Blancpain GT Sprint – Surprise call up for Zolder Sprint Race

Kessel Ferrari driver David Perel will head to Belgium this weekend 3-4 June to take part in the third round of the Blancpain GT Sprint Series. Regular Blancpain Endurance Cup racer, Perel received a late call up from his 2016 teammate Stephen Earle to share the Kessel Ferrari 458 GT3 that David won the Gulf 12-Hour race with last year in the weekend’s sprint races.

“Stephen and I met when we shared a car in the Blancpain Endurance Series last year,” David pointed out. “However half-way through the year we switched to the Sprint format and immediately won our class. “I never expected to race with ‘The Doc’ in 2017, but when he and Kessel called me up to head to Belgium I couldn’t say no!

“I’m actually quite excited about it — I love the sprint race format as I get to drive the car a lot more prior to the race.” This will also be Perel’s first time at the tight and undulating old-school Zolder race track which has more gravel and grass run off areas, as opposed to the smooth tarmac circuits generally raced at in the Endurance Cup.

“It’s been a while since I’ve experienced a new track for the first time, so I’ve been studying and practicing as much as possible on Playstation,” David explained. “Let’s hope it’s enough! “A big thanks to Stephen, Kessel and Alan Macdonald for making this happen.”

Racing gets underway on Saturday with a Qualifying race which lasts for one hour. Sunday is the one hour Main Race, which counts for maximum points. Follow the action live via YouTube.com/GTWorld.