For the third round of the season, the 2025 International GT Open goes back to its shorter race format with a 29 car entry for Hockenheim.
After a very successful GT Open 500 at Spa-Francorchamps, Hockenheim will host a traditional 2-race event. One of the iconic German tracks, the 4.574 km circuit in Baden-Wurttemberg has now become a traditional fixture in the series’ calendar.
PRO CLASS:
One man is alone at the helm of the provisional standings: Levente Révesz. The young Hungarian of Team Motopark has performed a quick and successful transition from single-seaters to GT3 and is strong on two wins, leading by 11 points. He does it alone, as he is alternating teammates in the #11 Mercedes AMG: in Germany, he will be again associated with GT star Maximilian Götz, in the role of local hero, with whom he won at Spa a fortnight ago.
Second in the standings are reigning champions Simon Reicher-Christopher Haase in the the Eastalent Racing Audi R8 LMS EVO, always very effective and twice on the podium this year but certainly eager to clinch their first win. Third, 19 points from the top is the Mercedes by GetSpeed, another team racing at home, of Anthony Bartone-Fabian Schiller.
Currently in the top 5 are two promising young pairs with Zak Meakin-Mike Porter in the Optimum Motorsport McLaren and Carl Bennett-Tommaso Mosca in the Ferrari 296 performing best so far and fielded by AF Corse. The Prancing Horse can count on another very fast young pair, Tom Emson-Tom Lebbon, in the 296 of Elite Motorsport, and on the 488 entered by Mertel Motorsport for experts Luca Ludwig-Andrea Montermini.
Worth of a special mention is another British young duo, James Kell-Dean Macdonald. At the wheel of the GT McLaren 720S of Greystone GT, they took a win in the Algarve and were leading from the pole in the endurance race in Spa when an electrical issue ruined their efforts. They have now dropped to 9th in the standings but there is no doubt they are ready to fight back and rejoin the title battle.
The ranks of the Mercedes camp in the top class are completed by another GetSpeed car entrusted to Marcelo Ramírez-Ralf Aron and another by Motopark car with Robert Visoiu-Niklas Krütten at the wheel, with Luis M.Dörrbecker-Amaury Bonduel driving the AMG fielded by BDR Grupo Prom.
Lamborghini, of course, is also perfectly represented in the class by the faithful Oregon Team, whose two pairs, Artem Petrov-Antoine Doquin and Filip Ugran-Robert Rogalski are eager to show their potential on a high-speed track like the German one.
PRO-AM CLASS:
The battle is always intense in the Pro-Am class, and this year is no exception. At the moment, two Mercedes AMG are leading in the standings. With a 4-point advantage and one win, Valentin Pierburg and Dominik Baumann (SPS automotive performance) are in
command, but closely challenged by Spa 500 winners Steve Jans-Aaron Walker in one of the GetSpeed AMGs, while third in contention, the Porsche 911 R by Car Collection Motorsport entrusted to very effective ‘Hash’-Alex Fontana, who also claimed one race win.
The Mercedes camp can rely on Heiko Neumann-Lukas Dunner, the solid pair of Motopark, and the other SPS automotive performance car of Dexter Müller-Yannick Mettler, while Ferrari has two strong representatives in the Olimp Racing car of Marcin Jedlinski-Karol Basz and the AF Corse unit of Laurent De Meeus-Jamie Stanley.
Two Audi R8 LMS are entered in the class, with the Saintéloc Racing car of Michaël Blanchemain-Marcus Påverud, and the ISR Racing’s machine of Libor Milota-Filip Salaquarda, who are currently fourth in the class standings. A second Porsche in action in the class is the 911 R of the Sanmarinese squad Tsunami RT for Johannes Zelger-Fabio Babini.
Last but not least a new entry is making its first appearance in Hockenheim: Garage 59 is fielding a second McLaren 720S for young Brit Thomas Fleming and Alexander West. A regular Pro-Am race winner in the past, the Swede is back for the first time since his last appearance in 2018.
AM CLASS:
It’s an interesting battle also in the Am class, with three different car brands represented in the top 3. At the moment, it is the McLaren 720S of Garage 59 leading with a 6-point advantage, thanks to the two wins (including the Spa 500) of Miguel Ramos-Mark Sansom.
A combative second is the AF Corse Ferrari of Gino Forgione-Michele Rugolo, who took one win, while a podium finish at Spa has allowed Mexico’s Alfredo Hernández, in the BDR Grupo Prom Mercedes, to climb to third in the standings.
Stanislaw Jedlinski-Krystian Korzeniowski, in the Olimp Racing Ferrari 296, will fight for podium positions, while there will be a fourth marque represented this time out: Audi, thanks to another R8 from Czechia, who’ll make its first of the two appearances scheduled for this year: Fullin Race by Interaction is debuting in the series with well-known touring car star Petr Fulín and Jiři Navrátil.
Pics by Photospeedy
