A 26-strong field of GT2 and GT3 machinery will line up for the opening round of the 2011 International GT Open at Imola this weekend.
The latest changes to the entry list includes Autorlando Sport’s announcement that Alvaro Barba and Andrea Ceccato will race in the Super GT category this season in a GT2-spec Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, having previously confirmed the pair in the GTS class for GT3-spec cars.
Meanwhile, French squad Luxury Racing has confirmed its driver line-up for its two Super GT Ferrari F458s.
Former Jordan F1 star Ralph Firman will make his GT Open debut in one car alongside Ange Barde, while Austrian driver Markus Fux joins Frenchman Gaetan Bischof in the other.
“This will be a year of further consolidation for the GT Open, which is the only continental series that gives room to both GT2 and GT3 cars,” said Jesús Pareja of organisers GT
Sport,.
We remain faithful to our philosophy of stable rules and reasonable costs, which is extremely appreciated by teams and drivers. We keep offering great circuits, and are happy to add this year the renewed Red Bull Ring in Zeltweg, and of course, the atmosphere will be as friendly as ever.
“We have also upgraded the TV coverage in some key countries like Italy, Spain and Poland, while Motors TV is ensuring live coverage of all races throughout Europe, and we are closing some interesting deals in South America.
“But most importantly, we’ll have great cars, great teams and great drivers in both categories, with a lot of novelties, and this is what will make the show on the track and the suspense in the battles for the championships.”
International GT Open entry list – Round 1, Imola
1 (SGT) Alessandro Garofano / Luca Rangoni, AF Corse, Ferrari 430 GT2
2 (SGT) Claudio Sdanewitsch / Michele Rugolo, AF Corse, Ferrari 430 GT2
3 (SGT) Miguel Ramos / Raffaele Giammaria, Racing Team Edil Cris, Ferrari 430 GT2
4 (SGT) Andrea Ceccato / Alvaro Barba, Autorlando Sport, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
5 (SGT) Marco Frezza / Juna Manuel Lopez, Vittoria Competizioni, Ferrari 458 GT Italia
6 (SGT) TBA / TBA, Vittoria Competizioni, Ferrari 430 GT2
7 (SGT) Alexander Talkanista / Alexander Talkanista Jr, AT Racing Team, Ferrari 458 GT Italia
8 (SGT) Andrea Montermini / Emanuele Moncini, Scuderia Villorba Corse, Ferrari 458 GT Italia
9 (SGT) Soheil Ayari / Nicolas Misslin, JMB Racing, Ferrari 430 GT2
10 (SGT) Pol Rosell / Jordi Gene, Sun-Red, SRX
11 (SGT) Philipp Peter / Michael Broniszewski, Kessel Racing, Ferrari 458 GT Italia
14 (SGT) Gaetan Bischof / Markus Fux, Luxury Racing, Ferrari 458 GT Italia
15 (SGT) Ralph Firman / Ange Barde, Luxury Racing, Ferrari 458 GT Italia
16 (SGT) Miguel Angel de Casto / TBA, Drivex School, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
51 (GTS) Lorenzo Bontempelli / Stefano Gattuso, Kessel Racing, Ferrari 458 GT3
52 (GTS) Stephen Earle / Gianandrea Crespi, Kessel Racing, Ferrari 430 Scuderia
53 (GTS) Beniamino Caccia / Massimo Mantovani, Kessel Racing, Ferrari 430 Scuderia
54 (GTS) Massimiliano Wiser / Gabriele Lancieri, Villois Racing, Aston Martin DBRS9
56 (GTS) Peter Bamford / Alex Mortimer, Team RPM, Ford GT
57 (GTS) Gianluca Roda / Fabio Babini, Autorlando Sport, Porsche 997 GT3 R
59 (GTS) Thomas Gruber / Marco Seefried, Raceteam Deboeuf, Porsche 997 GT3 R
60 (GTS) Stefano Bizzarri / Andrea Rizzoli, AF Corse, Ferrari 458 GT3
61 (GTS) Bruno Hernandez / Joel Camathias, JMB Racing, Ferrari 430 Scuderia
62 (GTS) Ferdinando Geri / TBN, Sport & You, Mercedes SLS AMG GT3
64 (GTS) TBA / TBA, Mtech, Ferrari 458 GT3
65 (GTS) TBA / TBA, Mtech, Ferrari 458 GT3
Watch the International GT Open LIVE from Imola on Motors TV this weekend. Race 1 on Saturday at 2pm (BST) and Race 2 on Sunday at 11:50pm (BST).
Andy Wilkinson
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