Blancpain Endurance Series, Monza - Provisional Entry An encouraging 34 cars are set to contest the inaugural race of the new for 2011 Blancpain Endurance Series at Monza next weekend with 11 manufacturers represented (and more to come in subsequent rounds. Eleven entries have been received in the GT3 Pro Cup including Vita4One, entering two Ferrari 458 Italia cars (and a third in GT3 Pro-Am). Their line-up potentially includes reigning FIA GT1 World Champions Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini. 2009 FIA GT3 European Champions Hexis AMR are entering two Aston Martin DBRS9s with their six drivers including GT1 World race winner Frederic Makowiecki and 2007 FIA GT3 Champions Henri Moser and Gilles Vannelet. The Blancpain-Reiter team are entering a pair of Lamborghini Gallardo cars, one in the GT3 Pro Cup and one in the GT3 Pro-Am and their drivers include reigning ADAC GT Master Champions Albert von Thurn und Taxis and Peter Kox, with Blancpain President Marc Hayek racing alongside Kox. The Belgian WRT team have entered a pair of Audi R8s in the Pro Cup with Stephane Ortelli, Marcel Fässler and Andrea Piccini appearing in the teams driver line-up. GT1 regulars Marc VDS Racing have entered a pair of GT3 spec Ford GTs, with GT1 World race winner Maxime Martin lining up alongside fellow GT1 racers Bas Leinders and Markus Palttala. Two further Ferrari 458s are entered in the Pro Cup, one run by British team Scuderia Vittoria and French outfit SOFREV ASP, with a further Ferrari 458 entered by SOFREV ASP in the Pro-Am section. Italian team AutoOrlando Sport are the sole Porsche 997 GT3 R entry in the GT3 Pro Cup, while fellow Italian team De Lorenzi Racing is entering a 997 GT3 R in the Pro-Am Cup. Multiple FIA GT2 Champions AF Corse have entered a single Ferrari 458 in the Pro-Am Cup, while Sport Garage from France and Black Bull Swiss Racing both enter Ferrari 430 Scuderias. Rhino’s Leipart Motorsport have entered a Lamborghini Gallardo in the GT3 Pro-Am, with a second entry likely. GPR Aston Martin Racing from Belgium is the only Aston Martin entry in the Pro-Am section with a DBRS9. Six cars are entered in the GT3 Gentleman Trophy, Ruffier Racing from France has a two car entry with the Lamborghini Gallardo while De Lorenzi Racing adds to its Porsche entry in the Pro-Am, with two Porsche 997 Cup. Sport Garage is also adding a second Ferrari 430 Scuderia, with the second car running in the Gentleman Trophy and Belgian team Level Racing entering a single 997 GT3 Cup S. The GT4 entry numbers seven cars, with Lotus Italia Scuderia Giudici with a Lotus Evora GT4 which includes Leo and Greg Mansell in the driver line-up. Lotus will have a second representative on the grid with the Lotus Driving Academy entering another Evora. 2009 GT4 European Vice Champion Alex Buncombe lines up on the grid in a RJN Motorsport Nissan 370Z together with a pair of Aston Martin Vantages from GPR Aston Martin Racing and endurance regulars Gentle Swiss Racing, the Swiss team also enter a GT4 spec Maserati. De Lorenzi Racing will run a GT4 spec Ginetta G50 alongside their trio of GT3 spec Porsches. Bas Leinders - Marc VDS Racing Team - Ford GT "I really love driving at Monza. I like high speed tracks with low downforce, so we are able to get the speed on the straights. I've raced at Monza in many different formulas, including Formula One, and I just enjoy the big braking zones. With our Ford GT we aren't the fastest on the straights, so this will mean it won’t be an easy race for us. In fact it will probably be the most difficult race this season, but we hope to score some good points. We have a good driver lineup, but there are