- 20 and 21 January marks the start of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe
- New format to ensure more excitement and racing fun
- Additional spots for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in Portimão and Barcelona available
The first meeting of the first year for the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe will take place this weekend. The Valencia circuit is the setting for the start of a new high-level competition within the Porsche pyramid and the organizers are working hard to give drivers and teams the opportunity to race in optimal conditions during the winter period. To allow those drivers and teams to race in even more optimal conditions, the divisions have been adjusted, which will result in more excitement and racing fun on track.
Recently, Cup Challenge Benelux BV, the promoter of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, announced that it would also race in the winter period. This initiative was baptized as the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe. The concept is very clear, with three meetings aiming for maximum driving time, all three in the south of Europe, starting on January 20th and 21st in Valencia, followed by a second meeting in Portimão, Portugal (February 11-12) and a final in Barcelona (February 24-25).
New Divisions
In the meantime, the promoter has decided to adjust the classification of the two racing classes. “Especially to serve the teams and drivers even better,” says Series Manager Lars Plato. “We have received a lot of requests in recent weeks and the number of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992 is particularly significant. That means that we are now going to divide the field differently than we initially intended. In the 'Sport' class we only find Porsche 911 GT3 Cup - Type 992 with Pro drivers and Pro-Am drivers, which consists of the faster gentlemen drivers. These drivers compete against each other. The real gentlemen drivers at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Type 992 compete in the 'Club' class, together with the drivers at the wheel of the various types of Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport (718 GT4 Clubsport, 718 GT4 Clubsport MR and 718 GT4 RS Clubsport). This should result in a balanced layout, a lot of excitement on the track and optimal racing fun. Furthermore, this way we can admit more Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to the competition while consciously balancing the number of racing cars on the track to achieve optimal test and training conditions.”
“The new division of GT3 Cup and GT4 Clubsport in the Club Division is closely in line with what we know from the Porsche Sprint Challenge Benelux and that concept works well there”, Lars Plato continues: “You can conclude that we base the division on the race pace and that is of course positive for all participants involved and offers the opportunity for even more new drivers to join in Portimão and Barcelona.”
Lots of famous names
A high quality field will certainly be present from the start during the competition and this is not only guaranteed by the professional organization, but also by the teams that will be present. The names of teams from all over Europe sound familiar and guarantee great European Porsche racing.
“Of course there are the teams from the Benelux”, Lars Plato continues. “Here we are talking about Team GP Elite, RedAnt Racing, Q1 TrackRacing, Revs Motorsport, August by NGT and Speedlover, well-known names for every racing enthusiast. They are also the permanent fixtures in our other Porsche competitions. But we also see teams from outside the Benelux, which we know from our other competitions. Just think of Team Parker Racing and Huber Racing. Moreover, we are also attracting new names, such as West Coast Racing, Porsche Estonia, Enrico Fulgenzi Racing, ID Racing, Richardson Racing and Fach Auto Tech.”
Those who travel to the south during the winter do so as part of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe to give their Porsche the spurs, but also to enjoy the beautiful setting in Spain and Portugal. “We provide a warm welcome to the participants on the eve of the first day, welcoming everyone during the opening reception. People should be able to participate in the competition in a relaxed way and that is what we really aim for. After the three meetings in five weeks, we will round off the season in a festive way with a beautiful award ceremony and ceremony.”