GTO: Series Brands Hatch preview

GT Open Title Battle Resumes In Legendary Brands Hatch

Kaffer-Barba (AF Ferrari) to defend leadership from the Porsches of Lietz-Roda and Narac-Pilet Dayraut against Couceiro-Frezza in all-Ferrari duel in GTS CRS and RPM lead strong UK representation in 25-car entry Exceptionally, the two races will take place on Sunday

One of the most legendary tracks in the world, Brands Hatch, is to host the sixth round of the 2010 International GT Open, which resumes after the summer break. The Kent historic circuit is the perfect scenery for a new battle between the Ferraris and the Porsches, as the championship enters the final and decisive stint.

Exceptionally, the week-end format will be slightly different from the usual one, with the two races taking place on Sunday (and the two qualifying sessions on Saturday).

The battle for the championship, as predictable, will gear up one step further. At the moment, Pierre Kaffer and Alvaro Barba are leading the standings, with 4 wins and 144 points, at the wheel of their AF Corse Ferrari F430, but are challenged by a duo of Porsches 911 RSR. Richard Lietz (crowned last week as GT2 Champion in the LMS) and Gianluca Roda are second in the Autorlando car (1 win, 136 points), followed by the IMSA Performance pair composed of Patrick Pilet and Raymond Narac (2 wins, 122 points). Besides Ferraris and Porsches, the Super GT category will see in action a "made in GB" car, the Aston Martin Vantage GT2, entered by Italy's Villois Racing for Wiser-Guerrero, which has been progressing a lot in its debut season.

Things are open also in the GTS category, where the Luxury Racing Ferrari F430 GT3 of Frenchman Jean-Philippe Dayrault is only 2 points ahead (58 vs 56) of the Kessel Racing Ferrari of Pedro Couceiro-Marco Frezza.

But this round of the GT Open will definitely have a very British flavor not only because of Brands and its unique atmosphere, as a number of local teams and drivers will be present.

The UK delegation will be naturally led by the two teams that have been defending the Union Jack throughout the season. In the Super GT category, CRS Racing will enter their usual two Ferraris F430 GT2 for Chris Niarchos-Tim Mullen and Chris Goodwin- Klaas Hummel. The Leicestershire-based squad will seek a third win with Niarchos- Mullen, after the two obtained in Imola and Spa, which have currently put the duo in fifth place in the overall standings.

In the GTS category, RPM will sport its beautiful black Ford GT with Alex Mortimer and Peter Bamford at the wheel, which is on a growing curve and has reached the podium twice in the last round in Magny-Cours.

But other UK teams and drivers will be racing in the Kent track in the GTS category. Trackspeed is entering one of its Porsches GT3 (with David Ashburn as one of the drivers), while Rollcenter is also back with one of its Moslers MT900 GT3 with Martin Short and Steve Quick as drivers. Mtech, on its side, will enter a Ferrari F430 GT3 for Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin, the latter being a familiar face in the GT Open for the last three seasons and a race winner in both categories. A new-comer is Craig Wilkins, who enters a Dodge Viper Coupe GT3 that he'll share with Aaron Scott.

Other changes to be noted in the 25-strong entry list regard the driver pairs at Villois Racing, with Max Busnelli joining Angelo Lancelotti on the first Aston Martin DBRS9 of the Italian squad and Matteo Giordano associated with Gianandrea Crespi on the second. Finally, Cor Euser is expected to make his come-back, with two units of the always impressive Marcos Mantis.

All the action from Brands Hatch will be broadcasted live throughout Europe by Motors TV, with further live coverage in Italy (Nuvolari), Spain (Canal + Deportes Intereconomia TV), Portugal (Sport TV) and Poland (nSport).

-source: gtosport