many other good driver pairings and the competition will be very hard. It will be nice to have endurance-style races alongside the GT1-style sprint races." Peter Kox - Blancpain-Reiter - Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 "We are really looking forward to Monza. I really very glad that this style of endurance racing is back on the calendar. With Reiter Engineering and with Marc (Hayek), I have two fantastic partners. It looks like it is going to be a fantastic series with a lot of entries, with competitive cars and teams, so I look forward to it. Monza is fantastic. Monza has a fantastic atmosphere, it always has a certain mystique and it is good for Monza to be on the Blancpain Endurance Series calendar." Henri Moser - Hexis AMR - Aston Martin DBRS9 "I'm really looking forward to the first event at Monza because it looks like the entry list is gorgeous. We are going to have so many different cars from a lot of different manufacturers. It's going to be tough competition for sure. The track at Monza is really nice; I've raced there a few times. The big question mark is which car is going to be the quickest there, because with the balance of performance it is difficult to know at the being of the season. We have a very, very strong team, a very strong car and I have some strong teammates as well, so we will be aiming for a good result in Italy." Frederic Makowiecki - Hexis AMR - Aston Martin DBRS9 "It will be new for Hexis to do a long race because at the moment we do just the one- hour races. It will be very exciting, even if the track at Monza might not be the best for the Aston Martin, but we hope to have a good race." Andrea Piccini - WRT - Audi R8 LMS "It looks good, the series looks very strong with lots of good cars, good teams, good drivers, so I think it will be what FIA GT used to be ten years ago with three-hour races and the Total 24 Hours of Spa. It is good to go back to this type of racing. WRT is a very good team and I drove the Audi last year, the car is good. I don't know what the balance of performance will be this year but this will be the first race for everybody, so we'll see." Maxime Martin - Marc VDS Racing Team - Ford GT "I think the race at Monza will be good training for the team for the Total 24 Hours of Spa. We have worked very hard in GT1 with the pitstops, but I think it will be a bigger challenge for the three-hour races. I think with the Ford GT it will be quite difficult in Monza because we don't have the biggest engine, but I know the team will do a great job. Monza is a nice track with a lot of quick corners, long straights with big braking zones, so we will see how it goes next weekend." Bert Longin - WRT - Audi R8 LMS "I am pleasantly surprised about the number of entries for the Blancpain Endurance Series, which is looking very good. I think everyone has been waiting for this type of championship. I like the track at Monza very much, where I will drive for WRT with Stephane Ortelli and Filipe Albuquerque, so I have to be in good shape. It should be a very good event in Monza." Race Entry GT3
1 Vita4One DEU Andrea Bertolini ITA Michael Bartels DEU Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Pro Cup
2 Vita4One DEU TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Pro Cup
3 Hexis AMR FRA Yann Clairay FRA Julien Rodrigues FRA Pierre-Brice Mena FRA Aston Martin DBRS 9 GT3 Pro Cup
4 Hexis AMR FRA Frédéric Makowiecki FRA Gilles Vannelet FRA Henri Moser CHE Aston Martin DBRS 9 GT3 Pro Cup
TBA Vita4One DEU Niek Hommerson Louis Machiels TBA Paul van Splunteren NED Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Pro-Am Cup
