Zandvoort hosts round five of the 2017 GT4 European Series Northern Cup this weekend and the drivers’ title in the Silver Cup as well as the team title could be decided in the Dutch dunes. Ekris Motorsport and its drivers lead the standings heading into the penultimate round of the season in the Netherlands. The battle in Pro-AM and AM is still wide open, with several teams fighting for the top positions.
Ekris Motorsport drivers Ricardo van der Ende and Max Koebolt (Ekris M4 GT4) won three of the last four races and can clinch the 2017 GT4 European Series Northern Cup Silver Cup title in front of their home fans at Circuit Zandvoort. After eight races Van der Ende and Koebolt have scored 162 points, 92 more than Lennart Marioneck and 100 more than Street Art Racing driver Jérôme Demay.
Marioneck, who did not race at the Slovakiaring, will return to the cockpit of the RYS Team Kiska KTM X-Bow GT4. At Zandvoort the German will team up with young Dutch driver Willem Meijer, who will make his GT4 debut on home soil.
Matt Nicoll-Jones and William Moore (Academy Motorsport) are out of contention for this year’s title, but the British drivers could still finish in second place, currently trailing Demay by just one point. Pavel Lefterov and John-Louis Jasper (RN Vision STS), currently fifth in the points, are also still in the hunt for a top three finish at the end of the season.
In Pro-AM Las Moras Racing drivers Duncan Huisman and Luc Braams will defend a 25-point lead over Jan Kasperlik (Allied-Racing). Huisman and Braams collected 125 points this season, with Kasperlik and Timothy Stupple scoring 100 points so far.
Kasperlik will have a new teammate at Zandvoort, with outgoing GT4 European Series champion Jörg Viebahn replacing Stupple in the #22 Porsche Cayman CS MR GT4. After a double win in Slovakia last month, RN Vision STS drivers Gabriele Piana and Razvan Umbrarescu are also back in the title race with 95 points.
With 50 points to play for in the two races at Zandvoort, anything can happen in the AM class. Giuseppe Ghezzi (Autorlando Sport) has a 28-point lead over Scuderia Villorba Corse drivers Romy Dall’Antonia and Giuseppe Fascicolo, while their teammate Manuela Gostner is only two points further behind. Eduard Anton, Dario Cerati and Maurizio Fondi are also still in with a chance.
Joining the GT4 European Series Northern Cup teams at Zandvoort are GT4 European Series Southern Cup entrants Energy by ART (Porsche), CMR (Ginetta) and TFT Racing (Porsche), while four other cars will make their first start this season. MOMO Megatron Team Partrax fields a Porsche Cayman CS MR GT4, with British GT Championship race winners Ebor GT Motorsport running a Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4. Swedish teams Primus Racing (Ginetta) and Ricknaes Motorsport (Porsche) will also join the series at Zandvoort.
Racing action starts on Friday, August 18th with the first of two free practice sessions at 11.15. The second session will follow at 15.40 local time. Qualifying for the two races takes place on Saturday at 12.15. The first race of the weekend starts at 17.50 on Saturday afternoon, while the second race takes place on Sunday morning at 9.45.
Both races will be streamed live on the GT4 European Series Northern Cup site, as well as the GTWorld YouTube channel. Live timing of all the sessions is available at north.gt4series.com/live/.
