+ 17-car field ready for penultimate round of the year
+ Tight fights across all three classes
+ Prette aiming for historic third Masters title
+ Provisional entry list: Zandvoort
The GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli roars back into action after the summer break with a mouthwatering weekend at Zandvoort ahead (Sept 18-20).
For what will be only the series’ second-ever visit to the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix venue, 17 cars will fight it out for honours across the three classes, with the 4.2km circuit set to provide a thrilling challenge to the grid of 600bhp+ supercars.
Both outright race winners from last season return, but this time they will face renewed competition from the new Silver class while the SRO GT Academy fight reaches crunch point.
The GT2 European Series will again enjoy a place on a packed GT World programme that will be headlined by a huge GT World Challenge Sprint Cup entry. Add in the GT4 European Series and Porsche Carrera Cup France and you have a weekend not to miss for sportscar fans.
WHAT TO DO IN THE DUNES
Located just a stone’s throw from the beach, Zandvoort will provide plenty of off-track activities that go much further than just building sandcastles.
The hugely popular GT World Fan Zone returns to the heart of the paddock featuring live entertainment, a huge range of food and drink options, a giant screen to follow the on-track action and plenty more. This will be the place to get the beach party started with the resident GT World DJ soundtracking the event throughout the weekend. The new Pixa Racer initiative allows fans to test their driving skills by handling remote-controlled cars linked to dynamic simulators, with force feedback and evolving track conditions to contest with.
Zandvoort’s open paddocks are also ideal for spectators to explore and get up close to the cars, drivers and teams. The perfect opportunity for this will be during the lunchtime pit walks on Saturday and Sunday, and with separate autograph sessions for the GT World Challenge and GT4 Europe drivers.
SIX DOWN, FOUR TO GO, AND ALL TO PLAY FOR
This year’s field has proven as competitive as it is unpredictable, with each of the three class championships featuring multiple winners.
Pro-Am boasts the biggest entry with eight cars and four of those have already been winners this year. Jay Mo Härtling and David Thilenius lead the way by 25 points having racked up three wins from the six races, but the SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG has not proved unbeatable. Lawrence Tomlinson and Mike Simpson’s CMR Ginetta was a winner at Spa and has been a regular podium challenger since, while the KTMs from both Razoon – more than racing and MZR have both also shared glory.
One brand still waiting for a top Pro-Am score is Maserati, but Dinamic Motorsport’s golden GT2 returns in the hands of Mauro Calamia and Roberto Pampanini, who were winners at Zandvoort last year. Iron Dames by SP Racing duo Sarah Bovy and Laura van den Hengel are also back aboard a Maserati GT2. Nil Montserrat and Alberto De Martin are due a result, having been second three times already this season in their NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG.
A huge accident for i4Race driver Antoine Potty last time out at Misano means the Belgian skips this event and opens the way for Ethan Gialdini and Mikkel Njor to score big in the Silver class. The Ginetta crew took their third victory of the year last time out at Misano to move 21 points ahead of Adrian Ferrer’s NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG and 34 clear of Potty.
Philippe Prette could make a piece of history in Masters, should fortune go the way of the LP Racing Maserati driver this weekend. Having won three times and only finished lower than second once all season, Prette holds a 40-point advantage and could be crowned champion for a third consecutive season this weekend if he can extend that to 52 by the end of play. The fact he claimed an outright victory during the last visit here shows he has the form to do just that.
RTR Projects KTM crew Viktor Mraz and Davit Kajaia will be aiming to stop that from happening, as will the team’s Mercedes-AMG pairing of Petr Lisa and Ondrej Rokos, who bounced back from a bruising Spa weekend with a strong performance in Misano to move up to third in the points. Nothing can be taken for granted in this tight six-car field.
HÄRTLING CLOSING ON ACADEMY SUCCESS
Having been the standout driver across the opening six races, Jay Mo Härtling could take a step closer to SRO GT Academy victory this weekend, and with it land a funded seat with a Mercedes-AMG Customer Team in the 2027 GT World Challenge Endurance Cup.
The German sits 64pts clear of his rivals after a stellar campaign. With Potty sidelined, Ethan Gialdini, Moritz Wiskirchen and Mikkel Njor lead the chase. Niccolò Pirri, who has endured some terrible luck so far, could also make late moves up the table.