6 Rhino's Leipert Motorsport DEU Duarte Felix da Costa POR Lourenco Beirao da Veiga POR Ricardo Bravo POR Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 GT3 Pro-Am Cup
7 Rhino's Leipert Motorsport DEU TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 GT3 Pro-Am Cup
8 GPR Aston Martin Racing BEL Eddy Renard BEL Ludovic Sougnez TBA TBA TBA Aston Martin DBRS 9 GT3 Pro-Am Cup
9 AutOrlando Sport ITA Gianluca Roda ITA Raffaele Gianmaria ITA Paolo Ruberti ITA Porsche 997 GT3 R GT3 Pro Cup
10 SOFREV ASP FRA Patrice Goueslard FRA Julien Jousse FRA Jérôme Policand FRA Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Pro Cup
18 De Lorenzi Racing ITA Gianluca De Lorenzi ITA Stefano Borghi ITA Alessandro Bonetti ITA Porsche 997 GT3 R GT3 Pro-Am Cup
19 Level Racing BEL Brody BEL Cyril Calmon FRA TBA TBA Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S GT3 Gentleman Trophy
20 SOFREV ASP FRA Ludovic Badey FRA Jean-Luc Beaubelique FRA Franck Morel FRA Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Pro-Am Cup
22 Sport Garage FRA Philip Shearer FRA Lionel Comole FRA TBA Ferrari 430 Scuderia GT3 Gentleman Trophy
24 Blancpain-Reiter DEU Marc A. Hayek CHE Peter Kox NDL TBA Lamborghini LP 560 GT3 Pro-Am Cup
25 Blancpain-Reiter DEU Albert von Thurn und Taxis DEU Nikolaus Meyr-Melnhof AUT Eugenio Amos ITA Lamborghini LP 560 GT3 Pro Cup
30 Ruffier Racing FRA Jacques Medard FRA Gabriel Abergel FRA TBA Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 Gentleman Trophy
31 Ruffier Racing FRA Georges Cabannes FRA TBA TBA Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 Gentleman Trophy
32 WRT BEL Bert Longin BEL Stéphane Ortelli FRA Filipe Albuquerqe TBA Audi R8 LMS GT3 Pro Cup
33 WRT BEL Greg Franchi BEL Andrea Piccini ITA Marcel Fässler CHE Audi R8 LMS GT3 Pro Cup
36 De Lorenzi Racing ITA Sergio Negroni ITA Luigi Emiliani ITA Marco Cassera ITA Porsche 997 GT3 Cup GT3 Gentleman Trophy
37 De Lorenzi Racing ITA Sergio Parato ITA Giorgio Piodi ITA Stefano Bianconi ITA Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S GT3 Gentleman Trophy
38 Scuderia Vittoria Limited GBR Giacomo Petrobelli ITA Matteo Bobbi ITA Carlos Iacomelli ITA Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Pro Cup
40 Marc VDS Racing Team BEL Maxime Martin BEL Bas Leinders BEL Markus Palttala FIN Ford GT GT3 Pro Cup
41 Marc VDS Racing Team BEL TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA Ford GT
42 Sport Garage FRA Eric Cayrolle FRA Christophe Jouet FRA Michaël Petit FRA Ferrari 430 Scuderia GT3 Pro-Am Cup
46 Black Bull Swiss Racing CHE Andrea Invernizzi ITA Mirko Venturi ITA Tommaso Maino ITA Ferrari 430 Scuderia GT3 Pro-Am Cup
50 AF Corse ITA Jack Gerber SAF Matt Griffin GBR TBA Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Pro-Am Cup
TBA Gulf Team First UAE Frédéric Fatien FRA Jean-Pierre Valentini FRA TBA TBA Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 Pro-Am Cup
TBA Tam Engineering UAE TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA Corvette Z06 R GT3 Pro-Am Cup GT4
61 Lotus Driving Academy GBR TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA Lotus Evora GT4 GT4
63 RJN Motorsport GBR Alex Buncombe GBR Jordan Tresson FRA Christopher Ward GBR Nissan 370Z GT4
64 Gentle Swiss Racing CHE Lorenz Frey CHE Rolf Maritz CHE Fredy Barth CHE Aston Martin Vantage GT4
65 Gentle Swiss Racing CHE Andrina Gugger CHE Deris Schägi CHE TBA TBA Maserati GT4
70 Lotus Italia Scuderia Giudici ITA Edoardo Piscopo ITA Leo Mansell GBR Greg Mansell GBR Lotus Evora GT4 GT4
73 De Lorenzi Racing ITA Alberto Viglione ITA Pier Limonta ITA Fabrizio Ferrari ITA Ginetta G50 GT4
88 GPR Aston Martin Racing BEL TBA TBA TBA TBA Léonard Vernet CHE Aston Martin Vantage GT4 | 
