Quick catch up before race weekend begins

Todays opening Private testing sessions ahead of the opening round of the GT Cup Open Series has finally confirmed a two car Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 effort from the Spanish based Team Virage.

Having ventured into the latter rounds of the Series last year, the team had originally announced an early driver pairing for the 2020 season but that driver pairing has now exited stage left to be replaced with a new Pro-Am and Am Class entry for the season ahead.


The #77 car is a Pro-Am effort from single seater and 2020 AMR Driver Academy contender Robert Hefler alongside LMP3 racer Philippe Valenza. They are joined in house in the #88 Am class entry of  drivers Stephane Adler and Michael Blancemain, both of whom have race substantial experience with headline series such as the ELMS, 24H Series and Blancpain GT Series.

Unfortunately, the series seems to have become another victim of the European financial mess in which many of us now find ourselves with just seven cars entered into the opening round from Hungary this weekend.


These guys in the GT4 races are of course joined by the TF Sport crew of Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood who are again contending in the GT Open Series in their AMR Vantage GT3. That should always be enough for you to give these two race packages your support over the coming season.


Over at Sonoma in California, yesterday became a bruising affair for GT4 America racer Matt Dalton after a high speed off in his Rennsport 1 AMR Vantage during private testing. That impact caused substantial front damage to the car which needed some real time team work between his own mechanics as well as with  the support form CSJ Motorsport to deliver back to them a race car that he and co-driver Pat Gallagher can now take into the Sprint and Sprint X races that start on Friday.


Whilst the bonnet and front end may not now be wrapped with the fine red, white and black homage to Van Halen's guitar, there is always something really sexy about any race car in bare carbon!!

Fortunately reported as being uninjured from the impact, Dalton has already been reported as being very keen to get back in the car and get ready for todays Qualifying for Race 1.

Photo credits - Rennsport 1 / Flying Lizards / Virage