The International GT Open ready to start a spectacular 2022 season

Once again, the series is ready to provide a great show and fiercely-fought races in a friendly atmosphere, thanks to the ingredients, such as the highest level of performance in GT3 racing, top-level tracks, and a stable regulatory and cost environment, that have made the success of the GT Open, one of the most appreciated pro-am GT3 racing series in the continent.

With the effects of the pandemic hopefully behind for good, the numbers are on the rise and 19 cars are expected to make the long journey to Portugal, with more being already confirmed as from Round 2 at Paul Ricard. With the Pro-Am class attracting the highest number of entries, the fight for the overall title is expected to be very open, while the Am class also promises to be very competitive.

A DIVERSIFIED FIELD, WITH MANY NEW ENTRIES AND COME-BACKS

In the Pro class, Oregon Team will make its debut in the GT Open, defending the colours of Lamborghini and joining as the SuperTrofeo Europe reigning champion after having conquered many successes in other series. One of the multi-colored Huracans will be in the hands of former Euroformula champion Leonardo Pulcini and of Benji Hites, who won at Monza last year in his GT Open debut. The other is entrusted to Switzerland’s Kevin Gilardoni andanother EFO graduate, Dutchman Glenn Van Berlo.

The opposition will come, on one hand, from the McLaren 720S of Optimum Motorsport, which debuts in the Pro class with Nick Moss-Joe Osborne, strong of finishing third twice in Pro-Am in the last two years.

On the other hand will be the GetSpeed Performance Mercedes of two expert GT drivers, Sebastien Baud and Steve Jans. The German team is back to the GT Open after a one-year hiatus, fielding one car in each class.

In Pro-Am, where the fiercest battles are anticipated, the GetSpeed car will be in the hands of Moritz Kranz and Jeanine Shoffner, a returnee to the series.

There will be three other AMG in Portugal. New team Theeba Motorsport will contest its very first race ever and enter one of the very first Saudi female drivers to compete internationally, 30-year-old Reema Al-Juffali, who will be paired with GT expert Adam Christodoulou.

SPS automotive performance, a former champion in the class, is also back for a full campaign, with the Swiss duo composed of Yannick Mettler and Dexter Müller.

From Bavaria and graduating from GT4 racing comes Team GT, with team boss and driver Bernhard Laber at the wheel together with Switzerland’s Alain Valente.

Returning to the series for a four-car full campaign is Kessel Racing. The very successful Swiss team, a four-time champion in the former GTS class, remains faithful to Ferrari and has three 488 Evo in Pro-Am, entrusted to very interesting pairs. Italian GT Am champion Murat Cuhadaroglu, from Turkey, is teaming up with David Fumanelli, alongside British pair Omar Jackson-Charlie Hollings and Roman Ziemian-Axil Jefferies.

Another Ferrari is entered for Marcin Jedlinski-Karol Basz by Olimp Racing, as the Polish team has switched to 488 Evo machinery during the winter.

Representing Lamborghini in the class is Il Barone Rampante. The historic Italian team raises its game as Giuseppe Cipriani, a double lone Am champion in the last three years will now race paired by former Italian GT champion Alex Frassineti.

The Am class will cater for a very interesting battle between Ferrari and Mercedes cars, each brand being represented by three cars.

The Prancing Horse can count on its most significant customer team, AF Corse, fielding one car for Laurent de Meeus-Jamie Stanley, who have both shone in Ferrari Challenge competitions.

Olimp Racing, one of the most recent additions to the red world, sees again on track the pair Stanislaw Jedlinski-Krystian Korzeniowski.

Kessel Racing allows the GT Open to welcome back in the series “the Doc”, alias Stephen Earle. The evergreen American is associated with Italian young star Erwin Zanotti.

In the Stuttgart camp, GetSpeed puts back to driving duties its boss, Adam Osieka, who will share the wheel with his long-time friend Kiki Sak Nana, a drifting champion and a national star in his home country, Thailand.

Mann-Filter Team Landgraf is debuting in the series but fielding a familiar pair: Austrians Alex Hrachowina and Martin Konrad are back to fight for the class title, after collecting second, third and fourth honours in 2019-17.

Last but not least, Spanish outfit Baporo Motorsport is also back for a full campaign with its AMG for Dani Díaz-Varela, again paired on this occasion by Jaume Font.

The Estoril round will see also the start of the season for the Euroformula Open, which will continue to partner in all rounds. The race programme is completed by the highly spectacular Copa Racer from Spain.