FIA GT3: Castellacci and Leo Prepare for Dutch Title Showdown

Castellacci and Leo Prepare for Dutch Title Showdown

Italian racing duo Francesco Castellacci and Federico Leo are preparing for the biggest weekend of their racing careers as they head to Zandvoort as Championship leaders for the final two races of the season on the 15-16 October.

Castellacci and Leo, who are racing a AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia, are currently 14 points ahead of their nearest rivals, Mike Parisy and Philippe Giauque in the Graff Racing Mercedes Benz SLS AMG. However, with 50 points on offer during the two 60-minute races in Zandvoort, no less than twenty drivers have the opportunity to secure the 2011 driver’s crown, making 2011 the closest season in FIA GT3 history.

Former British and Italian F3 racer Francesco Castellacci, who is in his first season of GT racing, was open-minded about the challenge they face in the final two races. “Even with a 14-point advantage, the championship is still wide open. I know that it will be difficult, but we have to arrive there with the same mentality that we had for the other races. Full attack, but always using our heads and being careful to not make mistakes.”

After taking one win at Silverstone in May and three other podium finishes in Portugal, France and Slovakia, Federico Leo is cautiously optimistic about Zandvoort suiting the Ferrari. “The 458 Italia GT3 is a great car at most of the circuits we have been to so far. I think in Zandvoort we will be competitive as well, since there is a mix of fast and slow corners. We suffered a bit during the races in Slovakia and Spain, especially because of the hot temperatures which stressed the front tyres too much. But I think that in mid October this would not be a problem in Zandvoort.”

Adding a European title to their CV is very important for both drivers, especially as this is their first full season of GT racing, having moved over from single seaters. Francesco Castellacci commented: “This is my first season in GT and I’m very proud of what we have achieved in a short space of time. When I was in single-seaters, my dream, like all the racing drivers of my age, was to get to Formula 1 but we all know that the budgets are always the main problem. So at the beginning of the year I decided to move to one of the best GT Championships in the world to demonstrate what I am capable of, to try to win the title, and to use it to open doors to other opportunities. So my thinking now, going into the final race weekend, is: ‘a dream deserves a second chance, this is mine!’ Both of us will be going for the title 100% in Zandvoort.”

Rounds 11 and 12 of the 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship will take place at Zandvoort in The Netherlands on the 15-16 October. Both the Drivers’ and Team titles will be decided after the two 60-minute races, with Need for Speed Team Schubert (158 pts) leading the Team title race by 19-points from Dutch team Faster Racing by DB Motorsport (139 pts) but with a total of 86 points available from the two races.

The fastest of the 2011 Championship winning pair of drivers will become the latest recipient of the Michelin Award. This is a €150,000 prize-fund and up to 40 sets of Michelin tyres to move up to the FIA GT1 World Championship in 2012. 2010 FIA GT3 European Champion Christian Hohenadel has raced an Aston Martin DB9 with French team Hexis AMR this season alongside Andrea Piccini and is currently 4^th in the FIA GT1 World Championship with one win and two further top 3 finishes to his credit.

Qualifying and both races will be streamed live on the official website at www.gt3europe.com

DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP after Round 10
	Drivers	Car	Team	TOT
1	Francesco Castellacci	Ferrari 458 Italia	AF Corse	97
ex	Federico Leo	Ferrari 458 Italia	AF Corse	97
2	Philippe Giauque	Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3	Graff Racing	83
ex	Mike Parisy	Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3	Graff Racing	83
3	Maxime Martin	Aston Martin DBRS9	Team LMP Motorsport	81
ex	Gael Lesoudier	Aston Martin DBRS9	Team LMP Motorsport	81
4	Jeroen Den Boer	BMW Z4 GT3	Faster Racing by DB Motorsport	79
ex	Hoevert Vos	BMW Z4 GT3	Faster Racing by DB Motorsport	79
5	Greg Franchi	Audi R8 LMS	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	75
ex	Enzo Ide	Audi R8 LMS	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	75
6	Edward Sandström	BMW Z4 GT3	Need for Speed Team Schubert	75
ex	Abdulaziz Al Faisal	BMW Z4 GT3	Need for Speed Team Schubert	75
7	Csaba Walter	BMW Z4 GT3	Need for Speed Team Schubert	74
ex	Claudia Hürtgen	BMW Z4 GT3	Need for Speed Team Schubert	74
8	Dominik Baumann	Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3	HEICO Motorsport	67
ex	Brice Bosi	Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3	HEICO Motorsport	67
9	Nikolaus Meyr-Melnhof	Lamborghini Gallardo LMP600	Reiter Engineering	62
ex	Albert von Thurn und Taxis	Lamborghini Gallardo LMP600	Reiter Engineering	62
10	Nick Catsburg	BMW Z4 GT3	Faster Racing by DB Motorsport	50
Ex	Harrie Kolen	BMW Z4 GT3	Faster Racing by DB Motorsport	50

TEAM’S CHAMPIONSHIP after Round 10
1	Need for Speed Team Schubert	158
2	Faster Racing by DB Motorsport	139
3	Graff Racing	118
4	AF Corse	115
5	HEICO MOTORSPORT	114
6	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	88
7	Team LMP Motorsport	83
8	Prospeed Competition	64
9	Sainteloc Racing	39
10	Reiter Engineering	33

2011 FIA GT3 European Championship
7/8 May Portugal Algarve
4/5 June Great Britain Silverstone
2/3 July Spain Navarra
16/17 July France Paul Ricard
20/21 August Slovakia Slovakia Ring
15/16 October Netherlands Zandvoort

For more information visit www.gt3europe.com

Jeff Carter

Media Delegate,

Photo: DPPI.