The GT Cup Europe on the path on further grow as the 2024 season kicks off at the Algarve

The long winter break is over: the GT Cup Europe is ready to resume racing and heading South West to Portugal and the Autódromo do Algarve, where the 2024 season-opener is scheduled next weekend (25-28 April).

It will be the sixth edition of the junior series by GT Sport, the ‘younger sister’ of the International GT Open, aimed at cars one step below GT3 and crafted mainly for teams and drivers of the semi-professional and amateur world. Since its inception in 2019, the GT Cup Europe has grown steadily, despite having to face the turbulences of the pandemic and its consequences.

2024 kicks off with great perspectives, both from a quantitative and qualitative point of view: 22 cars are entered for the first round, almost evenly spread among the two classes, Pro-Am and Am, and the level is clearly on the rise. No major changes have been brought to the format, except for the addition of a sixth round following the inclusion of another top-class track such as Hockenheim. All rounds include two races of 50 minutes each.

“We are very pleased with how things look this year”, says Jesús Pareja, CEO of GT Sport, “and look forward to an exciting season. The GT Cup has reached its cruise speed, and we expect more contenders in the following rounds as we race in the heart of Europe, where most teams are based. Those who have done the long journey to Portimão will certainly enjoy the fantastic track and all the good things that the Algarve can offer.”

PRO-AM: THE HEAVY-WEIGHT ARE READY TO FIGHT - Ten cars (6 Porsches and 4 Ferraris) are entered in Pro-Am, where some very strong teams are present. In the camp of the Prancing Horse, the reigning co-champions remain at Mertel Motorsport, but in different line- ups.

Iván Velasco will be paired with GT star Luca Ludwig, while Jorge Cabezas will be associated with Switzerland’s Anny Frosio, one of the three ladies in the grid this year. The top German squad is entering also a third Ferrari 488 Challenge for GT Cup regular Stefano Bozzoni and Spain’s Arturo Melgar.

Rossocorsa will embark on a second season and certainly be one of the candidates for the title with its pair Lorenzo Innocenti-Andrea Belicchi, who already shone last year.

Five teams will defend the colours of Stuttgart. Q1 Trackracing will continue to be one of the strongest contenders The Belgian squad, a triple Teams champion in the last three years, fields a new top pair, composed of Nicolas Saelens and Stienes Longin, while reigning Am co- champion Xander Przybylak debut in the class along Lars Zaenen.

Sanmarinese squad GDL Racing is another well-known entity in the series and fields a pair of young guns, Federico Al Rifai – Matteo Luvisi.

For its return to the GT Cup Europe after some years Tsunami RT has recruited a top pair, Davide Scannicchio – Fabio Babini, who finished third overall last year.

Spain’s Volcano Motorsport is ready for a second full campaign with its faithful driver, Evgenii Leonov, who is eager to take revenge over last year’s bad luck.

Similarly, EST1 Racing is also off for a second assault, with the young and fast Alex Reimann from Estonia, who was last year’s revelation.

AM: GAMES OPEN AMONG THE GENTLEMEN – In the class reserved for the Bronze drivers, there will be 12 cars in Portugal, with a majority of Porsches.

Q1 Trackracing is fielding two cars, with reigning class co-champion Laurent Vandervelde associated with a new teammate, Nathan Brauns, and team chief Nico Vandierendonck paired with new recruit Bogdan Duma from Romania.

The former won’t be the only representative of the Balkan country, as RO1 Racing will again be present, for the third year in a row, with regulars Camil Perian-Florin Tincescu.

San Marino’s Tsunami RT is also fielding two 992s, for Italians Johannes Zelger and Dario Baruchelli-Beppe Ghezzi, all new to the series. The other Sanmarinese squad, GDL Racing, enters one car for a GT Cup Europe great, Glauco Solieri.

The all-Estonian package of EST1 Racing and Indrek Jaaska will also continue, while a new entry for the season is Portuguese squad RACAR Motorsport, which enters a debuting Brazilian-Austrian duo, Leandro Martins-Dieter Svepes.

The Ferrari camp will be represented in Portugal by Mertel Motorsport, which enter no less than three cars: Spanish pair of GT experts Fernando Navarrete – Álvaro Lobera is back and eager to fight for top honours, while also Mark Speakerwas is back associated with Leon Chen. Last but not least, a girls’ line-up, composed of Laura van den Hengel, already seen last year, and young Spaniard Alba Vázquez, will certainly be of the most-followed pairs this season. On its hand, Belgium’s Street Art Racing will contest the season with the well-known French- Swiss pair Jahid Fazal Karim-Pascal Bachmann.