SRO’s major Blancpain GT pre-season test begins tomorrow at Paul Ricard with 50 cars listed on the official entry which covers entrants from the Blancpain Sprint, Blancpain Endurance and GT Sports Club.
Perhaps one of the more interesting additions is not actually listed on the entry, but the SRO press release trails the reappearance in competition of a famous GT racing name, Roock Racing, the 1996 Le mans class wining team and multiple race winners in the BPR and subsequently FIA GT looking set to return to competition for the first time since 2001. An entry being in anything other than a Porsche seems inconceivable to those of a certain age!
Currently the only Porsche listed is for Dubai 24 Hours winners Herberth Motorsport, their #911 GT3-R listed in Pro-Am Cups.
The test list also reveals more details than have thus far been seen of the drivers set to be fielded by Strakka Racing’s multi-car McLaren effort. The Silverstone-based team field no fewer than four McLaren 650S GT3s with line-ups variously made up of some familiar Strakka names, established McLaren GT Factory Drivers and several of the new intake of McLaren GT Driver Academy members – plus others, including Sam Tordoff.
There’s a solo RJN Motorsport Nissan GT-R listed with five of the full season six drivers (across the team’s pair of full-season cars) listed with only Katsumasa Chiyo absent from the squad.
The Reiter Young Stars effort fields a Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX entered in the Silver Cup for Caitlan Wood and Marko Helistekangas.
Against the solo Gallardo are listed no fewer than 13 Lamborghini Huracan GT3s – three for GRT Grasser Racing, two apiece for Ombra Racing, Barwell Motorsport and Attempto Racing, and single cars for Orange 1 Team Lazarus, Raton Racing, HB Racing and Xbionic Racing Team
Five Audi R8 LMS are listed, a pair apiece from WRT and ISR plus a solo Sainteloc car though the driver listings look to be incomplete for the Belgian entered cars.
Bentley’s full season six ‘Bentley Boys are listed with a single car to share and theres a solo Jaguar XKR G3 for Emil Frey Racing, only Stephane Ortelli from the full season, two car driver squad missing from the published list.
9 Mercedes AMG GT3s are listed: Three for Black Falcon, the pair announced earlier this week for Team Zakspeed, two for HTP and a pair too for Team AKKA ASP.
Rowe Racing’s pair of BMWs are the only M6 GT3s listed but no fewer than 12 Ferraris are listed – a pair of 458 GT3s – one a GTSC car for Kessel Racing, the other a guest at the test for Italian squad Black Bull Racing.
The latter team also field a 488, also listed as a guest entry at the test.
Kessel Racing field a pair of 488s, Rinaldi Racing a trio with AF Corse, Spirit of race, Kaspersky Racing and SMP Racing all listed with a car apiece.
