Weekend preview: 24H Series returns at Mugello; tests for Super GT at Fuji

Following the events in the Middle East in January, the Mugello circuit marks the opening of the European season for the 24H Series, featuring four more rounds before culminating in Barcelona in mid-September. Three Ferraris, a 296 GT3 and two 488 GT3 Evo 2020s will line up at the Scarperia track. Additionally, there will be two days of official testing in the Japanese Super GT series at Fuji over the weekend, featuring Lilou Wadoux behind the wheel of Ponos Racing’s 296 GT3.

24H Series. The championship kicks off with the 12 Hours of Mugello, split into two parts: a 6-and-a-half-hour session followed by a 5-and-a-half-hour stint. Tuscany witnesses the arrival of the Pellin Racing team, with their number 29 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 courtesy of Lisa Clark, a seasoned competitor in both the European and North American series in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, partnered with Kyle Marcelli and Jeff Westphal.
The other 488 GT3 Evo 2020 on the grid is the number 5 Kessel Racing-run car in the Am class, which will see the brothers Alexandre and Mikaël Bochez take turns at the wheel, with Murat Cuhadaroglu and Felice Jelmini. The Boem by Kessel Racing team will field the number 8 296 GT3 in the Pro Am class, handled by Italians L.M.D.V., Alessandro Cutrera, Marco Talarico, Marco Frezza, and David Fumanelli.

Free practice and three qualifying sessions are scheduled for Friday 22 March. Saturday 23 will see the first part of the race, getting underway at 12.30 p.m. and finishing at 7 p.m.; this will be completed with the second leg on Sunday 24, with the green flag at 9 a.m. and the conclusion at 2.30 p.m.

Super GT. Two Ferrari 296 GT3s are set to participate in the GT300 class at the Fuji International Speedway during two days of official testing for the Super GT series on Saturday, 23 March, and Sunday, 24 March: The Ponos Racing team will field the number 45, driven by the Maranello manufacturer’s official driver Lilou Wadoux and Kei Cozzolino, while the number 6 (Velorex - Team LeMans) will be crewed by Yoshiaki Katayama and Roberto Merhi Muntan.

The action on the track nestled on the slopes of Japan’s renowned volcano follows two days of testing at the Okayama International Circuit the previous weekend, where, on the second day of testing, the number 6 Ferrari clocked the fastest time of 1'25''964 in the GT300 class, registered by Spanish driver Merhi Muntan, born in 1991.On the same weekend, Cozzolino handled the driving duties for the Ponos Racing car alone, while Wadoux was busy at the 12 Hours of Sebring with LMP2 class prototypes for the second round of the IMSA championship.

The calendar. The Super GT season includes eight rounds: after the inaugural event at Okayama (13-14 April) there will be events at Fuji (3-4 May), Suzuka (1-2 June), again at Fuji and Suzuka (3-4 August, 31 August-1 September), Sugo (21-22 September), Autopolis (19-20 October) and Motegi (2-3 November).