V8 Racing returns to GT Open with Renault R.S.01s
GT Open Dutch stalwarts V8 Racing, who clinched the Teams’ title and Drivers’ runner-up honours twice (2013-14) is back after one year of absence. It has switched its ageing Corvettes for the a pari of new Renault R.S.01s in GT3 configuration.
Team principal and driver Nicky Pastorelli says: “We started the Renault R.S.01 project last year and it’s a very interesting and competitive car. We are very happy to be able to return with it to the GT Open, a championship we know well and always enjoyed a lot.”
Two familiar faces will drive one of the cars entered for the full season in the GT Am category: Portugal’s Filipe Barreiros and Dutchman Diederick Sijthoff. The deals for the second lineup are currently being finalized.
Radical RXC Turbo GT3 to make competitive debut at Estoril
The new-for-2016 Radical RXC Turbo GT3 will make its competitive debut at Autódromo do Estoril this weekend, during the opening round of the International GT Open championship.
Radical test & development driver James Abbott will share with single-seater hotshot Colin Noble Jnr in the factory’s freshly-homologated GT3, marking Radical’s first full return to top-flight sportscar racing since the SR9 LMP2 of the mid-2000s. Powered by the acclaimed Ford EcoBoost V6 turbocharged engine the RXC Turbo GT3 is the flagship of the Radical range, featuring a raft of new electronic driver aids for the first time.
Abbott gave a Cup-specification RXC Turbo its racing debut in International GT Open last year alongside the RXC V8, powered by Radical’s own RPV8 engine. A pole position in the wet at Monza in 2015 was the highlight of a development season, with Abbott looking to build on last year’s progress alongside his commitments in the Radical European Masters, also racing at Estoril.
“2015 was very much a learning year for us with the advanced Ford EcoBoost V6 powerplant, but coupled with the continued development of the package and its homologation, I’m confident that we will have a strong platform to start the season with and hopefully contend for some podiums,” said multiple Radical champion Abbott. “This is the first time that Colin and I have shared a car but given his extensive single-seater and previous Radical experience I know he’ll get to grips with the new GT3 straight away.”
