International GT Open Round 2 Portimao + Jerez

Once again Ben Evans has been gracious enough to give us his thoughts on both races the last two weeks.

 Ben take it away!

  So some thoughts from Jerez and Portimao:

- The championship is going to be awesome this year, as there are four cars all with a good chance of claiming the title. The challenge for the Ferrari squads is to get a good result in Budapest next weekend, as thereafter all the tracks suit the Corvettes a little bit more. How the teams manage the pit stop handicaps will be key. In particular don't expect either Villorba or SMP to look too glum if their cars are off the Super GT rostrum next time out.

- The transmission failure for the SRT Corvette could be a game changer for the title, to miss out on points in both races is a big blow, but I still expect them to be on pole in Hungary.

- Car balance. I think Jerez really showed how nicely the performance balances out. The Corvettes like long straights and fast corners, the Ferrari's the mid and low speed turns. A key factor in the title race this year will be compromise set-ups. Both SMP and Villorba have gone the wrong way with race set up at least once this year, particularly noticeable with the SMP car in R1 at Portimao, where it looked very twitchy.

- The weather has been kind to the Super GT runners, Jerez was a good 15C cooler than everyone expected, which meant the Dunlops lasted a lot longer. A hot weekend in Budapest will really put the cat amongst the pigeons.

- It was mega to see the Nissan on the grid in Jerez, and Craig Dolby is super-fast driver. If they decide to continue for the whole season I think they could challenge for GTS honors. Amazingly that was just the second race with the car for the Nova Race team. At this stage I don't know their plans for the rest of the year.

 

- I am also intrigued to see how the Novadriver Audi goes for the rest of the year. It always goes well in Jerez, but there was a notable step change in Aditya Patel this weekend, who seemed much more assured behind the wheel.

- The Autorlando Sport driver pairing is great fun, Joel and Matteo really complement each other. I would suggest they could be very strong candidates for the GTS title, where consistency is often key.

- Miguel Ramos is having a really good season, he and Nicky are making a good driver pairing and Nicky's very analytical approach suits Miguel well. Plus he seems much more relaxed out of the car. His performance at Portimao was no great shock as it is his favorite circuit.

 

- There are some interesting, lower profile, but high caliber drivers achieving success this year. Particularly Dennis Retera as you pointed out, and also Jose Perez-Aicart who has been rapid in each and every race. Paolo Ruberti is also a class act and a welcome addition.

 

- The clashes are unfortunately one of those things, especially in June where there are lots of F1 races, several WTCC rounds, and the Le Mans & N24 hours. Ultimately however GT Open is playing to a different audience and customer to the big endurance races. I think the Silverstone round will be a showpiece round for this season, with as I understand it a number of additional cars on the grid.

 

- The only date clash I don't understand is October 18/19 when every major series in Europe seems to be racing, with nothing on the surrounding weekends. To that end, I am also surprised that nobody has taken the plunge to schedule a couple of August races this year, given that there will be a dearth of live sport on European TV

 

International GT Open Round 1 Race 1&2 with Interview from Ben Evans

Two weeks ago International GT Open kicked off it's season at the famous Nurburgring, along with its companion series Euro Formula Open.

 You can watch the highlights and full races here. I was able to interview via email veteran racing TV commentator Ben Evans who has been doing the English call of the series for the past few seasons (originally known as the Spanish GT Championship).

 Check it out and I hope it becomes a regular feature of the blog.

  Hi Anthony,

Firstly apologies, I thought this had been sent but was stuck in my inbox.

Wow lots of questions, I'll answer what I can, but there are some that I'm afraid I don't know the answer to, as the teams won't tell me everything for obvious reasons.

I noticed Scuderia Villorba Corse has entered their GT3 car. I believe this is the same car used in the Blancpain Series both sprint and endurance.

 Has Villorba Corse abandon their GT2 Ferrari car ahead of the rules changes to GT cars in 2016 or was this to streamline things a bit?

 I wish I could tell you more, I don't know the specific reason for the switch, but my guess is that its a range of factors - availability of GT2 spares, factor support & as you said the prevailing trend to GT3. Last weekend was the first time that Villorba ran the GT3 on Dunlop tyres, and given that Friday was a washout the team did a lot learning in the races. I would expect to see them challenging for wins in Portimao. Andrea Montermini is right at the top of his game & Niccolo Schiro is quick, learning and has the right attitude.

