Professional drivers and manufacturer-supported entries only, GT-specific circuit improvements and better race management flexibility highlight 2017 changes

The FIA has opened applications for entries in the 2017 FIA GT World Cup, scheduled to take place on 16-19 November at the Macau Grand Prix.

The 6.2-kilometre (3.8-mile) Guia street circuit is unique in the region and regarded as one of the world’s best and most challenging driver’s tracks.

Initiated in 1954, the Macau GP has been a must-see event for more than four decades and it took another leap forward in 2015 with the introduction of the FIA GT World Cup, awarding World Cup-winning status to the successful driver and a manufacturer.

The inaugural 18-lap race was won by Maro Engel for Mercedes-Benz in 2015, with Audi’s Laurens Vanthoor winning a remarkable 2016 race despite finishing the race on his roof.

The Macau Grand Prix will look to build on its success in 2016, where almost 700,000 viewers (an increase of 1320% on 2015) tuned into the livestream of races from Macao on FIA-owned channels such as Facebook and FIA.com. This was in addition to the global television coverage that the famous event received.

For the third running of this unique single-driver celebration of elite GT drivers and manufacturers, the FIA GT World Cup will feature a number of changes introduced with the aim of further boosting the prestige of the race.

The following changes will be undertaken this year, thanks to the joint efforts of the FIA, the AAMC and the Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee:

• Only professional drivers (Gold or Platinum standard) will be permitted to enter
• Only manufacturer-supported cars will be included
• No entry fee for manufacturers (only individual cars)
• 18-25 (maximum) cars
• Improvement in the recovery of GT cars (following new Technical Regulations and new equipment for this specific purpose)
• Safety improvements to be made specifically for GT cars specifically focusing on kerbs ad T1 & T2, debris fences, better use of TECPRO barriers

The race format will remain the same, with two 30-minute practice sessions, a 30-minute qualifying session, 12-lap (or 60-minute) Qualifying Race, and the Main Race of 18 laps (or 75 minutes).

Following the timing challenges encountered with the 2016 race due to an extended red flag period, the GT racing sessions will be better scheduled to maximise the track time for the FIA GT World Cup. These changes will see more time allowed before and after the races to cater for delays, or unforeseen on-track circumstances.

The restart procedure will also be reduced from ten minutes to five minutes at the resumption of racing after a red flag.

Will Stevens and Markus Winkelhock (#2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8) took the win in the main race at the Zolder track. A safety car intervention in the dying minutes meant there was only one lap of racing left when the lights went green again.

Stevens held off all attacks, with Filip Salaquarda crossing the line in second, in the #75 ISR Audi he shares with Clemens Schmid. Third was for the #17 Team WRT Audi of Stuart Leonard and Robin Frijns.

The Silver Cup honours went to Jules Szymkowiak and Fabian Schiller (#85 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG), with Giacomo Piccini and Michael Broniszewski (#11 Kessel Racing Ferrari) winning the Pro-Am Cup.

Will Stevens and Markus Winkelhock (#2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8) claimed victory in the Blancpain GT Series main race at the Zolder track. A safety car intervention in the dying minutes meant there was only one lap of racing left when the lights went green again.

Stevens held off all attacks, with Filip Salaquarda crossing the line in second, in the #75 ISR Audi he shares with Clemens Schmid. The #17 Team WRT Audi of Stuart Leonard and Robin Frijns finished third.

The Silver Cup honours went to Jules Szymkowiak and Fabian Schiller (#85 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG), with Giacomo Piccini and Michael Broniszewski (#11 Kessel Racing Ferrari) taking their first Pro-Am Cup win of the year.

After yesterday’s hectic start, polesitter Stuart Leonard was determined to follow the starting procedure to the letter. Others didn’t, and Leonard was passed by Michael Meadows in the #90 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG before the lights went green. Meadows was given a drive-through penalty, effectively ruining any of his chances of a podium finish.

This transformed the duel between Clemens Schmid (#75 ISR Audi) and Markus Winkelhock (#2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8) – both of whom had managed to overtake Leonard on the opening lap – to a fight for the lead. Winkelhock managed to get alongside the white Audi once, but Schmid kept his cool and held on to first.

Both Audis entered pit lane at the same time, but then the pit stop of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT crew made the difference. Will Stevens (in the #2 Audi) was able to leave the pit lane with a lead of a couple of seconds over Filip Salaquarda, now at the wheel of the #75. The Czech driver’s position came under threat, when Robin Frijns (who had taken over from Stuart Leonard) set a series of fastest laps. However, Frijns could not manage to overtake Salaquarda.

When the race was neutralized after a contact between the #86 and #88 Mercedes-AMG cars, the gaps between the leaders was reduced to naught. It took a while to clear the track, and when the safety car came in, there was only one lap of racing left.

Stevens handily used the presence of a backmarker behind him to drive away from Salaquarda and Frijns, and they in turn had to manage the presence of yet another Audi, the #5 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8 in the hands of local hero Dries Vanthoor.

Although Frijns tried to find a gap twice, Salaquarda managed to hold to second. The first victory of the Winkelhock-Stevens duo was never under threat, and in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup driver standings the German-British pairing are now only five points behind leaders Maxi Buhk and Franck Perera, who finished in sixth in Zolder. Qualifying Race-winners Frijns and Leonard also made a jump forward in the standings, and are now seven points down.

