Pro title race in Competition102 GT4 European Series to be decided at Misano

Dutchmen Jelle Beelen and Marcel Nooren hope to secure the title in the PRO division of the Competition102 GT4 European Series in Italy this weekend. The championship leaders are going into the final round at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli with an advantage of 22 points over Duncan Huisman (NED). Also Jörg Viebahn (GER) has a chance to become the next champion. Meanwhile V8 Racing and ZaWotec will be deciding the teams’ championship. Reigning champions Ricardo van der Ende (NED) and Bernhard van Oranje (NED) won’t form a threat for the drivers’ title, but they may be battling for top positions as they enter the new Ekris M4 GT4. The first race takes place on Saturday evening on the 3rd of October with the finale on the following Sunday afternoon. Both races are held alongside the Blancpain Sprint Series and can be watched live at www.gt4series.com and via the official iPhone app.

Beelen and Nooren celebrated two victories and five more podium finishes during the first five events this season. Only at Nürburgring the driver pair missed out the podium while their main rival took the second place-trophy home. The Dutchmen can be passed by Viebahn who currently sits in third position and is 39 points down to the championship leaders.
Van der Ende and van Oranje haven’t simply experienced much luck. They did score one victory on home soil at Zandvoort, but were not able to challenge the Camaro drivers on all occasions. The BMW M4 GT4 that has been developed by Ekris Motorsport has replaced the BMW M3 GT4. The first test was conducted in August and the race debut will prepare the team and its drivers for next season.

The championship has been decided in the AM category last race weekend at Nürburgring. Daniel Uckermann stepped onto the podium after each race and clinched four consecutive wins this season. The German driver formed a winning combination with ZaWotec’s KTM X-BOW GT4, which made its world premiere at Circuit Park Zandvoort.
AM driver Pavel Lefterov impressed by his domination at Spa-Francorchamps and scored three wins so far. The Bulgarian youngster is ready to race the Lotus Evora GT4 and to take up the challenge against three Swedish teams. Among them is Håkan Ricknäs (SWE) who has won a race with the Porsche 911 GT4 at Nürburgring.

Last year’s AM champion André Grammatico (FRA) takes control of his BMW M3 GT4 after lending out his car to van der Ende and van Oranje. Liesette Braams (NED) also returns after her successful fight against cancer and will be partnered by Frans Verschuur (NED). The only lady on the grid made her first practice laps at Nürburging and has been preparing her comeback ever since.
Sofia Car Motorsport enters Hendrik Still from Germany who will be accompanied by newcomer Andreas Gülden (GER). They will compete with the Sin R1 GT4, just like Olivier Muytjens who also debuts in the series. Race winner Peter Terting (GER) partners the Belgian driver. In addition, two GT4-spec Maserati’s GranTurismo MC Trofeo cars will be joining the grid. Drivers are Carlo Curti / Lino Curti and Barrie Baxter / Patrick Zamparini.

The teams and drivers will enjoy an unusual time schedule as it features an evening practice on Friday and an evening race on Saturday, starting at 22:10 hr (CET). The lights go out for the final time this year on Sunday at 15:30 hr (CET). Both races can be watched live at www.gt4series.com and via the official iPhone app.