Rob Severs takes race victory and championship title in Zandvoort

8th October 2018


Zandvoort played host to the final race of the GT4 Central European Cup in 2018. With little separating the championship contenders in both the Pro-AM Cup and Am Cup classes, both title battles remained tense right up to the final lap.

“We did it!” said Rob Severs (#43 Allied Racing), who was in celebratory mood after his race victory together with teammate Nicolas Schöll. Rob Severs had travelled to Zandvoort in third position in the championship, but put together an excellent race weekend at his home circuit to take the title. Severs followed up his victory on Saturday with another win in Sunday’s race, giving the Dutchman enough points to secure the championship. The local driver was helped to championship success by teammate Nicolas Schöll, who qualified their Porsche Cayman GT4 CS MR on pole on Saturday.

Finishing in second behind the newly crowed Pro-AM Cup champions were Antoni Chodzen and Patrick Zamparini (#50 Scuderia Villorba Corse). Thanks to this result from the Polish/Italian driver pairing, Scuderia Villorba Corse secured the teams’ classification. Third place went to Belgian drivers Nicolas Vandierendonck and Bas Schouten (#30 SRT Selleslagh Racing), who were making a guest appearance at Zandvoort this weekend and secured their second podium in two races.

Polesitters Lenny Marioneck and Marylin Niederhauser (#26 Reiter Engineering) just missed out on a podium finish down in fourth position.  the championship, Niederhauser ultimately finished second behind Rob Severs. Her KTM teammates Benjamin Mazatis and Ilmari Korpivaara (#25 Reiter Engineering) finished in third position in the championship despite a serious accident in the final race.

Victory for Freddy Fast in the Am Cup

Mercedes driver Freddy Fast (#48 Lechner Racing) took the victory in the hard-fought Am Cup class after an exciting hour of wheel-to-wheel racing. Fast also secured third place in the Am Cup championship with the win. He was closely followed by the previous day’s victory, Maciej Marcinkiewicz (#7 eSky WP Racing Team), in second position. This second-place finish not only gave the Pole another podium finish, it also saw him wrap up the Am Cup title.

Marcinkiewicz’s closest rivals in the championship battle, Romy Dall’Antonia and Giuseppe Fascicolo (#77 Scuderia Villorba Corse), crossed the finishing line in fourth position and finished runners-up in the Am Cup class. Third place in the final race of the season went to Porsche drivers Jan Kasperlik and Jörg Viebahn (#41 Allied Racing).

 

Tight finish in the teams’ championship

Scuderia Villorba Corse were crowned champions in the GT4 Central European Cup after finishing just one point ahead of eSky WP Racing Team. Allied Racing, headed by Pro-AM Cup champion Rob Severs, finished in third position.

Driver quotes

Rob Severs, #43 Allied Racing: “It was an unbelievable race for me. I knew that I would have to win both races if I wanted to win the title. To do so at my home circuit is a dream come true. My team has worked unbelievably hard and I would like to thank each and every one of them for making this possible.”

Antoni Chodzen, #50 Scuderia Villorba Corse: “Today’s race was full of highs and lows for me. We made a poor start and I was also handed a drive-through penalty for an infringement on the start/finish straight. Then, thanks to the safety car period, we were able to close up to the rest of the field and fight our way through to second position. My teammate Patrick did a fantastic job!”

Benjamin Mazatis, #25 Reiter Engineering: “We had a good start and were able to hold our position, which was by no means an easy task. Unfortunately another car pushed us into the wall in turn three, which put us all the way to the back of the field. My teammate Ilmari did a great job fighting his way back through the field, and was able to hand over the car to me in a good position. Unfortunately, damage linked to the original contact put us into the wall again. The boys in the pits did a fantastic job to get us back out there on the track and help us cross the finishing line. It’s a shame they weren’t rewarded more for their efforts. We had a great season but have come away empty handed.”

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Results Race 1

More information is available on the official website of the GT4 Central European Cup, www.gt4series.com. In the website’s live section, there is official live timing for all the sessions. GT4 Central European Cup can also be found onFacebookTwitter, and Instagram.

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SRO Motorsports Group, the architect of modern GT racing 

Over the past 25 years SRO has specialised in the promotion and organisation of motorsport series around the world.

Inextricably linked with GT racing’s revival in the early 1990s, currently SRO predominantly promotes series that adhere to the successful GT3 and GT4 regulations. Indeed, these rules – a common framework allowing manufacturers, teams and drivers to compete equally with one another – have helped to establish SRO as the global leader in customer GT racing.

Today, SRO’s influence and organisation can be seen around the world. Its flagship continues to be the European-based Blancpain GT Series, which features both the Sprint and Endurance Cups. Its annual highlight remains the iconic Total 24 Hours of Spa.

The same Pirelli tyres and Balance of Performance parameters governing the Blancpain GT Series have also been adopted in the United States by the Pirelli World Challenge (of which SRO is the controlling shareholder), while SRO expanded its successful platform East in 2017 by establishing Blancpain GT Series Asia.

In addition, the world’s best GT races from all four corners of the globe are brought together under the Intercontinental GT Challenge. The 2018 edition features four events – the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the inaugural Suzuka 10 Hours, and the California 8 Hours of Laguna Seca.

SRO is also strong domestically. The multi-class British GT Championship, over which it has presided since 2005, pairs GT3 with GT4 machinery. The FFSA French GT Championship, for many years run by SRO, returned to the fold in 2017, and was added to the existing GT4 European Series. GT4’s incredibly successful first season in France provided SRO with the blueprint and confidence to expand the class’ European footprint further. A new regional series to support the flourishing GT4 class has been added in 2018: the GT4 Central European Cup.

In addition, SRO’s world-renowned Balance of Performance regulations are licensed by other series running GT3 and/or GT4 machinery, such as Super GT in Japan, the Australian GT Championship, the ADAC GT Masters and the VLN in Germany and the China GT Championship. SRO also works closely with the FIA when organising its prestigious Macau FIA GT World Cup race.

While Macau caters solely for professional teams and drivers, SRO also understands the important role amateurs play in GT racing’s global success and sustainability. That is why it operates the SRO Race Centre by MMC – a high-level technical centre at Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France – and Curbstone Track Events, which provide the ultimate track driving opportunities on world-renowned circuits. Many of its clients have subsequently graduated to the Blancpain GT Sports Club, the first competitive stepping stone towards gaining the confidence and racecraft required to compete in a Pro/Am environment.

SRO continues to focus on new initiatives that meet the demands of a fast-changing motorsport industry. In light of this, the organisation will launch the inaugural Bahrain GT Festival in November 2018, working in collaboration with the FIA and the Bahrain International Circuit.

This end-of-season event will feature two new standalone races: the FIA GT Nations Cup for GT3 cars, and the GT4 world final, the SRO GT4 International Cup. The Nations Cup will see drivers competing for international honour in the colours of their home countries, while the GT4 contest will bring together the global elite from this rapidly-growing category.

What’s more, SRO will also organise the first GT4 Europe Final at Germany’s Hockenheim circuit in October, creating yet another competitive challenge for the continent’s many GT4 racers.   

SRO Motorsports Group is chaired by company founder and CEO Stephane Ratel and has offices in London, Paris, Liège and Hong Kong. Its dedicated team of full-time and freelance staff work with the support of numerous national sporting authorities and sanctioning bodies to offer teams, drivers and manufacturers the world’s best professional, Pro/Am and amateur GT racing platforms.