Weekend preview: Ferrari in search of victories from Lausitzring to Portimão

The DTM makes a stop-off this weekend at the Lausitzring, with the two Ferrari 296 GT3s of Emil Frey Racing, while the Spa-Francorchamps track hosts the International GT Open and GT Cup Europe championships. After two months, the Ultimate Cup Series is also back, this time at Portimão in Portugal.

DTM. Following the spectacular opening round at Oschersleben, where Jack Aitken clinched victory from pole position in Race-1, driving the number 14 Ferrari 296 GT3 for Emil Frey Racing, the championship heads to the Lausitzring circuit this weekend, located 60 kilometres from Dresden. The British driver, who was held back by a collision in the second round at Oschersleben, holds second spot in the overall standings, just one point shy of the top.

The Swiss team's second car, the number 69 Ferrari 296 GT3, will be driven by the young Thierry Vermeulen, who picked up points in the season-opener and posted third in the GT World Challenge Sprint Cup at Misano. The two rounds are scheduled for Saturday 25 at 5 p.m. and Sunday 26 at 1.30 p.m.

International GT Open. The drivers from the International GT Open are preparing for the third round in five weeks, set to take place at the Spa-Francorchamps track in Belgium. This occasion will feature the GT Open 500, the first of two Endurance races scheduled this year (with the other at Monza). Having been successfully piloted last year - also at Spa - the format will feature a race lasting 2 hours, 40 minutes plus 1 lap. Qualifying takes place on Saturday, with drivers involved in both sessions, and the time determined by the average, three compulsory pit stops, and double points awarded based on the final result.

For the Prancing Horse there will be the number 51 Ferrari 296 GT3 entry of the Spirit of Race team with Nicola Marinangeli and Vincent Abril in the Pro class. More numerous will be the Pro Am class featuring Spirit of Race who field two cars, starting with the leaders of the championship standings Marco Pulcini and Eddie Cheever in the number 27, and Gino Forgione and Michele Rugolo in the number 88. AF Corse, meanwhile, will field four 296 GT3s: the number 25 with Alessandro Cozzi and Giorgio Sernagiotto, the number 55 of Jamie Stanley and Laurent De Meeus, the number 16 of Marcelo Hahn and Allam Khodair and the number 61 of Jean-Claude Saada and Conrad Grunewald. Finally, Racing One will line up the number 11 of Ernst Kirchmayr and Luca Ludwig, fresh off the back of a stunning win at Hockenheim.

In the Am class, among the four crews separated by just 14 points, is the number 5 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Olimp Racing with Stanislaw Jedliński and Krystian Korzeniowski. The programme, after Friday's free practice, includes qualifying on Saturday while on Sunday the race kicks off at 12 noon and finishes at 2.45 p.m.

GT Cup Europe. After two thrilling rounds at Portimão and Hockenheim, the GT Cup Europe is set for the third round of the season this weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps track. With four different winners in four races, the competition in the overall standings remains wide open. Thanks to their victory in Race-2 in Germany, Iván Velasco and Luca Ludwig, at the wheel of the number 80 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo of MERTEL Motorsport, have taken the lead in the standings, four points clear of the nearest rivals. MERTEL Motorsport will field other Ferrari entries: the number 84 of Arturo Melgar and Stefano Bozzoni and the number 85 of Anny Frosio and Jorge Cabezas. Also in the Pro Am class will be the Rossocorsa-run number 17 488 Challenge Evo with Lorenzo Innocenti paired with Niccolò Schirò replacing the injured Andrea Belicchi.

Ferrari representation in the Am class comes courtesy of MERTEL Motorsport, with three Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo cars: the number 81 of Fernando Navarrete and Álvaro Lobera, the number 82 of ‘Leo Chen’ and ‘Mark Speakerwas’ and the number 83 with female drivers Alba Vázquez and Laura van den Hengel.

After Friday's free practice, qualifying takes place from 11.45 a.m. to 12.05 a.m. on Saturday, with the 50-minute Race-1 getting underway at 3.50 p.m. On Sunday, qualifying is set from 9.05 a.m. to 10.10 a.m., while Race-2 will be held from 4.50 p.m. to 5.40 p.m.

Ultimate Cup Series. Two months after its debut at Paul Ricard, the championship returns on the track at Portimão in the Algarve, with the Trofeu GT Endurance Cup and Trofeu GT Sprint.

Reigning champions and winners of the first round at Le Castellet, Jean Paul Pagny, Jean Bernard Bouvet and David Hallyday in Visiom’s number 1 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 will take the start of the endurance race. On home soil, the French team led the entire event, which started from pole position, gradually edging away, while also setting the fastest lap time thanks to Bouvet.

Also competing in the UCS3 class with the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo will be the XP Racing team with Philippe Papin, Xavier Pompidou and Roland Marchix at the steering wheel.

The four-hour event will kick off on Saturday 25 at 4.25 p.m. local time and is set to conclude beneath the glow of the evening sunset.

Four Ferraris will be on the starting grid for the Trofeu GT Sprint, three of which will be driven by SR&R who dominated the opening round: in the number 3 488 GT3 will be Francesco Atzori in the UCS1/UCT category, while in the UCS3/UCT class we find Francesco Coassin in the number 333 488 Challenge Evo and Lyle Schofield and Laurenço Monteiro in the number 353.

The Swiss team, Racing Spirit of Leman, meanwhile, will field the number 91 Ferrari 488 Challenge, driven by Fréderic Lacore.

The four races of the weekend will take place on Friday, 24 May at 3.50 p.m. and 6.55 p.m. and Saturday 26 at 8.30 a.m. and 1.20 p.m.

GT WC Europe - Endurance Cup. With five weeks to go before the start of the Centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Spa, the circuit hosted two days of testing on 21 and 22 May, invaluable for the teams to fine-tune the cars and familiarise themselves with the legendary Belgian track.

Eight Ferrari 296 GT3s featured in the prologue: the number 8 of Kessel Racing with Nicolò Rosi, Niccolò Schirò, David Fumanelli and Daniele Di Amato; number 51 of AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors with the three Ferrari official drivers Alessandro Pier Guidi, Davide Rigon, Alessio Rovera; number 52 of AF Corse with Louis Machiels, Jef Machiels, Tommaso Mosca and official driver Andrea Bertolini; number 71 AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors with official driver Thomas Neubauer, Vincent Abril and David Vidales; number 74 Kessel Racing with John Hartshorne, Chandler Hull, Ben Tuck and Philip Keen; number 93 Sky Tempesta Racing with Christopher Froggatt, Jonathan Hui, Eddie Cheever and official driver Lilou Wadoux; number 333 Rinaldi Racing with Christian Hook, Felipe Fernandez Laser, David Perel and Fabrizio Crestani.

On the opening day, the best time of the Maranello cars, fourth overall, was set by Pier Guidi, Rigon, Rovera with a time of 2'19''512. On 22 May, the fastest Ferrari was the number 74 belonging to Kessel Racing with drivers Hartshorne, Hull, Tuck and Keen.

The teams will meet once again at Spa-Francorchamps for the Centenary edition of the 24 Hours kicking off on 29 June.

(All times are local.)