Nearly a dozen drivers are in contention for championship honours at the 2017 24H SERIES powered by Hankook season finale in Portimão
You may have heard the phrase ‘all roads lead to Rome’, a medieval proverb claiming that all things ultimately lead to a pre-determined result. Were they here today, our philosophical forebears might be forced to rethink this, given that all roads leading to Portimão for the final round of this year’s 24H SERIES presented by Hankook have been anything but predictable. Shock winners in Imola, runaway leaders hitting trouble in Dubai, and strategy gambles paying off at the Red Bull Ring. Indeed, heading into the series’ first sojourn to Portugal, nearly a dozen drivers remain in contention for outright championship glory.
Just two points separate the #1 Hofor-Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 (92 points) and the #991 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 991 GT3 R (90) in the A6-class, while the #85 PROsport Performance Porsche 991 Cup – also on 92 points – holds a comfortable advantage in the 991 category after a run of four class victories. As a result, just two points split 11 drivers ahead of the 24H SERIES finale, namely Michael and Chantal Kroll, Kenneth Heyer, Christiaan Frankenhout, Roland Eggimann, Joe Foster, Charles Espenlaub, Charles Putman, Robert and Alfred Renauer, and Daniel Allemann. But that’s just the beginning.
Following its shock victory last time out in Imola, the #34 Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS now lies just 15 points adrift in the A6 standings, Scuderia Praha’s #11 Ferrari 488 GT3 a further 14 back thanks to outright victory on home turf in Mugello and a close-fought race for A6-Pro honours in Imola. One wonders how close the Czech Republic squad would be had they not missed the season-opening race in Dubai…
For only the second time this season, Scuderia Praha will be joined by another Ferrari in Portugal, courtesy of Germany’s aptly numbered Wochenspiegel Team Monschau (#488). Indeed, Italy looks set to be well-represented on the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO grid, with Leipert Motorsport (#10), Konrad Motorsport (#21), Motorsport Development (#55) and the GRT Grasser Racing Team (#963) all fielding Lamborghini Huracáns. The United Arab Emirates’ sole representatives – GP Extreme – make their way to the season finale with dual Renaultsport RS01s (#27 and #28).
Further down the order, VDS Racing Adventures (#58) currently co-holds the SP2 standings lead with 78 points. The Belgian-entered MARC Focus V8 is set to compete against B2F competition (#35), who have already taken a class win this year at the Red Bull Ring, as well as IDEC SPORT RACING (#75) and LMS Engineering, the latter of which boasts an all-French line-up in the #206 Audi TTRS.
Optimum Motorsport (#231) is Portugal-bound in the hopes of retaining its slim advantage at the top of SP3-GT4. Black Falcon (#3) meanwhile bookends the 2017 24H SERIES season with its first race entry since January’s Hankook 24H DUBAI, an event in which the German squad finished on the podium with a GT3-spec version of the Mercedes-AMG it will run at the near-5km Algarve International Circuit.
Team Altran Peugeot meanwhile is a team to keep a close eye on. Not only are two of their drivers in contention for the overall 24H SERIES crown, but the #308 and #908 Peugeot 308 Racing Cups also lead the way in the Teams Touring Car standings over the #108 Cadspeed Racing Audi RS3 LMS, the current TCR class leaders. The British TCR frontrunners will have their work cut out against B2F competition (#335) as the Peugeot 308 Racing Cup competes in only its third outing this season in TCR, following runs at both Mugello and Imola.
A3 race honours in Portimão will be fought out between the #71 Cor Euser Racing BMW M3 and the sole Portuguese entry confirmed thus far, the #188 Parkalgar Racing Team Honda Civic Type R. No prizes for guessing whom local race goers will be cheering for…
Oh, and did we mention that points have been multiplied by 1.5 for the season finale, meaning an A6 category win now nets 45 points rather than 30? Be under no misapprehension, a pre-determined result is unlikely. ANYTHING can happen in Portimão.