Blancpain Sprint Series title fight hotting up under Algarve sunshine

 
The Algarve round of the Blancpain Sprint Series starts the second half of the 2015 season, with three rounds remaining on the calendar. With new winners in both the qualifying and main races of the Moscow round in early July, the fight for the teams and drivers titles is hotting up nicely.

In Moscow Lamborghini (#88 Reiter Engineering Gallardo of Albert Von Thurn und Taxis and Nick Catsburg) and Bentley (#84 Bentley Team HTP of Maxi Buhk and Vincent Abril) joined the ranks of race winners of the 2015 Blancpain Sprint Series, the fastest GT series on the planet, an exclusive circle which already counted BMW and Audi as its members.

Championship leaders Robin Frijns and Laurens Vanthoor had a difficult end of the first half of the season and with their #1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8 they only managed a fifth place in the main race of the Russian round. That means that even though they had a perfect weekend in Brands Hatch and Zolder, the Belgian-Dutch pairing arrives in Portugal with just fifteen points in hand over the Bentley-duo of Buhk and Abril. With 102 points still to play for, an exciting second half of the season seems guaranteed.

Especially since Maxi Buhk and Vincent Abril are not the only title rivals for series leaders Frijns and Vanthoor. Even though Valdeno Brito and Atila Abreu missed the opening round in Nogaro and have yet to stand on the top step of a rostrum in 2015, the Brazilian drivers are only 19 points behind the leaders. The Algarve round is held at the Autodromo Internacional in Portimao, which forms the European base of the BMW Sports Trophy Team Brasil. One might consider it to be a home race for the yellow-and-green machines, and Brito and Abreu will do everything it takes to conquer their first win of the season in Portugal.

It would be the second victory for the Brazilian squad however, since talented substitutes Dirk Müller and Maxime Martin opened the score in Nogaro. The 31 points scored in France come in very handy in the teams’ standings, where BMW Sports Trophy Team Brasil sits in second place, 16 points behind Belgian Audi Club Team WRT. However, the Belgian squad has the advantage of having three cars regularly scoring points – Stéphane Ortelli and Stéphane Richelmi are in fourth in the driver standings – whereas the Brazilians have to defend their chances with two cars.

Another duo vying for their first win of the season are Ferrari drivers Norbert Siedler and Marco Seefried. In 2015 their green Rinaldi Racing 458 Italia has been on the front two rows of the main race three times already – twice on the front row even – but due to bad luck and racing incidents the Austrian-German pairing only managed one podium finish, in Moscow. It is clear that the car and the drivers have a lot potential, so count on them to be at the sharp of the field in Algarve.

The Portuguese round of the Blancpain Sprint Series, which hosts also the 3rd round of the GT Sports Club, starts with an exhibition and a parade in Portimao on Thursday September 3rd. From 17:00 onwards the cars will be in front of the Santa Catarina Fortress, while the parade will start at 20:15. It will be followed by an autograph session with the Blancpain Sprints Series drivers.

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Weekend Schedule

Friday 4 September
13:45 – 15:05 Free Practice 1
15:45 – 17:05 Free Practice 2

Saturday 5 September
09:45 - 10:40 Qualifying Practice (live TV)
14:15 – 15:15 Qualifying Race (live TV)

Sunday 6 September
08:50 – 09:10 Warm-up
14:05 – 15:05 Main Race (live TV)

Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese reopens

The Alfisti had to wait four long years, but Alfa Romeo has at last reopened its museum in Arese, Italy. On display are numerous icons and racing legends from 105 years of the brand’s history, along with some rare models and little-known prototypes.

In 1976, the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese opened, and became a place of pilgrimage for Italian car fans around the world 

In 1976, the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese near Milan opened, and became a place of pilgrimage for Italian car fans around the world. Since the early 1960s, Alfa Romeo had been gathering the most historically valuable specimens from the brand’s history to make them accessible to the public but, in 2011, the plant in Arese ceased production and the museum was closed. The collection fell into a deep sleep, while the Alfisti community waited patiently for news. The end of June 2015 saw the Alfa Romeo museum finally reopen its doors, following a careful restoration. The new museum bears the evocative nickname ‘La macchina del tempo’ and is part of a major brand centre, which also includes a test track and a showroom. 

A unique collection

However, the main attraction is the collection of 69 Alfa Romeos, which can be seen in the generous and modern design museum. The spectrum includes the very early racing cars, such as the Alfa 6C 1750 Gran Sport with which Tazio Nuvolari won the Mille Miglia and the Gran Premio 159 ‘Alfetta’ that took Juan Manuel Fangio to victory in the Formula 1 World Championship. Visitors can marvel at the elegant body forms of the Touring Alfa 8C or admire the curves and lines of the Alfa concept cars that Bertone designed in the 1960s – such as the Carabo and Iguana. And of course, you’ll find Alfa Romeo’s ‘Greatest Hits’ – from the Giulietta Spider of the 1950s through the GTV, to the newer models in the brand’s history.

Retold - the story of Alfa Romeo

The exhibits are split into three categories. The first is ‘Timeline’, 19 models that – according to the curators – best illustrate the development of the brand and show how Alfa Romeo became an Italian legend. On the ground floor, you find the great divas displayed under the title ‘Beauty’, exhibiting the work of the best design houses, such as Touring, and showing how their work helped shaped the future of Alfa Romeo. Meanwhile, in the basement, you find the models that capture Alfa’s racing history, displayed under the slogan of ‘Speed’. 

