The Competition102 GT4 European Series has unveiled its entry list for the opening round of 2016, offering a tantalising taste of the machinery that will line up at selected British GT events later this year.
The continental GT4 championship joins British GT’s grid at Silverstone and Spa, and although exact numbers for those races are still to be finalised the 23-car entry expected at Monza on April 22-24 does offer a reasonably accurate guide to the extra cars that could be in action.
With both series being supplied by Pirelli this season, promoter SRO Motorsports Group saw an opportunity to unite British GT’s burgeoning GT4 category with its European counterpart, which has almost doubled its entry this season, at events where garage and track space allow.
A number of GT4 cars are therefore likely to make their first appearance in a British GT race.
Leading the charge will be eight closed-top KTM X-Bows running as part of the unique Reiter Young Stars programme for talented drivers and engineers forging a career in motorsport. Indeed, both the male and female champions will win a GT3 drive in next season’s Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup.
Reigning champions V8-Racing again enter two Chevrolet Camaros, while compatriot Racing Team Holland by Ekris Motorsport plans to run a pair of BMW M4s.
Elsewhere, at least one Sin R1 and Chevron GT4 are expected to feature along with cars more familiar to British GT fans, such as the BMW M3, Maserati GranTurismo MC, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and PROSport Performance-developed Porsche Cayman that competed at Donington last season.
Competition102 GT4 European Series Coordinator Max Braams was delighted to see so many entries making the trip to Monza.
“We’re excited to see a strong commitment from existing teams as well as new participants,” he said. “As promised, being part of the SRO Motorsports Group will ensure the growth of the championship with a great variety of cars and an excellent six-round calendar in Europe. I’m also very pleased that Reiter Engineering has chosen our series to test their up and coming talented drivers and engineers. It’s a testament to our strong commitment and competitiveness in motorsports. We hardly can’t wait for the start of the season.”
Silverstone was also the venue when British GT and the GT4 European Series last raced together in 2013.