Preview Hankook 12H MUGELLO, March 17-18

CREVENTIC has become known as an innovator. They created the Code 60 system for neutralizing races. It has been copied by other organizers around the world. A few years ago, at Hankook 12H MUGELLO they debuted the idea of a split 12-hour race, Part I in the afternoon, with the finishing Part II the next morning. It was implemented to comply with local noise regulations, but rather than being a problem, this format has created an altogether new wrinkle in the sporting strategy that makes endurance racing such an intriguing discipline.

Challenges
Once again Hankook 12H MUGELLO will have an intermission with cars scored to their lap total and then placed into parc ferme conditions overnight. This means that is vitally important to remain on the lead lap of your class when the first part ends. But it also means making decisions as to whether to fight to the end of Part I and then having to stop early in Part II to take on fuel, or conversely, finish Friday with as full a tank as possible so that you can sprint on Saturday. Pit stops made at the end of Part I incur a penalty so those decisions have to be made earlier. Some of the teams coming to Hankook 12H MUGELLO 2017 already have experience with this format. Others may be well accomplished at endurance racing in general, but this format creates new challenges for them.

Class A6
The A6 entry is a Who’s Who of all the top GT3 spec teams. Dubai winners Herberth Motorsport are the favorites among the three Porsches. Car Collection has grown its Audi stable, adding a third R8 LMS. There will also be an Audi from Räder Motorsport, a regular at the Nürburging 24 Hours. Grasser Racing (Lamborghini) and GP Extreme (Renault) will try to avenge difficulties that they had at Dubai. V8 Racing’s Corvette has been very fast but also fragile-will they finally add reliability to their speed? Italy is the land of Ferrari and Czech entrant Scuderia Praha will be hoping that the magic that gave them a win last October in Moravia will transfer to Tuscany.

Class 991
The 991 class is wide open and features a new and interesting rivalry. For the past few seasons the American drivers Putman, Espenlaub, and Foster had driven for MRS GT Racing. For 2017 they switched their allegiance to the rival German squad of ProSport Performance. A season-long fight versus the old team should provide some intense yet friendly dicing.

Class SP2, SP3-GT4, SPX
The SP2 class has usually been the home of silhouette specials. The Vortex 1.0 is such a case. However, the class has increasingly become home to teams running Porsche Cup cars which under SP2 rules compete to more liberal regulations. As a result, the SP2 contest may end up being a four-way battle between the two Porsche teams of Porsche L’Oirent Racing and Speed Lover. Hankook 12H MUGELLO will provide another opportunity for a Porsche Cayman to shine in the GT4 spec SP3 class. Their main rival may be the KTM X-Bow. The unusual clamshell shaped coupe had unending dramas at Dubai but was fast when running clean. There is also a Vortex and a KTM in the SPX class, which along with a brace of Lamborghinis will not only have their own battle but are high enough on the speed charts to contest for the overall victory as well.

Class TCR, A3, A2
The greatest growth at Hankook 12H MUGELLO is likely to be in the TCR class. There will be several more examples of the Audi RS3 which won at Hankook 24H DUBAI plus entries from new marques in this fast touring class, including Honda and Peugeot. One of the biggest rivalries of late in endurance racing has been between the two friendly German teams of Bonk Motorsport and Sorg Rennsport. Their continued fight will highlight the all-BMW CUP1 class. There are some familiar faces within the small-bore Touring car categories. Cor Euser Motorsport’s BMW is expected to be a favorite in A3 while Dubai’s contest between the Renault of the Swiss squad Stanco & Tanner and the Peugeot of Denmark’s Team K-Rejser will continue to play out over the hills of Tuscany. A2 also features the first Romanian team to embark on an endurance racing quest, entering a very pristine looking Toyota GT86.