Brands Hatch contract renewed
The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup will continue to visit Brands Hatch in Kent each year until at least 2025 following confirmation of a new agreement between circuit owner MotorSport Vision (MSV) and SRO Motorsports Group.
The Kent circuit has become a mainstay of the Fanatec GT Sprint Cup schedule since making its first appearance on the calendar in 2014 and has hosted a race annually, aside from the Covid-effected 2020 season. It will open the 2023 Sprint season on 13-14 May, marking the short-format championship’s ninth visit to the track.
“I’m delighted that we will continue to host Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS until at least 2025,” commented David Willey, MSV Group Motorsport Events Manager. “The Fanatec GT Sprint Cup meeting has been a consistent fixture on our calendar for coming up to a decade now, and it’s fantastic that the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit will retain its place on the international sports car and GT racing scene.
“It’s always a pleasure to work with the SRO Motorsports Group, both on its international and domestic events, and we’re looking forward to continuing that successful relationship,” he added.
The affiliation between Brands Hatch and SRO stretches back almost three decades to the 1996 BPR Global Series, which included a four-hour endurance race at the track. The event was won by racing legends Hans-Joachim Stuck and Thierry Boutsen at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT1.
“SRO has significant history at this track and it has become one of the cornerstones of the Fanatec GT Sprint Cup since staging its first race meeting in 2014,” said Stéphane Ratel. “Almost a decade on it remains immensely popular with both fans and drivers, so I expect a very positive reaction to the news that we will continue to visit through at least 2025.”
Seven manufacturers signed up for World Challenge
The SRO has signed up seven manufacturers for the 2023 World Challenge, that will all score points via customer teams across the 29-round GT3 series that covers four continents, 12 countries and 52 races.
Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes and Porsche will all take part in the competition.
“The Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS is looking strong for 2023, with grids at capacity in Europe and Asia, as well as strong growth in America and Australia,” says SRO founder Stephane Ratel.
“This is a remarkable global series, specifically designed for manufacturers involved in customer racing, where they can show their strength across the categories and around the world. We look forward to another year of top-class GT3 competition.”
This format of World Challenge dates back to 2019, when Mercedes-AMG and Ferrari entered a close fight on three continents. In 2020, they were joined by Audi Sport and Lamborghini, and the battle continued despite the pandemic reducing the competition to two continents.
For 2021, BMW, McLaren and Porsche all signed up, bringing the number of manufacturers to seven, while GT World Challenge Australia joined the calendar.
Last year, with Asian rounds back on the calendar, World Challenge reverted to a full season with seven manufacturers competing over four continents
Akkodis ASP drivers revealed
2022 Spa 24 Hours winner Akkdois ASP has revealed the driver line-ups for its two-car Fanatec GT Europe assault with Mercedes-AMG.
The flagship #88 Mercedes-AMG will once again spearhead the team’s effort. All three drivers are long-time members of the Akkodis ASP programme, with Raffaele Marciello, Timur Boguslavskiy and Jules Gounon set to fly the flag this term.
The sister #87 machine will run a dual programme this season, with different driver line-ups in Sprint and Endurance. For the long-distance races, the car will compete in the Pro category with Thomas Drouet, Maxi Götz and Lorenzo Ferrari at the wheel.
The team’s third car, the #87 will contest the Bronze Cup class in Sprint with Jim Pla and Eric Debard.
Akkodis ASP will begin its 2023 title defence at the season-opening Endurance Cup race at Monza on 21-23 April.
Dinamic GT Huber announces drivers
Dinamic GT Huber Racing has announced its first driver line-up for the 2023 Fanatec GT Europe campaign.
The Porsche outfit is an offshoot of the successful Dinamic Motorsport squad, with additional support now coming from Huber Racing.
In the Sprint Cup, Christian Engelhart and Adrien de Leener will extend their partnership into a third season. The pairing scored a best finish of fifth in the 2021 finale at Valencia and were sixth in last season’s trip to Zandvoort.
Engelhart will also contest the Endurance Cup in the #54 Porsche alongside Sven Müller and Ayhancan Güven.
The #54 is one of three cars set to be run by the squad this term, with additional Silver and Bronze entries in Endurance and a Bronze challenger in Sprint.
