Two titles for the taking as Fanatec GT2 field grows for season finale in France

A trio of Pro-Am crews and two Am teams will go head-to-head to decide who will be crowned the Fanatec GT2 European Series champions of 2023 in the season finale showdown, 6-8 October at Circuit Paul Ricard.

Fanatec GT2 heads to France with both class title fights the closest in the series’ short history, after a stellar third season of competition between Audi, KTM, Lamborghini, Porsche and Mercedes-AMG.

In Pro-Am, two points is all that separates LP Racing’s Audi pairing of Henry Hassid and Anthony Beltoise, and the PK Carsport duo of Peter Guelinckx and Stienes Longin, while True Racing’s Nicolas Saelens and Stefan Rosina also remain in title contention.

The Am fight is even closer, with a single point standing between the top-two KTM contenders, True Racing’s Klaus Angerhofer and RTR Projects’ Jan Krabec.

Adding to what already promises to be an epic end to the season, the eagerly awaited Maserati GT2 will make its global competition debut in the hands of LP Racing’s Leonardo Gorini and Luca Pirri.

The Fanatec GT2 grid grows further for the sixth and final double-header race weekend of the year. NM Racing Team will debut Am pairing Stéphane Perrin and Jakub Knoll in the #215 Mercedes-AMG. True Racing also brings a fourth KTM X-BOW GT2 to the field, with Bertrand Rouchaud and Alexandre Leroy joining Am in the #51 entry.

Audi versus Audi and KTM in fight for Pro-Am spoils

The Pro-Am title fight has been anything but a foregone conclusion since the first outing in Monza. Since then, six different crews have claimed race wins across the eight races so far. And, with the class grid growing to 10 entries for the season finale, it’s going to be even harder for any of the top three to dominate their way to the title.

The #67 Hassid/Beltoise Audi duo sit top of the order thanks to a second win of the season scored in Spain. Points lost in race two, however, mean they only have two points in hand heading to their home round in France. For Hassid, it’s the chance to claim back-to-back titles across two categories, having won the Am class last year.

After another switch in the top-three order after the penultimate round in Spain, Guelinckx and Longin sit second in the PK Carsport Audi. Class champion alongside Saelens in 2022, Longin is hoping to claim consecutive Pro-Am crowns, while Guelinckx has eyes on his first.

Neither Audi pairing can be certain of taking the title. The #15 True Racing KTM crew of Saelens and Stefan Rosina sit just 14 points off the leaders – less than the equivalent of a third-place finish.

The top three will also have seven Pro-Am crews, each of which have all earned podium finishes this term, to battle for those all-important top points-scoring finishes.

Count among them LP Racing’s Stéphane Ratel and Mattia di Giusto, and Audi teammates Michael Doppelmayr and Pierre Kaffer, who return to the grid after sitting out the last round. True Racing’s Hubert Trunkenpolz is also back in action, this time teamed with KTM specialist Laura Kraihamer in the #17.

Series newcomers, Jean Luc Beaubelique and Ludovic Badey joined the ranks of Fanatec GT2 race winners following a stunning series debut, scoring first and second-place finishes in Spain. The #87 Mercedes-AMG duo return to the grid alongside Akkodis ASP stablemates, Benjamin and Mauro Ricci in the #61.

Another new team also joined the podium in Valencia, with Martin Koch and Reinhard Kofler finishing third on the MZR KTM’s first series outing. The Austrian duo is back to no doubt upset the order again at Paul Ricard.

There’s an exciting and unknown entity gracing the final Pro-Am entry list of the season too – the #12 LP Racing Maserati GT2. Built to evoke the exploits of the glorious and victorious MC12, the model marks the Trident’s much anticipated return to GT Racing. Leonardo Gorini, who up until this weekend remained an Am title contender, and multiple Fanatec GT2 race winner Luca Pirri will take on the honour of making history for Maserati.

KTM teams go head-to-head for Am championship crown

One point. After 10 races across five countries, that’s all that separates the two Am title contenders.

The class lead has been passed back and forth between the top-two KTM teams – True Racing and RTR Projects – for the last three rounds. Klaus Angerhofer holds that single point advantage heading into the final encounter, thanks to a hat-trick of class wins, a trio of second places and a third earned so far.

Teammate Sarmini sits fourth, having missed the first round. But with third-placed Gorini switching to the Pro-Am Maserati entry, Sarmini is sure to climb the order and could even threaten for second.

That spot is currently taken by Jan Krabec, who has earned an impressive five class victories so far. A DNF in Portugal dented the #89’s title momentum, but the RTR Projects ace has it all to race for.

The competition is closing in behind them. Aurelijus Rusteika and Mantas Janavicius earned their first Am class pole position and race victory in Valencia aboard the Ebimotors Porsche. CMR also return for a second outing this season, with Georges Cabanne and Jean Paul Buffin in the #30 Lamborghini.

Two new crews also join the Am grid this weekend. Perrins, a 24H Touring Car Endurance Series racer, and GT4 European Series graduate Knoll will debut the NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT2, while Rouchaud and Porsche Cup France regular Leroy field the #51 True Racing KTM.