GENNEP (28 July, 2021) – With more than 40 entries already registered for the upcoming Hankook 24H BARCELONA on 3-4-5 September, the championship fight in both the GT and TCE divisions in the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook looks set to go down to the wire.
All to play for in Overall GT standings
DUWO Racing (#909) currently leads the Overall GT Teams’ standings on 69 points, courtesy of three 911 class podiums with its Porsche 911-II Cup at Dubai, Circuit Paul Ricard and Hockenheim. That momentum vaults the Luxembourg team nine points clear of nearest title rival Vortex V8, which will also compete at the Hankook 24H BARCELONA with two eponymous, 1.0 lightweight sports cars (#701 and #712).
DUWO Racing’s results also mean Andrey Mukovoz, Stanislav Sidoruk and Sergey Peregudov, who will continue their 24H SERIES campaign aboard the #909 Porsche in Barcelona, simultaneously lead the Overall GT Drivers’ standings, 11 points clear of ST Racing’s (#438) Samantha Tan, Jon Miller and Chandler Hull. The Canadian team, which will compete in the GT3 ranks of next year’s 24H SERIES with two brand-new BMW M4 GT3s, took its maiden series class win at the season-opener in Dubai and has finished on the podium at the subsequent three events. Tan, Miller and Hull will be joined by Nick Wittmer in Barcelona for the second time this season.
Also in the GT4 ranks, the returning RHC Jorgensen-Strom by Century (#450) will run team staples Daren Jorgensen, Brett Strom and Danny van Dongen in a BMW M4 GT4. Jönsson consult / eva solo (#415) steps across from TCE to GTs with a Mercedes-AMG GT4 for Søren Jönsson and Jan Engelbrecht, while a third Car Collection Motorsport entry – an Audi R8 LMS GT4 (#499) – completes the GT4 line-up.
One of DUWO Racing’s closest competitors in the 991-class championship meanwhile – PROFILDOORS by Huber Racing (#924) – returns to action with the same Porsche 911-II Cup with which the German team took a class podium on its last outing at Mugello. Fellow 991 returnee Willi Motorsport by Ebimotors (#955), which took the category win in Mugello, has also confirmed a Porsche 911-II Cup for Fabrizio Broggi, Nicolae Sergiu and Sabino de Castro. Series staple Speed Lover (#978) completes the 991-class line-up.
Vortex’s closest challenger in the GTX ranks – Reiter Engineering (#724) – will be aiming for its third class win of the season with its KTM X-BOW, having retained GTX Drivers’ title contenders Horst Felbermayr Jr., Eike Angermayr, Nicolai Elghanayan and Mads Siljehaug for the event. True-Racing (#707) and Cor Euser Racing (#717) make their returns to the 24H SERIES in the GTX category with a KTM X-BOW and a MARC II V8 respectively, the former having confirmed Hubert Trunkenpolz, Klaus Angerhofer, Sehdi Sarmini and Ernst Kirchmayr on driver detail. Series staple Red Camel-Jordans.nl (#999) completes the GTX field and will contest its second race with its 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Father-son duo Ivo and Luc Breukers are set to team up with Thierry Vermeulen.
Overall GT Teams’ standings
1. DUWO Racing (#909, 991, Porsche) – 69 points
2. Vortex V8 (#701, GTX, Vortex) – 60 points
3. ST Racing (#438, GT4, BMW) – 58 points
Former champion Scuderia Praha the bullseye in GT3
Former Overall GT Teams’ champion Scuderia Praha (#11), which this year competes as MiddleCap racing with Scuderia Praha, leads the way in the GT3-AM ranks after three successive runners-up spots with the Ferrari 488 GT3 at Mugello, Circuit Paul Ricard and Hockenheim. GT3 Drivers’ standings leaders Matúš Výboh and former Overall GT Drivers’ champion Josef Král will compete with Dennis Waszek and Matús’ father Miroslav in Barcelona. The Czech team is currently fifth in the Overall GT Teams’ standings.
Behind Scuderia Praha, things couldn’t be much closer in GT3, with five teams split by just 10 points. Seven points behind the Czech team for example, Car Collection Motorsport has confirmed two Audi R8 LMS’ for the Hankook 24H BARCELONA for Martin Lechmann and Pierre-Yves Paque (#88), and series staples Johannes Dr. Kirchhoff, Elmar Grimm, and Gustav and Max Edelhoff (#34). Five points further back, series newcomer Rutronik Racing by TECE (#18) will also run an Audi R8 LMS GT3 in Barcelona for Michael Doppelmayr, Pierre Kaffer, Elia Erhart and Swen Herberger.
