DSC’s Daily Notebook (21/07/2023)

54 cars set for Endurance Cup race at the ‘Ring

A 54-car entry list for the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS’s penultimate round at the Nürburgring has been revealed.

The Pro and Bronze classes feature healthy numbers for the three-hour race, with 17 cars apiece. In the other categories, seven cars will race in Gold, nine in Silver and four in Pro/Am.

Title battles will be in full focus following the Spa 24 Hours at the start of this month, with ROWE Racing and AKKODIS ASP set to resume their fight for Pro honours.

The #98 ROWE BMW crew of Philipp Eng, Nick Yelloly and Marco Wittmann lead the way in the Endurance Cup standings, but are just eight points clear of the #88 AKKODIS Mercedes-AMG line-up of Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gounon and Timur Boguslavskiy.

ENTRY LIST >>>

Doonan (IMSA): SC63 reveal “further validates” GTP regulations

IMSA President John Doonan is thrilled by the continued growth in LMDh, following Lamborghini’s recent SC63 launch at Goodwood.

Lamborghini is the sixth manufacturer to build a car to the ruleset, which is eligible for competition in the IMSA GTP and FIA WEC Hypercar classes, adding to the list of Acura, Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Porsche.

“It is a stunner,” Doonan said, describing the look of the SC63. “The Lamborghini unveil is further validation of what the GTP regulations are all about, and DPi (Daytona Prototype international) before that.

“Take the color and the logo off these prototype race cars, and we’re getting to the point where you can identify the brand when the car is not in full livery. The design teams from all these manufacturers have done such an incredible job.”

Currently Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Porsche and now Lamborghini are committed to GTP, and Alpine may yet follow suit.

“When we established this ‘next gen’ LMDh category going forward for the prototypes, I think there were 15 or 16 manufacturers sitting at the table doing their due diligence about whether they were going to make a run at a proposal for coming to compete,” Doonan recalled.

“To have six of them fully unveiled, with five committed and potentially a few others in the consideration phase, I think it’s certainly beyond our expectations and incredible for our sport. They see this platform with the integration of hybrid electrification as a storytelling element for the fans.

“We have a lot to be thankful for as a sport, and I think our fans have spoken by coming out to our events or tuning in on television. We’ve seen increases in on-track attendance and viewership throughout the season.”

Local appearences for United Autosports

Yorkshire-based FIA WEC and ELMS LMP2 team United Autosports’ has been busy this week.

Its 1986 Porsche 962 has been on display at the Grantley Hall hotel in Yorkshire.

The 1986 Porsche 962 looking at @GrantleyHall_ this evening … #BeUnited #ZakBrown @ZBrownCEO #Porsche962 pic.twitter.com/oMGGgDX8BE

— United Autosports (@UnitedAutosport) July 20, 2023

United also took part in the festivities surrounding Yorkshire Elegance this week, with Phil Hanson, Frederick Lubin and Oliver Jarvis all making appearences as part of the event’s array of Le Mans-focused guest drivers and cars.

Le Mans winner and 12-time Le Mans driver @ollyjarvis takes the 1923 Bentley 3.0L – which raced in the first ever @24hoursoflemans 100 years ago – for a spin around @bowcliffehall. Not bad for a Tuesday … #BeUnited #LeMans24 #LeMans #YorkshireElegance #Bentley #LeMans pic.twitter.com/knZxQz1tDo

— United Autosports (@UnitedAutosport) July 18, 2023

In addition to the 1923 Bentley above, a handful of additional significant Le Mans cars present. There was a 1925 works-entered Bentley (the first of its kind to compete at Le Mans), a Ginetta G60 LTP1, a pair of Jaguar D-Types including the 1955 Le Mans-winner and an Aston Martin LM16.

ELMS teams test at Aragon

A handful of ELMS teams have been out testing at Motorland Aragon this week ahead of the four-hour into-the-night race at the Spanish circuit for the series next month.

Team Virage, (with its LMP2, LMP3 and Ligier European Series machinery) has been running, as have fellow LMP3 teams Eurointernational, DKR Engineering and Racing Spirit of Léman.

Images courtesy of SRO, Lamborghini