On Saturday 14th May, the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari of Imola will host the first round of the brand new MICHELIN GT3 Le Mans Cup Championship.
The opening two hour race of the 2016 season will feature diversity and quality over quantity. With no less than six manufacturers, Audi, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, McLaren, Porsche and, of course Ferrari we will have the promise of an action packed first encounter on the high speed straights and technical twists and turns of the Imola circuit.
Among the eleven cars on the grid, 12 nations are represented by the teams and drivers and Italy will be well represented with 6 Ferraris: four F458 Italia GT3 and two of the brand new F488s run by five Italian teams.
Four Italian drivers will be racing on their home track, Luigi Lucchini and Matteo Cressoni from BMS Scuderia Italy. Andrea Caldarelli will be driving the only Lamborghini of FFF Racing team by ACM with Chinese driver Fu Songyang. Finally, former FIA GT3 European Champion Francesco Castellacci will drive the Ferrari F488 of AF Corse with Thomas Fohr.
Three cars will be in Imola under the British flag, the Audi R8 of Tockwith Motorsports driven by Phillip Hanson and Nigel Moore, the Ferrari F488 of FF Corse with Ivor Dunbar and Johnny Mowlem and finally the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 of Turkish driver Salih Yoluc and Britain’s Euan Hankey.
The grid will also have two cars from a Chinese team, FFF Racing Team by ACM that will bring to Italy one Lamborghini Hurican and one McLaren 650S driven by the Japanese Hiroshio Hamaguchi and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.
The first ever race of the MICHELIN GT3 Le Mans Cup will take place on the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. This track is one of the few on which cars race in an anti-clockwise direction. It is made up of 9 right-hand and 12 left-hands corners and requires superior driving skills.
The start of the MICHELIN GT3 Le Mans Cup will be given at 17h00 on Saturday 14th of May with qualifying at 11h20 on the same day.
The new series will have six rounds, five races alongside the European Le Mans Series and one on the morning of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This 55-minute race is one of the most highly anticipated encounters on the calendar for the teams and drivers.
The European Le Mans Series Weekend in Italy will also feature three Renault Sport Trophy races, with the main event being the second round of the European Le Mans Series, the 4 Hours of Imola. Entry to the event is free for everyone with just a fee of 10€ to enter the paddock. There will be plenty of entertainment for the whole family both on and off the track.
CLICK HERE for the provisional entry List.