The Alfa Romeo Museum is open daily (except Tuesday) from 10.00 to 18.00. For more information, see museoalfaromeo.com.

ELMS, Castellet : Dernière ligne droite (du Mistral) ! / just two more races to go

Avec les 4 Heures du Castellet, l’European Le Mans Series 2015 entame sa dernière ligne droite de la saison avant la grande finale à Estoril. Jota Sport, Thiriet by TDS Racing et Greaves Motorsport se tiennent en 10 points.

Après les essais officiels ELMS organisés fin mars, le circuit Paul Ricard accueille l’avant-dernière manche de la saison qui a vu trois vainqueurs différents. Greaves Motorsport, Thiriet by TDS Racing et Jota Sport sont groupés en 10 points. Les 4 Heures du Castellet s’annoncent donc cruciales dans la course au titre européen.

29 autos sont attendues sur le circuit varois long de 5,861 km, dont 30,69 % pour la seule ligne droite du Mistral, une des plus longues d’Europe où les meilleures LM P2 dépassent les 280 km/h. Jota Sport (Gibson-Nissan N°48), Thiriet by TDS Racing (Ligier-Nissan N°46) et Greaves Motorsport (Gibson-Nissan N°41) présentent leurs équipages habituels.

L’équipe SMP Racing a changé de nom (AF Racing) mais aligne toujours deux BR01 qui avaient bien progressé à Imola. Victor Shaytar remplace Ladygin sur la N°21. Chez Krohn Racing (Ligier-Judd/Michelin N°40), on accueille Olivier Pla, et Richard Bradley rejoint Eurasia Motorsport (Oreca-Nissan N°33). 12 prototypes LM P2 sont engagés.

Vainqueur en 2013 (avec Brendon Hartley !), qualifiée en pole en 2014 et meilleur temps des essais officiels 2015 (1min48s155), l’écurie Murphy Prototypes (Oreca-Nissan N°48) est candidate à la victoire avec son trio Berthon/Lyons/Patterson.

En LM GTE et GTC, AF Corse est invaincue au Castellet depuis deux ans. Pour autant, AF Corse n’est ni leader du championnat GTE (Formula Racing), ni du GTC (TDS Racing) !

Ce week-end, l’équipe italienne engage pas moins de cinq Ferrari 458 et reçoit le renfort d’Andrea Bertolini dans la N°51 (GTE). Les 458 seront majoritaires au Paul Ricard avec AT Racing, Formula Racing et JMW Motorsport qui engagent chacune un exemplaire. Mais on trouvera aussi une Aston Martin Vantage, deux BMW Z4 et deux Porsche 911 RSR.

Quatre prototypes Ginetta-Nissan LM P3 seront en lice, dont deux pour l’équipe LNT qui visera une 3^e victoire cette saison. Victorieuse à Imola, University of Bolton sera absente dans le Var.

Les premiers essais libres sont programmés samedi à 10h30. Les qualifs se dérouleront dimanche matin avant le départ des 4 Heures du Castellet à 13h00. De nombreuses animations seront proposées aux fans.

The 4 Hours of Le Castellet in France sees the 2015 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) enter its final phase ahead of the big finale at Estoril, Portugal. Jota Sport, Thiriet by TDS Racing and Greaves Motorsport are covered by just 10 points.

After hosting the official pre-season ELMS test in March, Le Castellet is the venue for the penultimate round of the 2015 championship. The season has produced three different winners to date, namely Greaves Motorsport, Thiriet by TDS Racing and Jota Sport which are blanketed by 10 points.

A field of 29 cars is expected at the French circuit which is 5.861km in length. Slightly more than 30 percent of that figure is monopolised by the Mistral straight, one of the longest in Europe. The top LM P2 prototypes (12 in total) will exceed 280kph.

Jota Sport (N°48 Gibson-Nissan), Thiriet by TDS Racing (N°46 Ligier-Nissan) and Greaves Motorsport (N°41 Gibson-Nissan) will have their usual driver line-ups.

SMP Racing has changed its name to AF Racing but it will still have two BR01s which showed good pace at Imola. Victor Shaytar is standing in for Ladygin in the N°21 car. Krohn Racing (N°40 Ligier-Judd/Michelin) has recruited Olivier Pla, while Richard Bradley has joined Eurasia Motorsport (N°33 Oreca-Nissan).

After winning this race in 2013 (with Brendon Hartley!), having qualified on pole in 2014 and with the best pre-2015 test lap under its belt (1m48.155s), Murphy Prototypes (N°48 Oreca-Nissan, Berthon/Lyons/Patterson) is another potential winner.

AF Corse has gone unbeaten in LM GTE and GTC at Le Castellet for the last two years. However, the Italian operation leads neither of these classes which are topped by Formula Racing and TDS Racing respectively.

This weekend, AF Corse will have no fewer than five Ferrari 458s, and Andrea Bertolini will appear in the N°51 car (GTE). The model makes up the majority of the entry at Le Castellet since similar machines have been entered by AT Racing, Formula Racing and JMW Motorsport. The others runners will be an Aston Martin Vantage, two BMW Z4s and two Porsche 911 RSRs.

Meanwhile, two of the three Ginetta-Nissan LM P3 prototypes will be run by LNT which is targeting its third win of the year. The Imola-winning University of Bolton car will not be in the south of France.

Free practice begins at 10:30am on Saturday, with qualifying on Sunday morning followed by the start of the 4 Hours of Le Castellet at 1:00pm.

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