Competition102 GT4 European Series to challenge the streets of Pau

The second round of the Competition102 GT4 European Series will be held during the 75th edition of ‘Grand Prix de Pau’. It will be the championship’s first visit to the French city and to compete a street circuit. 23 cars line up on the starting grids of the event that is considered as one of the season’s highlights. Italian drivers Luca Anselmi and Giorgio Sernagiotto arriving as championship leaders, but their Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 will be hunted by many rivals.
Villorba Corse’s race drivers won the opening race at Monza last month and made it to sixth in the PRO division on Sunday. It was enough to claim the top spot in the points, but the competition isn’t far away. Second in the ranking are Ricardo van der Ende and Bernhard van Oranje. Driving the Ekris BMW M4 GT4 they are five points down to the leaders and clinched one podium finish in Italy.

Equal in points are Duncan Huisman and Luc Braams. Racing the Chevrolet Camaro GT4 the Dutchmen took the trophy for second in the final race at Monza. They are not only attacking the Maserati and BMW, they also have to look in their mirrors for the second Chevrolet as reigning champions Jelle Beelen and Marcel Nooren are just one point behind. However, Beelen won’t race in Pau and his place will be taken by Donald Molenaar.

Rob Severs and Simon Knap were handed third in the first race of the season, piloting their brand new Ekris M4 GT4. The drivers competing for Racing Team Holland by Ekris Motorsport are eager to challenge for a victory too. But don’t rule out Lennart Marioneck and Tim Stupple, the best placed drivers of the Reiter Young Stars programme. They just missed out the PRO podium with the KTM X-BOW GT4 in the second race.

Alessandro Fogliani and Patrick Zamparini are heading to Pau as AM class leaders. The Italians with the Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 took two podium finishes at Monza including one victory. Countrymen Ghezzi Giuseppe and Giovanelli Alessandro sit in second place while Allied Racing’s Jan Kasperlik and Dietmar Lackinger are seeking for victory piloting their BMW M3 GT4.

They face competition from André Grammatico, one of the four French drivers competing at Pau. The former AM class champion was at Monza just one step away from a podium finish. He will battle against Jérôme Demay, who is sharing the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 with Belgian Albert Bloem, and the French Ginetta G55 GT4 racers Eric Cayrolle and Didier Moureu.

Cayrolle and Moureu, representing CMR, are new to the series just like Brookspeed drivers Graeme Mundy and Steven Liquorisch. The British are getting behind the wheel of the Porsche Cayman Clubsport GT4.

Naomi Schiff replaces Maximilian Voelker in the #34 KTM X-BOW GT4 while Nicolaj Møller Madsen drives the PROsport Performance Porsche Cayman PRO GT4. In the same team regular competitors Jörg Viebahn and Peter Terting are now forming a pair.

All drivers are able to practice the street track during two one-hour sessions on Friday. First at 11:40 hr, before a final practice starts at 19:10 hr. It should prepare them for qualifying on Saturday morning at 9:53 hr. The lights for race one go out on the same day in the evening, at 20:50 hr. The second race starts at 11:29 hr. Both races will be shown live at www.gt4series.com/live.

Remaining calendar 2016

13 – 15 May: Pau / Sprint – Grand Prix de Pau (France)
10 – 11 June: Silverstone / Endurance – British GT Championship (UK)
8 – 9 July: Spa-Francorchamps / Endurance – 25 Hours Fun Cup (Belgium)
23 – 25 September: Budapest / Sprint – DTM (Hungary)
7 – 9 October 2016: Zandvoort / Sprint – Final race (Netherlands)

Competition102 GT4 European Series

The Competition102 GT4 European Series consist of six rounds, held at premier race tracks in Europe and partnering top level GT or touring car championships except from the last round in Zandvoort where the GT4 category will be the main programme. The championship includes two endurance races and one round at a street course. Competition102, unique fuel for maximum performance

Competition102

Competition102 is premium petrol with an octane number of 102. The unique high octane number of 102 (RON 102) and MON number of at least 90 ensures optimal performances. Competition102 is suitable for all petrol-powered vehicles: from classic (Formula 1) cars and normal passenger vehicles to cross motorcycles and high performance racing cars. Competition102 fuel is exclusively produced, stored and distributed by Salland Olie Maatschappij B.V. in the Netherlands. It’s available at over 60 petrol stations nationwide and is sold in 60-litre barrels

Pirelli, official tyre supplier

Pirelli is a tyre manufacturer and world leader in the automotive industry. It has an exclusive relationship with over 50 racing series worldwide, including Formula One.

Pirelli has a long and illustrious history in endurance racing, and has also claimed a huge variety of class wins in GT racing all over the world. The design of the new Pirelli GT tyres meets the needs of GT racing while maintaining the performance characteristics that endurance drivers have appreciated in the past. The slick tyres used for GT racing are branded Zero: just like the slicks that have become a central feature of Formula One. The name P Zero is used in the highest categories of motorsport such as GT racing.

SRO Motorsports Group, architect of modern GT Racing

SRO Motorsports Group was founded by Stephane Ratel and has specialised in the promotion, support and organisation of many national and international motorsport series since 1995.

In 2016, SRO Motorsports Group will promote several championships and series, such as the Blancpain GT Series, including the iconic Total 24 hours of Spa, the British GT Championship, the Blancpain Sports Club with the GT Sports Club and the Ultracar Sports Club, the Competition102 GT4 European Series and the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

SRO Motorsports Group runs also the SRO Race Centre by MMC, a high-level technical centre at the Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France.

SRO has offices in London, Paris and Liège.