First visit of the Ultimate Cup Series at the Hockenheimring

• The legendary Hockenheimring will host the Ultimate Cup Series this weekend from 16-18
  September
• The German arena is on the Ultimate Cup Series calendar for the very first time

Heading east to Hockenheim, Germany, for the KENNOL GT Endurance Cup, Endurance Proto, Coupe Pièces Auto GT Hyper Sprint and Single Seater grids.

After a well-deserved summer break, this event on the other side of the Rhine marks the start of the second part of the season for the competitors in the Ultimate Cup Series.

The Hockenheimring, which hosted the German Formula One Grand Prix for many years between 1970 and 2019, will be the scene of the fourth round of the season for the four grids mentioned above, before the final sprints at Magny-Cours (7-9 October) and Le Castellet (11-13 November).

The teams and drivers already present on Thursday were able to discover the track for some of them and for others to get their first bearings in wet conditions during the Track Day. This uncertain weather should last throughout the weekend.

The next three days of competition on one of the world’s most famous circuits will be highlighted by two 4-hour races on Sunday, the first for GTs and the second for prototypes. Three intense 20-minute races will continue to be offered to the single-seater drivers, while the Hyper Sprint formula – two 20-minute races and one 50-minute race – will continue to provide some great battles for victory.

The Ultimate Cup Series will host the Belgian BGDC championship in the support category during the German weekend.

Coupe KENNOL GT Endurance – Samani, Collard and Racetivity arrive in Germany leading the championship With three different winners in Castellet, Navarra and Misano, the battle is more than ever undecided in the KENNOL GT Endurance Cup. Charles-Henri Samani and Emmanuel Collard, who won in Spain, where the victory counted double, and with two second places to their credit, have increased their lead at the top of the general classification, but also in their UGT3A category.

With a total of 86 points, the duo in the #83 Racetivity Mercedes-AMG GT3 now have a 10-point lead over Jean-Paul Pagny, David Hallyday and Jean-Bernard Bouvet in the #2 Visiom Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo. Nicolas Chartier and Vincent Capillaire are looking to build on their first ever victory in Italy this weekend in the n°88/Akkodis ASP Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 and can still believe in their title hopes should they finish the season perfectly.

And what if the Renault RS01 n°31 of AB Sport Auto creates a surprise? Rémy Kirchdoerffer and Jonathan Cochet are looking for their first success of the season, which they hope to achieve in Germany.

Notebook :

• 12 cars, divided into the UGT3A, UGT3B, UGTC4A and Porsche Cup classes, will compete during the 4-hour race on Sunday morning between 09:15 and 13:15.
• GT Class 3B: The Vortexes have dominated the start of the season in their class, starting with the pairing of #701, Miguel Moiola and Lucas Sugliano. The two men, supported by Vincent Congnet this weekend, have already won two out of three races. The reigning champions of the discipline, Hary Putz and Raphaël Van Der Straten, are hoping to ward off fate and score their first points of the season with the Marc Car Mustang II entered by VDS Racing Adventures.
• GT Class 4A: Milan Compétition is back this weekend with its Audi R8 LMS GT4, driven by Pierre Arraou and Frédéric Billon.
• Porsche Cup: Five Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars will compete at Hockenheim in this category, which is dominated by Joeffrey Dorchy and Julien Froment in the n°94 Porsche 992 of Martinet by Alméras. They will be joined for the occasion by Xavier Follenfant. The emblematic team will enter its second car for its inseparable duo, Pierre Martinet and Gérard Tremblay, joined by Thierry Perrier who will be competing in his first race at the wheel of this car.

Coupe PIECES AUTO GT HYPER SPRINT – A very intense Ferrari/Bentley battle
Thanks to a very good Italian weekend at Misano, Eric Mouez has taken the lead in the UGT3A ranking of the Coupe Pièces Auto GT Hyper Sprint at the wheel of the #88 Bentley Continental GT3, which he shares in Germany with Gabriele Marotta, within the CMR team. The French team is leading the overall team standings.

Edoardo Barbolini and Luca Demarchi, who won the individual races on home soil last July, are more than ever in contention for the title. The duo in the n°3 Scuderia Ravetto & Ruberti Ferrari 488 GTE Evo will be looking to confirm the trend and above all to follow up with a perfect weekend.

