At the previous round of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup at the Hungaroring the drivers of the #5 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8 dominated all the sessions.

At the Nürburgring Dries Vanthoor continue that streak by setting the fastest time in the first free practice session.

On a cold and damp Eifel track the young Belgian clocked a 1’56.002 during the first part of the session, which was reserved for Bronze and Silver drivers.

More rain later on prevented other drivers to improve on that time, with Frank Stippler (#75 ISR Audi) eventually setting a 1’56.514. Rolf Ineichen (#82 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini) ended up in third.

Best of the Silver Cup cars was the #27 Orange 1 Team Lazarus Lamborghini (fifth overall), with the #333 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari of championship leaders Mattschull and Keilwitz fastest in Pro-Am and 11^th overall.

The #888 Kessel Racing Ferrari set the fastest time in the Am Cup. The second free practice will start at 14.10 CEST.

Sunday’s Main Race went to AF Corse’s Christoph Ulrich (#51 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3), who held off team-mate Patrick Van Glabeke (#488 Ferrari 488 GT3) to claim his maiden win in SRO Motorsports Group’s Bronze-only drivers series.

In the Iron Cup, US charger Stephen Earle reclaimed the class points lead from rival Klaus Dieter Frers (#3 Artega Rennsport Ferrari 488 GT3) with a crucial win aboard the #111 Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3.

Having secured his maiden win of the season during Saturday’s Qualifying Race, pole sitter Van Glabeke led the way at the start but fellow front row starter Ulrich was immediately on the move, surging ahead at the first corner.

That would prove a pivotal moment in the 40-minute contest. Indeed, with overtaking opportunities few and far between at the notoriously tight and twisty 4.381km Hungarian Grand Prix venue, Ulrich managed to keep a charging Van Glabeke at bay throughout the race.

Behind the battling AF Corse duo, there was a titanic scrap for the final step of the Overall podium, which involved Iron Cup title contenders Earle and Frers. The moustachioed Texan enjoyed a strong getaway to move past his German rival right at the start as well.

Frers actually lost another position to Luxemburg’s Alexis de Bernardi and the #65 Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3. The Artega Rennsport ace was soon back on Earle’s tail though, and he tried every move in the book to get past the #111 Ferrari, but to no avail.

Overall points leader Pons came home fifth after a challenging outing, which saw him drop several positions at the start and spin at Turn 9 in the early stages. The Frenchman still drove a spirited recovery race to vindicate his title credentials.

De Bernardi added more points to his 2017 tally with sixth place ahead of HP Racing’s Coach McKansy (#17 Lamborghini Huracan GT3) and Christian Hook (#33 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3). Ninth was Oliver Baumann in the #68 DB-Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG GT3.

Louis Philippe Soenen grabbed the final point on offer in the Overall category, while also collecting another Iron Cup podium with the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3. Unfortunately, Karim Ojjeh could not defend his chances in the Main Race after his #2 Boutsen Ginion BMW M6 GT3 proved beyond repair following an incident in Saturday’s Qualifying Race.

While Pons can no longer be caught in the Overall standings, the Iron Cup battle is going down to the wire as Earle leaves Budapest with three points in hand over Frers.

Anthony Pons, #72 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3: “The Budapest weekend was quite tricky, though the car setup was perfect and I was very happy with it. During the Qualifying Race, we were very strong but unfortunately we took a penalty, which made our lives harder for Sunday’s Main Race. I was probably a bit too cautious at the start and then I just made a mistake when pushing hard to recover. Despite the mishap, I kept attacking because I wanted to give the guys at AKKA ASP something to cheer about.

“Winning the 2017 Blancpain GT Sports Club championship is very satisfying. Furthermore this is my first individual title. The competition has been very fierce all year long with several drivers giving me a hard time across the events, including my team-mate Daniele Perfetti. The key has been to deliver consistent, mistake-free weekends. The strategy paid off and I’m really happy about it.”

Christoph Ulrich, #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3: “At the start it was ‘all or nothing’! I knew that my car had a little bit more top speed but Patrick’s machine is better in cornering, and overtaking here at the Hungaroring is quite difficult. I just went for it and was able to get a small advantage there. He kept the pressure all race long but in the end I managed to hold the position to secure my first-ever win in the Blancpain GT Sports Club. I’m delighted but I think the true feeling will only sink in later on. At the moment, I’m just happy and tired after a tough race in very hot conditions.”

Stephen Earle, #111 Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3: “I hope the battle was as exciting to watch as it was to race! Klaus [Dieter Frers] is very good with the new car. I knew I had to get by at the beginning and then just focus on my pace. After all the racing I have been doing with the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup I did not have much gas left but I held on and I’m back in the lead of the Iron Cup.”

At the Nürburgring, the final round of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup will see seven driver pairings still in contention for the overall drivers’ title, with four teams competing for the teams’ title. The Pro-Am category crown is still on the cards for two driver pairings and two teams, and even the overall Blancpain GT Series could be decided during the weekend of September 16th and 17th. There is plenty to look forward to!

Unlike previous years, the Nürburgring event of the Blancpain GT Series now hosts the final round of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. Two one-hour races will be held on the Grand Prix-circuit of the legendary Eifel track.

