– Penultimate event at the Nürburgring to run alongside GT World Challenge Europe
– Pro-Am title likely to be settled with Beaubelique on the cusp of glory
– Am Gen II battle blown open with leaders absent, Ford v Ford in Am Gen I
The GT3 Revival Series is back in action this weekend (28–30 August) when the fourth round of its inaugural season takes place at the Nürburgring.
Running in support of GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, the event follows previous meetings at Circuit Paul Ricard, Spa Classic and Le Mans Classic Legend, and precedes October’s finale at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It promises to be a significant weekend, with the first title winner likely to be decided in Germany.
GT3 machinery has a long history at the Nürburgring. The circuit hosted the inaugural ADAC GT Masters event in 2007, launching what would become a hugely successful series. Appropriately, the very first race was won by Christopher Haase, a driver now synonymous with the GT3 discipline.
In recent seasons it has been a regular on the GT World Challenge Europe calendar, staging both Endurance and Sprint events, as well as ADAC GT Masters and more recently DTM. As such it is fitting that the GT3 Revival Series should tackle the 5.1km GP-Strecke circuit.
THE PRO-AM TITLE IS LIKELY TO BE SETTLED
Jean-Luc Beaubelique (Storic and Race Cars) has an excellent chance to wrap up the Pro-Am title at the Nürburgring. With five wins from six races the Frenchman has been almost untouchable in his Ferrari 458, the same car that carried him to a CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa class win in 2013.
Having shared with two different teammates this year, Beaubelique is alone at the top of the standings. Jim Pla was at the controls for Circuit Paul Ricard and Spa, while team boss Jerome Policand stepped in at Le Mans. Pla returns this weekend to support Beaubelique’s title bid.
The closest competition comes from fellow Ferrari 458 pilot Stephan Joebstl (Michelotto) who is 84 back with 104 still up for grabs. This means that Joebstl – who will share with William Nuthall this weekend – must finish ahead of Beaubelique in Race 1 to keep the title alive; anything else will put the Frenchman out of reach.
Christoph von Oeynhausen will go solo in his BMW Z4. The German shared the Classic & Speed entry with his father, Marcus, last time out at Le Mans, capturing a podium finish in Race 2. The familiar pairing of Mark Cole and Alvaro Parente will also chase Pro-Am honours in an Audi R8 LMS Ultra run by Quinntech Racing. Parente has already enjoyed success at the Nürburgring, taking an overall win during the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup event in 2016.
THE AM GEN II TITLE FIGHT IS SET FOR A SHAKE-UP
While the destination of the Pro-Am title appears to be settled, the same cannot be said for Am Gen II, which caters for cars homologated between 2010 and 2013. Just 4.5 points separate leaders Jonathan Mitchell and Benjamin Ricci, who have taken three victories each thus far. But with neither present for this weekend’s round, a golden opportunity has arisen for their rivals to launch a title comeback.
The best placed among them is Heiko Neumann (Team Motopark) with his Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. The German has shown plenty of consistency with five podiums from a possible six, though he is still chasing his maiden series victory. With Mitchell and Ricci absent, he becomes the favourite to triumph on home soil – and could surge into championship contention.
There’s plenty more competition in this class looking to seize their opportunity. Audi machinery is the best represented with cars entered by Pyro Motorsport, TFT Racing and Sainteloc Racing, the former using an R8 LMS and the latter duo running the R8 LMS Ultra. CMR will field its BMW Z4, while Classic & Speed runs the same machine for Marcus von Oeynhausen.
CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa winner Lionspeed GP is no stranger to classic GT3 machinery and will once again field a pair of Porsche 997 entries, while the popular Aston Martin V12 Vantage is present courtesy of Britec Motorsports. The class is completed by Schmickler Performance, which makes its series debut with an Evo-spec Ferrari 458 driven by Horst Baumann.
IT’S A FORD GT HEAD-TO-HEAD IN AM GEN I
Featuring cars homologated between 2006 and 2009, the Am Gen I class will be an all-Ford affair this weekend. The Debard Automobiles by Racetivity squad has won all six races thus far, triumphing in the hands of Philippe Giauque at Paul Ricard before Eric Debard swept the board at Spa. They then teamed up at Le Mans Classic Legend, taking both wins at Circuit de la Sarthe.
Though their records are the identical, Giauque holds the advantage. This is due to Race 1 at Spa-Francorchamps being stopped early, meaning Debard scored half points for his win. Their opposition this weekend comes from the Klausen Racing Ford GT of Lindsay Brewer and Célia Martin, who make their first start in this class.
With just two Gen I cars entered, all Am entrants will compete for a single podium this weekend, though both will still award separate points. In addition, there will be 10 cars competing for the Iron Cup which rewards the best-finishing crew with a combined age of 100 and over, or the best solo driver aged 60 and over.
IT’LL BE ANOTHER PACKED WEEKEND AT THE NÜRBURGRING
The GT3 Revival Series rejoins the GT World Challenge Europe support line-up this weekend – the first time it has done so since the opener at Paul Ricard – while Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Mazda MX-5 Cup Benelux are also part of the programme. Track activity begins with 90 minutes of preparatory running on Friday, which is split evenly between Free Practice (10:50) and Pre-Qualifying (15:45).
The grids for both races will be set on Saturday morning with Qualifying scheduled for 09:00. Race 1 takes place later that day at 13:50, with Race 2 completing the schedule at 11:25 on Sunday. Both races will air live on the GT World YouTube channel, which is free to view around the world with no regional restrictions.