The format, which was introduced at the start of 2022, features three races – two of 20 minutes and one of 50 minutes – and promises to be particularly lively, especially with the arrival of a new car, the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GT3 Callaway. The car will be driven by Kennol Racing Team, with Kennol CEO Olivier Morihain and experienced driver Christophe Bouchut. The latter can boast 20 participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including an overall victory in 1993

Notebook :

• 12 cars, including 5 in the premier UGT3A class and 16 drivers are expected to compete in Germany this weekend
• Nigel Bailly will contest the final three rounds of the season in the CMR Bentley Continental GT3 after his stint at Misano
• Hervé Huber makes his Ultimate Cup Series debut this year in a Ferrari 488 GT3 under the RSR banner
• BDR Competition Grupo Prom returns with two Lamborghini Super Trofeo cars in the UGT3B class for its regular drivers Amaury Bonduel and Alfredo Hernandez
• SebLajoux Racing is running a dual programme in Endurance and Sprint with two Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars lining up in all three races of the Coupe Pièces Auto Hyper Sprint
• Porsche Cup : Maxime Mainguy (Breizh Motorsport) will try to extend his lead at the top of the championship
• UGT3B : Several drivers have had the opportunity to compete in this category since the beginning of the season, but it is Jérémy Faligand who is making the difference so far, for the Vortex n°70.
• UGTC4B : Gregory Launier will continue his solo run at the wheel of the Rosel Racing BMW M2 CS

Endurance Proto – Graff and Pegasus Racing battle it out
The drivers and teams competing in the Endurance Proto grid this weekend – in the LMP3, NP02, CN and EVO classes – will battle it out over a four-hour race at the Hockenheimring on Sunday afternoon.

After a stint at Le Castellet to open the 2022 season, the Alsatian Pegasus Racing team is back at it again, a few dozen kilometres from its base, with its n°23 Ligier JS P320, driven by driver-patroller Julien Schell and Thibault
Ehrhart. The duo had managed to climb onto the podium at Le Castellet and are looking forward to playing a leading role against the Graff’s n°16 Ligier JS P320, whose crew has changed slightly. LMP3 championship leaders Umberto d’Amato and Lucca Allen will be joined by Fabrice Rossello, who has already competed in LMP3 in the past as well as in single-seaters with Pascal Rauturier’s team.

Notebook :

• With Mathys Jaubert and Frédéric Crouillet winning the overall classification at the wheel of the Nova CN n°72 of ANS Motorsport, the LMP3s have no room for error against the CNs. The duo from the team
  led by driver boss Nicolas Schatz can also claim the overall Proto crown.
• Mathys Jaubert and Frédéric Crouillet lead the CN ranking by a short margin ahead of the Palmyr drivers, Philippe Mondolot and Christophe Kubryk.
• With a podium finish at the beginning of the season, Dylan and Alban Nerguti, accompanied by Stéphane Ortelli, have the potential to offer the Nerguti team a first success this season in Proto.
• After his victory at Misano in the DB Autosport Nova Proto NP02, Jordan Perroy will make his debut in Germany, alongside the son of Daniel Bassora, team manager, Quentin Bassora

Single Seater – Young drivers Sachat Maguet and Lorys Kyburz rebel
The starting grids of the three races of the Single Seater series will look great with no less than 20 cars entered across the Rhine.

Two young drivers are leading the championship at the wheel of their F3R after the first races of the season. Sacha Maguet’s Italian weekend at Misano was almost perfect, with his first ever overall victory and two second places. The 17 year old Formula Motorsport hopeful was the best performer in terms of results, arriving at Hockenheim in the lead of the championship ahead of 20 year old Loris Kyburz (Graff), who was 14 points behind, while defending champion Nicolas Prost (CMR) was third, 18 points behind the leader.

In the F3R Ultimate classification – a category reserved for Gentlemen Drivers – the Race Motorsport drivers have the upper hand in the hierarchy. David Cristini is in the lead with 135 points, thanks in particular to his Italian hat-trick, ahead of Franck Seemann (119 pts) and Frédéric Boillot (100 pts).

Let’s not forget the Formula Renault 2.0 whose battles also animate the races within the field despite the undivided domination, for the moment, of Christophe Hurni (Sports-Promotion), ahead of Gilles Depierre (Rever’Team) and Frey G.T (CMR).

The first of the three races will be held this Friday at 17:55, whereas the two other confrontations will take place on Saturday at 11:35 and 15:00.