In Silver Cup polesitter David Fumanelli made a slight mistake in the second lap, and the #42 Strakka Motorsport McLaren dropped a couple of places. That promoted the #85 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG to first in Silver Cup, but that was not enough for Jules Szymkowiak and Fabian Schiller.

The youngest duo of the field had started the Qualifying Race from last, but some inspired driving in both races eventually led to a more than decent eighth place overall. The runner-up spot in the Silver Cup went to the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari of Lorenzo Case and Phil Quaife, after contact in the final corner dropped the #67 Attempto Racing Lamborghini of Pohler and Van Splunteren and the #42 Strakka Motorsport McLaren down the order. The latter was also penalised with a one-minute stop & go, which was converted to an addition of 90 seconds to its race time.

In the Pro-Am Cup Michael Broniszewski quickly fought his way to the front, at the wheel of the #11 Kessel Racing Ferrari. He passed the leading Ferraris of Piti Bhirombhakdi and Alexander Mattschull in the opening laps and the reigning Blancpain GT Series Pro-Am champion – who had never raced in Zolder before – never looked back.

Giacomo Piccini finished the job in the second half of the race. It was a great recovery from the Italian-Polish duo and the Kessel Racing team, after an unlucky spin in Saturday’s qualifying left them with a badly damaged car. With Bhirombhakdi and Carlo Van Dam claiming second in Pro-Am and the Ferrari 458 Italia of Stephen Earle and David Perel scoring full points in the Am Cup, the weekend ended on a high for the Swiss Kessel Racing squad.

The qualifying race for the Zolder round of the Blancpain GT Series, probably the closest race of the season thus far, was won by the #17 Team WRT Audi of Robin Frijns and Stuart Leonard.

The latter held off several other drivers through the second half of the race, crossing the line with a mere 0.8 of a second in hand. The #90 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG of Marciello and Meadows finished in second, with the #2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8 of Will Stevens and Markus Winkelhock completing the podium. The top five were separated by under three seconds.

Silver Cup honours went to the #42 Strakka Motorsport McLaren of Lewis Williamson and David Fumanelli, with Piti Bhirombhakdi and Carlo Van Dam taking their first win in Pro-Am Cup at the wheel of the #39 Kessel Racing TP12 Ferrari.

The qualifying race in Zolder was held in excellent and sunny conditions, despite a heavy shower at lunchtime. Plenty of spectators were eager to see the best GT3 drivers in the world in action. Among them was McLaren-Honda F1-driver Stoffel Vandoorne, happy to support the Strakka Racing McLaren GT3-team.

When polesitter Robin Frijns led the pack away at the start, some of the drivers behind him made a great getaway, immediately gaining some positions. Championship leader Mirko Bortolotti was one of them, getting in between the #90 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG of Raffaele Marciello and the #74 ISR Audi of Frank Stippler. But with the #43 Strakka Racing McLaren of Come Ledogar passing the Audi on the right hand side, contact was inevitable. Both Ledogar and Bortolotti had to retire.

After a safety car intervention, polesitter Frijns was able to increase his lead to two seconds. Meanwhile, Frank Stippler and McLaren driver Andrew Watson, second at that point of the race, were given a drive-through penalty for being out of position at the start.

Frijns led Marciello when the pit window opened, and after the mandatory driver change, the #17 Team WRT Audi was still in front, now with Stuart Leonard at the wheel. Behind him was his 2016 co-driver Michael Meadows, now driving an AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG. Meadows had his work cut out in trying to defend that runners-up spot from Franck Perera (#85 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG, who started from 10th) and Markus Winkelhock (#2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8).

The chasing pack managed to close the gap behind Leonard, but Perera dropped back after he was given a drive-through penalty after a pitstop infringement. That gave Markus Winkelhock the opportunity to take third, with Clemens Schmid (#74 ISR Audi) and Felix Serralles (#88 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG) right behind him. But although the top five cars were never more than three seconds apart, the running order did not changed and Stuart Leonard and Robin Frijns claimed their first win together, which was also the first for Team WRT this season.

In the Pro-Am Cup, polesitter Carlo Van Dam kept the lead throughout the first part of the race, but right after the driver change there was contact between his #39 Kessel Racing TP12 Ferrari and one of the Bentleys, reducing codriver Piti Bhirombhakdi’s lead. Some fifteen minutes from the end Alexander Mattschull managed to overtake the Thai driver, at the outside of the Kanaalbocht. Bhirombhakdi had set his eyes on win however, and in the penultimate lap he managed to reclaim the lead by outbreaking Mattschull at the hairpin.

The race in Silver Cup was dominated by the #42 Strakka Motorsport McLaren of Lewis Williamson and David Fumanelli, which also claimed 11th overall. Second in Silver Cup, and 17^th overall, were Jules Szymkowiak and Fabian Schiller (#85 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG), who had started the qualifying from 33^rd and last position. The sole Am Cup entry, the #888 Kessel Racing Ferrari driven by Stephen Earle and David Perel, finished 30^th overall.