RealTime Racing reveals 2017 livery
Acura NSX GT3 team RealTime Racing has revealed its pair of liveries (above) for the new GT3 car’s debut Pirelli World Challenge season.
The scene features the same front-back reverse styling that Michael Shank Racing’s parallel IMSA programme with the car uses with the team’s traditional white, blue and orange colours.
Ryan Eversley will pilot the #43, while his Dutch teammate Peter Kox, who aided Acura in developing the car, will drive the #93.
Magnus confirms Pumpelly and Kaffer for its debut PWC season
Magnus Racing, which has moved over from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to the PWC for 2017, has confirmed that PWC rookie Pierre Kaffer will drive its second Audi R8 LMS in the GT category for the majority of races this season. In addition to that, Spencer Pumpelly will join Kaffer as his teammate in the SprintX championship.
“We couldn’t be happier to have the addition of both Pierre and Spencer to the team,” stated Magnus Racing team owner and driver John Potter. “Pierre Kaffer’s success speaks for itself, and as an Audi Sport provided driver, he clearly has the pace and the talent to compete with the best of them. He’s already proven a good fit with us during testing, and we expect he’ll suit us well going in to the 2017 season.
“I’ve known Spencer for a while, including briefly driving with him, and know he’ll be a great fit with us for the SprintX races,” he continued. “He’s obviously a proven winner, not to mention has some great experience with Audi machinery, so we’re hoping for good things with the two of them driving together.
“It’s great to finally kick in to gear with the season beginning next week, we all feel very prepared and ready for St. Petersburg.”
While Kaffer will miss the races at Lime Rock and Mid-Ohio due to clashes with the Nürburgring and Spa 24 Hours, Potter will compete for the team all season long in the second car.
R.Ferri Motorsport to return to PWC
After a year away from World Challenge, Toronto-based R.Ferri Motorsport is back and looking to build on its impressive 2015 PWC campaign which saw it finish runner up with three wins and seven podiums.
Spanish driver Alex Riberas will pilot its brand new Ferrari 488 GT3 for the season, the team’s third in the series.
“We are excited to be back this year in the Pirelli World Challenge with a driver that has had a lot of success with the Ferrari,” said team owner Ferri.
“With the support from the factory coupled with the experience we gained from previous years, I feel confident that we can be a very strong team. Similar to our last season in PWC, I feel that we can again compete for the championship but this time come out as overall champions.”
GMG confirms GTS McLaren programme
GMG has confirmed that it will enter the 2017 PWC GTS Championship with a brand new McLaren 570S GT4 for driver George Kurtz.
“We couldn’t be more excited to bring this new program to the series,” stated GMG team owner James Sofronas. “At GMG we’ve been very proud of the reputation we’ve built over the years for being able to fine-tune and develop a number of exotic racing machines, and the addition of the new McLaren 570S GT4 is a perfect fit.
“It’s a beautiful car and one that we couldn’t be more excited to get our hands on.”
44 entries for St. Pete
The grid is set for the opening World Challenge round of 2017 in Florida, with 44 cars spread over the GT, GTA, GT Cup and GTS classes.
It’s a healthy group of cars, with the main interest being 14 GT class entries for the meeting. Within the top class, Porsche, Acura, Bentley, Ferrari, Aston Martin, McLaren and Cadillac are represented. Within that, all three championship protagonists from 2016 are present, with Alvaro Parente, Patrick Long and Johnny O’Connell driving for K-PAX, Wright Motorsports and Cadillac Racing respectively.
GTA is also strong with nine entries and plenty of new faces including Mike Hedlund in K-PAX Racing’s third 650S GT3, John Potter making his PWC debut with his Magnus outfit and Alec Udell graduating from GT Cup.
Speaking of GT Cup, it’s the only class struggling for numbers, with just two Porsche Cup cars set to take part.
GTS meanwhile, which features GT4 machines, is 19-cars strong and incredibly diverse, featuring entries from SIN, Porsche, KTM, Chevrolet, Ginetta, Ford, Panoz and McLaren.
Klenin Racing McLaren hits the track
Klenin Performance Racing’s new McLaren 570S GT4, which will compete in this year’s GTS Championship, has been out testing at Willow Springs.
At the circuit, driver Mark Klenin spent on time familiarising himself the the car ahead of the new season, which was sporting the livery which it will run for 2017.
The test ran well for the team, with the 570S running without any issues.