Mugello and Paul Ricard winner Herberth Motorsport has registered two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs for Daniel Allemann, Ralf Bohn, and Alfred and Robert Renauer (#91), and Jürgen Häring, Bobby Gonzales, Wolfgang Triller and Marco Seefried (#92). Italy’s DINAMIC Motorsport (#7), which returned with aplomb in Mugello with a 3rd-placed finish, will also run a Porsche 911 GT3 R for Roberto Pampanini, Stefano Monaco, Amedeo Pampanini and Nicolas Stürzinger.
Trailing Herberth Motorsport in the standings by just one single point, CP Racing (#85, Charles Espenlaub / Charles Putman / Joe Foster / Shane Lewis), like the returning IDEC SPORT RACING (#17, Patrice and Paul Lafargue / Paul-Loup Chatin / Nicolas Minassian), has registered a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Long-time Ferrari customer Kessel Racing (#8, L.M.D.V. / Alessandro Cutrera / Marco Talarico / Marco Frezza), returnee PCR Sport (#16, Josep Mayola Coma / Marc Carol Ybarra / Francesc Gutierrez Agüi) and WTM powered by Phoenix (#22, Georg and Leonard Weiss / Jochen Krumbach / Daniel Keilwitz) round out the GT3 entrants thus far with a trio of Ferrari 488 GT3s.
Four points split the top three in TCE
The fight for Overall TCE Teams’ honours look set to go down to the wire in 2021, with the top three split by only four points.
Reigning TCE champion Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing, on 75 points, currently holds a one-point advantage over CWS Engineering (#278) courtesy of two back-to-back wins at Circuit Paul Ricard and the Hockenheimring. The Swiss/German team will once again enter two Volkswagen Golf GTIs for the Hankook 24H BARCELONA (#1 and #112), while its British rival has registered its tenured Ginetta G55 for team boss Colin White, who is one point adrift in the Overall TCE Drivers’ standings.
CWS will be joined in the TCX class in Barcelona by series returnee Team ACP - Tangerine Associates (#221). The American outfit last competed in Dubai in 2020, and has entered a BMW M2 CS Racing for Catesby Jones, Ken Goldberg and Jim Norman in Catalonia.
Four points behind in the Overall TCE standings, AC Motorsport (#188) will look to emulate, if not better, the TCR class podiums it scored in Mugello, Paul Ricard and Hockenheim. The Belgian team has confirmed its Audi RS 3 LMS will be piloted by Stéphane Perrin and Mathieu Detry, who are also four points adrift in the Overall TCE Drivers’ standings. The pair will be joined at the Hankook 24H BARCELONA by British Touring Car Championship legend, James Kaye.
Fittingly, at the Hankook 24H BARCELONA, Spanish marque CUPRA will be ably represented in TCR. BBR (#107, Anusorn Asiralertsiri / Chariya Nuya / Kantadhee and Kantasak Kusiri / Tanart Sathienthirakul) makes its first start since the Hankook 24H DUBAI, while Bas Koeten Racing (#125, Bert Mets / Jos and Bob Stevens / Martin van den Berge / Christiaan Frankenhout) makes its first standalone start in the TCE division in three years. Spanish contemporaries RAIL EQUIP BY TOTCAR SPORT (#123, Jorge Belloc Diaz, Jorge Belloc Ruiz and Álvaro Rodríguez Sastre) and RC2 Junior Team by Cabra Racing (#108) have also confirmed entries, the former with a CUPRA TCR, the latter with an updated CUPRA Leon Competición TCR.
TOPCAR Sport (#131) may have had a weekend to forget in Hockenheim, but started its season strongly with TCE victory in Dubai, its second in the series since, ironically, Barcelona in 2019. Series returnee Holmgaard Motorsport (#102, Magnus Holmgaard / Jonas Rasmussen) rounds out the TCE division line-up so far with a Volkswagen Golf GTI.
Overall TCE Teams’ standings
1. Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing (#1, TCR, Volkswagen) – 75 points
2. CWS Engineering (#278, TCX, Ginetta) – 74 points
3. AC Motorsport (#188, TCR, Audi) – 71 points
New and improved Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
24H SERIES competitors will have their first opportunity this year to experience Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s newly updated turn 10 at the Hankook 24H BARCELONA.
In conjunction with both the FIA and FIM, the circuit’s acutely-angled turn 10 was modified during the winter in favour of a more gently sweeping left-hander. The revisions also included a wider run-off area for the safety of all competitors, given turn 10’s place at the end of the track’s fast back straight.
The updated turn 10 now resembles the corner’s original 1991 configuration before its first modification in 2004.
Entries are still being accepted for the 2021 Hankook 24H BARCELONA on 3-4-5 September. Teams interested in registering [an entry] can speak directly with CREVENTIC via
[email protected] and/or +31 485 471 166. Further details can be found on www.24hseries.com
____________________________________________________________
For further information, please contact:
Creventic BV Zandstraat 11 6591DA Gennep The Netherlands
Tel. +31 (0)485 471166
E-mail:
[email protected]: www.24hseries.com
02-03 October
2021