 Do you think recent adding of GT3 cars to European Le Mans Series has had an impact on GT Open grids?

 I thought the grids were very good at the weekend, 24 cars was up on the season average for last year, and more than we're seeing in Blancpain Sprint. Generally however it has been a difficult winter for all GT championships. The GT Open grid feels very different because there are so many new cars, but it still has a very healthy grid.

Has the series seen more international interest since moving to YouTube?

 Yes I think so, having a live non geo-blocked HD stream is a huge plus. The series (and EuroFormula Open) have lots of global interest. For example we are back on Argentinian TV this year with the return of Juan Manuel Lopez, and also extensively across Asia with Tanart Sathienthikarul and Sandy Stuvik in EuroFormula. It's great, after most weekends I'll get emails from people all over the world who've watched the races.

Is Isaac Tutumlu's blow up in his Autrolando Sport Porsche signs of budget concerns?

 I would say not, there were a couple of other factors. Firstly it was absolutely freezing at the Nurburgring over the weekend and that can always make engines vulnerable. Secondly he had a big moment at the chicane which i think knocked an oil pipe or similar loose. This is my third season with the GT Open & only the second time I can remember a mechanical issue with an Autorlando car as they are as a rule superbly prepared. I really felt for Isaac Tutumlu though as he is an excellent driver who as yet in GT Open hasn't had the luck. All things being equal I wouldn't be surprised to see an Autorlando victory in Jerez.

On that note have the Porsche teams been notified of a replacement for their GT3-R's? I know Porsche Motorsport was bleeding personal due to the work load for the LMP1 car; that has to carryover into preparing production based cars like the GT3-RS (GT2/GTLM) and GT3-R (which hasn't been announced yet).

 I'm afraid I don't know & I didn't see anyone there from Porsche to talk to.

What changes are allowed to make a GT3 car competitive in Super GT versus FIA/ACO GT2 cars?

I'll get a detailed answer for you but need to ask around as don't know the full technical details.

What is the series doing about clashing weekends? Just this past week was the Tudor series at Laguna Seca and WEC at Spa. Not only that but British GT, DTM and WTCC. I managed to watch all of these but I am not the average fan. Are heavy motorsport weekends like this impacting attendance and viewers online?

 Unfortunately clashing weekends are one of those things. Last weekend was a good time for all the championships you. mentioned as there was no F1 clash which is the big driver for all Europe based calendars. Planning the following year's calendar is a year round process. The starting point for GT Open is going to the tracks the drivers love & then building a calendar around when works best to visit each track.

What is your summary of both races this weekend?

 It was a really intriguing weekend and I am excited about the season. The big takeaways for me were: the strength in depth is immense, all the Super GTs have race winning potential. Additionally the balance of performance works, even with such a change in cars there were close battles especially in GTS. On paper it may appear as if the Corvettes dominated, and no doubt they were strong, but at Portimao and Jerez tyre management will be an issue. It was freezing cold and that helped the big cars increase tyre longevity. 

The driver talent is awesome this year, Montermini, Pastorelli and Tomas Enge could/should have become superstars, I could watch them all day. In particular Tomas Enge was just sublime on Sunday & set fastest lap after fastest lap. Daniel Zampieri is so exciting to watch, he just wrings everything from the car. He & Roman Mavlanov could be genuine title contenders. Likewise Catsburg/Soulet are both very rapid, Matt Griffin is always superb, Joel Camaithias, Stefano Gattuso, Andrea Piccini - I could go on all night.

The other big unknown is the pace of the Valsecchi/Venturini Lamborghini which ended up the wrong side of the wall after a monumental crash in Saturday qualifying & so didn't race. Once the car is repaired I'd expect it to be strong.

Thanks

 No thank you Ben! You can follow him on Twitter

 You can catch all GT Open events live on YouTube. Archived races from 2013 are also located on their YouTube channel.

In the dept of overlooked stories in the media: USRC GTC/Rolex GT unaddressed thus far in the media

 Be sure to catch International GT Open on YouTube this weekend. If you can't catch it live, give it about an hour and watch the reply. Its not Geo Blocked so anybody can watch it.

 DTM will be making their annual appearance at the Norisring street circuit. Its also live and unblocked on YouTube as well.