Fourteen drivers still have a shot at the drivers title, which has never happened before in the history of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. This should come as no surprise however, as the four main races of the 2017 season were won by four different pairings, with a fifth duo claiming a win in a qualifying race.

The title fight will certainly go down the wire with Mirko Bortolotti-Christian Engelhart (#63 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini, 57 pts.), Dries Vanthoor-Marcel Fässler (#5 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, 56 pts.), Stuart Leonard-Robin Frijns (#17 Team WRT Audi, 56 pts.) and Markus Winkelhock-Will Stevens (#2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, 54 pts.) all within six points of the leaders #84 Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport-pairing Maxi Buhk and Franck Perera (60 pts.).

The chances are that the new Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup champions will be one of the aforementioned duos, although four more drivers also have a mathematical chance of taking the trophy home.

With 34 points up for grabs during the final weekend, Vincent Abril-Steven Kane (#7 Bentley Team M-Sport, 32 pts.) and Pieter Schothorst-Jake Dennis (#3 Team WRT Audi, 27 pts.) would need a perfect weekend and a complete off-day for all their rivals in order to secure the crown.

In the teams’ standings of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will try to protect their 13-point advantage over sister squad Team WRT and GRT Grasser Racing Team (70 pts. each) with HTP Motorsport a further point behind.

Pro-Am: Ferrari vs. Ferrari
Both the Silver Cup and Am Cup category of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup were decided at the penultimate round in Budapest. Jules Szymkowiak, Fabian Schiller and HTP Motorsport are this year’s Silver Cup winners, with Stephen Earle, David Perel and Kessel Racing taking the honours in the Am Cup category.

The Pro-Am category is still wide open though. Alexander Mattschull and Daniel Keilwitz (#333 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari) have won three of the four sprint rounds this season, but by finishing second in all four main races of the 2017 series,  rookies Piti Bhirombhakdi and Carlo Van Dam (#39 Kessel Racing TP12 Ferrari) are only thirteen points behind their Ferrari colleagues.

In the teams’ Pro-Am standings, the gap between the Rinaldi and Kessel squads is even smaller – ten points – thanks to the win of defending champions Broniszewski and Piccini (#11 Kessel Racing Ferrari) in Zolder.

Blancpain GT Series: will the championship be decided at the Nürburgring?
The Sprint round at the 5,137 km long Grand Prix-track of the Nürburgring is also the penultimate round of the overall Blancpain GT Series, which means that the title fight in the fastest GT championship of the motorsports planet could also be decided. If Mirko Bortolotti and Christian Engelhart (leading with 18 points) and the GRT Grasser Racing Team (12 points) manage to extend their advantage to 27 points, they will be the new champions, even before the final round in Barcelona at the beginning of next month.

In the Pro-Am Cup driver championship the same goes for Alexander Mattschull, with both Rinaldi Racing and Kessel Racing able to claim the overall Pro-Am teams’ crown at the Nürburgring, since the Ferrari squads are only separated by one point in the standings.

David Perel looks set to claim the overall Am Cup title without turning a wheel at the Nürburgring, for his competitors are absent in the Eifel. Kessel Racing was already certain of the overall Am Cup teams’ title after the previous round in Budapest.

It’s clear there will be plenty of exciting racing to look forward to at the Nürburgring, but the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup is not the only race series present at the iconic track.

With the close racing of the Formula Renault Northern European Cup, the sheer power of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo and the outstanding GT competition from the GT4 European Series Northern Cup, there will be plenty of track action, with eight race starts in total.

No fewer than 64 cars will be eligible to score points for the second round of the 2017 Intercontinental GT Challenge, the 24 Hours of Spa.

After their win in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, Ferrari will travel to Belgium as the championship leader, but thanks to their podium finishes in Australia, Porsche and Bentley are not far behind.

Due to the rule change at the beginning of the 2017 Intercontinental GT Challenge, all GT3 cars in the Total 24 Hours of Spa are now eligible to score points for the global GT3 series. Mercedes-AMG, absent at the opening round in Australia, will try to make up for lost ground by bringing the largest delegation of all eleven manufacturers to Spa: there will be 13 GT3 cars with the three-pointed star on the grid.
However, Ferrari will be in a good position to defend its lead. Not only because several of their teams will enter a full professional line-up, but also because there are eleven Prancing Horses at the start, increasing Ferrari’s chances to score valuable points. Their closest competitors in the Intercontinental GT Challenge manufacturer standings – Porsche and Bentley – will have three representatives each.
In the driver standings, Marc Lieb is the highest placed driver who will be taking part in the Total 24 Hours of Spa. The German driver finished second in Bathurst and will be co-driving the #911 Herberth Motorsport Porsche in Spa. Three points down the standings are Bentley Boys Steven Kane, Guy Smith and Oliver Jarvis, sharing the #7 Team M-Sport Continental GT3.

After retiring in the opening round, defending Intercontinental GT Challenge driver champion Laurens Vanthoor hopes to score important points in his home race, at the wheel of the #117 KÜS Team75 Bernhard Porsche.

Please note that in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, points will only be scored at the end of the 24 Hours of Spa. There will be no points distribution at the 6- or 12-hour mark. Only the first two cars of each manufacturer will score points.