The GT Open ready for another stellar season: 35 cars entered in Round 1 at Portimão

It’s time to hit the track again! Engines are warming up ahead of the 2024 season-opener of the International GT Open, which will kick off at Portimão next weekend (25-28 April). It will be the 19th edition of the series and one that promises to be exceptional, as both quantity and quality will be there. Thirty-five cars are entered, of which 31 are full-season entries, representing six car brands (Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes and Porsche).

Reflecting on the very positive trend, Jesús Pareja, CEO of GT Sport, commented: “After a very strong 2023 season, we are heading to an even better 2024, with more cars, and a lot of big and also new names among drivers and teams. There is no doubt that GT3 racing is living a good moment, is an excellent proposition for all types of racing, pro, pro-am and am, and the most valid professional option for young drivers coming from single-seaters. We are happy that the International GT Open is part of this success and will continue to work hard to make sure that it is so in the future.”

For 2024, few changes have been introduced to a well-working formula. The calendar includes eight rounds, one more than in the past, with Hockenheim joining the list of prestigious top tracks, and two of them (Spa and Monza) will adopt the longer format (a single race of 240 minutes) successfully tested in Belgium last year, adopting the ‘GT Open 500’ denomination.

The first stop, as said, is in Portugal, in the beautiful and demanding Autódromo do Algarve (4,684 km), one of the most appreciated by drivers and fans alike, in a region that has much to offer to visitors.

PRO: FIVE BRANDS FIGHTING HARD – Eleven cars will be present in the top category, the one which should produce the most candidates for the overall title. There will be six Mercedes AMG in action in Portugal: GetSpeed enters Anthony Basrtone-Fabian Schiller, their title bidders, alongside Faisal Al Zubair-Mikaël Grenier who will be racing in four rounds, under the colours of Al Manar Racing. Motopark fields again Diego Menchaca-Marcos Siebert, the South American pair that fought for the title up to the last lap last year, and Lukas Dunner-Charles Batemann, while SPS automotive performance is back with Mikaeel Pitamber-Dominik Baumann, after a very strong end of the 2023 season.

Oregon Team will be again the top representative of Lamborghini, and extends to three its number of Huracan GT3 Evo2, with completely renewed line-ups. 2022 co-champion Leonardo Pulcini is back, associated with GT figure Rolf Ineichen, who debuts in the series, while the other two other cars are entrusted to Alessio Deledda-Joathan Pepper and the young pair Marzio Moretti-Artem Petrov.

The Prancing Horse will bid for the title with a top pair, Nicola Marinangeli-Vincent Abril, in a Ferrari 296 entered by Spirit of Race, who is back after five years.

Porsche is also back in the forefront thanks to Car Collection, a top new entry this year, with its 911 GT3 R entrusted to Gustav Bergström and Nico Menzel.

Last but certainly not least, as it will sport the #1 in its quality of the reigning champion team, Eastalent Racing Team is off to a second campaign with its Audi R8 LMS Evo II and current vice champions Simon Reicher-Christopher Haase.

PRO-AM: THE BULK OF THE FIELD - With no surprise, the Pro-Am class will again be the most crowded and closely fought. Here, Ferrari has the advantage of numbers, with eight 296s entered. Reigning class champions Marco Pulcini and Eddie Cheever are back to defend their title, this time with Spirit of Race, while four cars are fielded by AF Corse: the popular Brazilian duo of Marcelo Hahn-Allam Khodair, champion in 2020, is back after some years of absence and eager, along habitués Alessandro Cozzi-Giorgio Sernagiotto and Laurent De Meeus-Jamie Stanley while Gino Forgione will be paired with Michele Rugolo. German squad racing one is off to a second campaign, this time with Ernst Kirchmayr-Luca Ludwig, while Italian squad Pellin Racing will debut in the first of its four planned appearances, with Thor Haugen-Paolo Ruberti.

The Mercedes AMG delegation will include six cars, with GetSpeed fielding 2016 champion Valentin Pierburg associated with young gun Aaron Walker, and (in this round) Ameerh Naran- Tom Jackson. Swiss duo Dexter Müller-Yannick Mettler will continue to be faithful to SPS, while Motopark enters the class with two cars for Morten Strösted-Thomas Ikin. Returning after some years, Scuderia Villorba Corse, an overall champion in 2013, entrusts its AMG to the French pair Michaël Blanchemain-Jim Pla, will from Poland comes the new entry Good Speed Racing, with Piotr Wira-Daan Arrow.

Representing McLaren will be Greystone GT, after a promising first full season last year. The father and son pair of Stewart and Lewis Proctor are also back, alongside recruits Andrey Borodin-Oliver Webb.

Thanks to Car Collection, Porsche has also two cars in the class, with ‘Hash’-Alex Fontana and Bashar Mardini-Tijmen van der Helm at the wheel.

Two are also the Audis R8 on track, with the Olimp Racing car of regulars Marcin Jedlinski- Karol Basz being joined by new entry ISR Racing, as the Czech squad makes its great come- back to the GT3 scene with Filip Salaquarda-Libor Mirota.

AM: SAME OLD FRIENDS TO BATTLE AGAIN – The category exclusively reserved to Bronze drivers is by no means the less disputed and a big battle is foreseen again, as reigning champions Heiko Neumann-Timo Rumpfkeil, in the Motopark Mercedes, will have to fight again with rivals they know well, such as Giuseppe Cipriani, in the Lamborghini of Il Barone Rampante, Kiki San Nana-Adam Osieka, in the GetSpeed Mercedes, and Stanislaw Jedlinski- Krystian Korzeniowski, in the Olimp Racing Ferrari.