Five Ferraris at 1000 km of Paul Ricard

The GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS returns to the 5.791-kilometre Paul Ricard circuit for the 1000 km, the second round of the Endurance Cup. Fifty-four cars will line up at the start, including five Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020s.

Pro. After the debut at Imola with seventh place for James Calado, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen and eighth for Davide Rigon, Daniel Serra and Antonio Fuoco, the two Iron Lynx crews will chase their first podium of the season on a track where the Prancing Horse has enjoyed various successes.

Gold Cup. This season’s new class sees two 488 GT3 Evo 2020s, fielded by AF Corse and Iron Dames. The Ferrari of the Piacenza-based team will once again be crewed by Alessandro Balzan, Hugo Delacour and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, fresh from their second place at Imola. At the same time, Rahel Frey, Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting will need to bounce back after retiring at the Santerno circuit.

Pro-Am. The class also featuring gentleman drivers will see Andrea Bertolini, Louis Machiels and Stefano Costantini in the colours of AF Corse, seeking to improve on their excellent second place at Imola.

Esports. As is traditional on an Endurance Cup weekend, the Esports GT Pro Series will hold its virtual round that awards points valid for the real championship. On Friday at 5.15 p.m. local time, drivers will compete for 60 minutes on the Assetto Corsa Competizione simulators.

Night. The 1000 km of the Paul Ricard format is unchanged from previous years, with the race starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday and the chequered flag at midnight. The drivers will battle for pole position on Saturday morning from 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., while free practice and pre-qualifying will run on Friday.