contenders right behind.
Thomas Biagi, the other ace of Imperiale Racing, is only 6 points behind Venturini, while the duo of fast youngsters composed of Fran Rueda and Victor Bouveng, with the Teo Martín Motorsport BMW M6, are 2 points further aback only. Still in the race also Miguel Ramos-Mikkel Mac, on the Spirit of Race Ferrari 488, 18 points from the top, while the other Lexus RC F of the Farnbacher brothers hasn’t said its last word.
In the Pro-Am battle, Shaun Balfe-Rob Bell with their McLaren 650 S, are now 6 points clear from Piergiuseppe Perazzini-Marco Cioci (AF Corse Ferrari), but everything is still possible. With Cioci taken by other commitments, pairing with “Eppe” will be this time Irish star Matt Griffin, a long-time regular of the GT Open.
In the Am standings, it’s all extremely tight, with four contenders within 6 points. António Coimbra-Luis Silva, the Portuguese pair of the Sports&You Mercedes, lead by only one point over Alex Moiseev-Davide Rizzo (Kaspersky Ferrari) and 3 over the other Mercedes by MS Racing of Austrians Martin Konrad-Alex Hrachowina, with Brazil’s Marcio Basso (Sports&You), here pairing again with Nonô Figueiredo, only 6 points further aback.
Things look a bit easier, in the Teams’ standings, for Imperiale Racing, which has a 14-point lead over BMW Team Teo Martín, especially since the Italian squad has expanded its representation to three cars. Venturini-Mapelli, Biagi-Giammaria and Postiglione-Fontana will again be entered at Monza. The other Huracans in contention will be the Ratón Racing car of Liberati-Ling, the returning Konrad Motorsport machine of Still-Scheuschner and the FFF Racing unit of Hiroshi Hamaguchi and local hero (and former F.1 racer) Tonio Liuzzi. To complete the Lambo delegation, Wessex Racing is on third outing this season with its fast Gallardo Rex, with Craig Dolby and Sebastian Morris.
Another team expanding representation for Monza is SPS Automotive Performance, the German squad which has been shining in Pro-Am with Pierburg-Onslow Cole. A second Mercedes AMG is being entered for Swiss duo Roberto Pampanini-Mauro Calamia, with the latter joining from Solaris Motorsport. The Italian Aston won’t be fielded in this round, as well the FF Corse Ferrari and the Jordan Racing Bentley.
On the contrary, Porsche is making a very welcome come-back to the series thanks to Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport, which will make history as the first-ever Polish team to contest the GT Open. Robert Lukas and Croatia’s Zeljko Drmić will be at the wheel.
Being in Italy, the Prancing Horse will want to keep up with its legend. While Ramos-Mac, Perazzini-Griffin and Moiseev-Rizzo seem the best placed to shine in their respective categories, Maranello has also a second ace in Am with the black- blue 488 of SF Racing, where Fu Songyang will this time be associated with a driver still to be announced, as Andrea Caldarelli is taken elsewhere.
Mercedes is the brand best-represented brand in the Am category. On top of Sports&You and MS Racing, which total three cars, Lechner Racing is back with its AMG for Mario Plachutta-Thomas Jäger and drivex School continues to sport the Brazilian flag, with Marcelo Hahn again paired with Allan Hellmeister in this occasion.
McLaren is, this year, bidding in the Pro-Am category, and at Monza will be again represented by its usual three cars. Besides the Balfe Motorsposrt that leads the class standings, Garage 59 is back to its standard two-car entry, with Benham- Tappy rejoining West-Ledogar after missing the Silverstone round.
Last but not least, BMW Team Teo Martín will again field a lusophone top star alongside Lourenço Beirão in the sister car of Rueda-Bouveng’s, but won’t reveal his name until next week. After António Da Costa (twice), Nelsinho Piquet, Augusto Farfus and Tiago Monteiro, who’s turn will it be?
At Monza, the fans will enjoy a rich race programme, with the Euroformula Open bringing, as usual, the excitement of singleseater racing alongside the GT Open, and the Radical European Masters partnering again with GT Sport series. On their side, Poland’s KIA Lotos Race and Italy’s Trofeo Super Cup providing close racing.