 Anyway I was unaware of this, but driver Mike Hedlund apparently has a blog on called Maximum Attack. He's made in my mind an insightful post about the "other" GT class in the upcoming merged series (USCR). It also appears on Motorsport.com's web site.

 He supports moving the entire class to FIA spec GT3 cars.

 I also support this move, it makes sense, but of course as with lots of things in America today, it might not happen. 

 That is unless YOU the fan get involved.

 I have made it my personal mission to make USCR accept changing the Rolex GT/ALMS GTC class to FIA GT3 spec. It offers close racing via BoP and spec tire regulations. Some call these unregulated regulations are a cause of concern in media circles (Radio Le Mans) that I believe are largely unfounded.

 The base technological regulations are spec across the board. All the cars have mandated and restricted aero devices such as the size of splitters and rear wing dimensions. All the cars have ABS, Traction Control and Sequential/Paddle Shift.

 Balance of Performance which is controversial with some fans of Sports Car/Road Racing, it makes for close and competitive racing (the show) so I really don't have a problem with it as long as its fair.

 The results and popularity can not be argued.

 The only arguments against a change would be based on Grand Am's founding principals of close competitions and affordability. The results you see are a DP class slower than P2's in ACO spec at are the same price and a Rolex GT class slower than ACO GT and FIA GT3 yet cost no less.

 It will add the diversity that the ALMS fan base love. Some of these cars are already in the United States -

Black Swan (Tim Pappas) racing in SCCA World Challenge.

James Sofronas' of GMG also runs a GT3 spec Audi R8. I know these are not brand new cars (LMS Ultra) and seem to be 2009-2010 spec. The cars they run have open side windows like Grand Am Rolex GT spec cars.

 The real issue with having a Grand Am spec car is that technology that is allowed by rules in Europe are removed in a bid to reduce cost. But they don't reduce cost! These cars cost $450K + or the same prices as an FIA GT3 spec car. 

 It doesn't have to be this way, there are minor differences between FIA GT4 cars and Continental Tire Sports Car Championship. The biggest differences is fuel cell size since refueling is common in America, diameter of the rollcage (larger in America) and as of 2011 an FIA spec rear wing and splitter.

 I am unsure why Grand Am runs open side windows other than I think again to reduce cost, but again they don't. Audi had to use wind tunnel time to reposition the rear wing as the open side windows impacted the effectiveness of the rear wing. They run closed side window in FIA GT3 and I believe have air cond like ACO GT cars.

 Also removed from the Audi's especially are the front dive planes and the updated aero of the LMS Ultra.

 USRC is a reboot of two series merged, there is no reason to continue this foolish notion of cost savings for the sake of cost.

 This is our chance as fans to shape the series we pay to watch, please join me, Mike Hedlund and others who I know share this vision.

 Update: Elkins "I think what we need to do is do things that are more inviting to manufacturers to come play with us and not things that hold them up,” Elkins said. “By building a car to a single specification, where it can only race in one place, puts us in a difficult path. 

“I'm not being critical on how things were done in the past but I think we need to be more open-minded on how we approach realizing that people are going to want to come and race with us because there's only one series. So we have to look at things differently."

 Ding Dong the witch is dead! Its only a matter of time (I'd say ONE season) for Prep 2 cars to be phased out completely and the entire paddock switching to GT3 for loads of reasons.

 First: It would allow an American based team to ship a car to Dubai to run a 24 race in preparation for the Daytona 24 about a month later.

 Second: It would allow an American team to run Blancpain, ADAC GT, British GT, FIA GT Series, Blancpain/Spa 24 or VLN/N24. No changes needed, put the car on a ship or a plane and run those events.

 Third: It would give GTD (Rolex GT, GX, GTC) some badly needed diversity

 Fourth: Teams and the new series would be getting out ahead of any potential merger between SRO/FIA GT3 regulations (or lack thereof in somes cases) and ACO/Le Mans GT (LMGT) regulations that are likely to happen by 2016 since the manufacturers are pushing this.

 John Dagys has the full interview here

 Update # 1

 SRT has just announced 2-Time Viper Club Champing Ben Keating is the first customer for the recently released Viper GT3 that's eligible for the various GT3 based championships including GTD in next year merged USRC series.

 Check out the story by John Dagys here