2014 Blancpain Endurance Series

[urdragon]

Official BES provisional entry list:

http://www.blancpain-gt-series.com/n...t-series-grids

[carbon_titanium]

Only 12 pro... less cars than last year but quality level of pro-cup grid should be the same, we lost MVDS for 4 races, hexis, vita4one, JRM (and kessel in pro cup) but will be replaced by m-sport and HTP. Anyway I hope that from silverstone at least 15 cars will be regoular in pro-cup, bhaitec and villorba would be a nice addition.

[IndyMeister]

Originally Posted by IndyMeister

- Reip is still around with the Nissan ZEOD RC
- Buncombe and RJN is not unlikeliy, as well
- last year's GT Academy alumni have some time to spare
But yes: I' am just guessing!

Yes: I am quoting myself here : But Buncombe (#80) and Shulzhitskiy (#35) were not the strangest (nor worst) picks for Nissan.

Regarding the 12 Pro cars: To my mind it's still sufficient.
But maybe it not very attractive to get beaten by the (semi) works teams for the overall win... (*cough* Bentley; *cough* Aston @ Silverstone; *couch* Marc VDS @ Spa *couch* )

[Rodger Davies]

Very nice list indeed; last year was a bit too much quantity so this is a really nice number; hope they don't lose too many through the season. ART McLaren with two pro cars is fantastic news and two strong cars each for ART, M-Sport, WRT and HTP will keep me riveted, for sure. Pity to have no Pro Porsche, Ferrari or BMW teams but more than made up for by those that are there.

Looking forward to this championship more than any other this year, once again, sure it won't disappoint.

By the way, with Vita4One not being in any SRO series and not showing at Bathurst or St Petersburg, do we assume that they are toast now?

[Pizzamannen]

I am going to be on holiday near Lake Garda when BES starts in Monza. Wondering about going for the race on Sunday. I've been to Le mans 24 hours and a couple of formula 1 races. Can i expect the same kind of queues in the morning coming to the track? Race starts local time 14:45. What time should I aim to be at the track? Shall I pre buy tickets or shall i get them at the entrance?

Online ticket sales say free grandstand and paddock. What time is paddock open for ticket holders? Does the free car park inside the track fill up quickly?

I will have approx a 2 hours drive to get to the track.

Not sure if I should have started a new thread for this question.
Cheers anyway!

[Rodger Davies]

Hey, you should expect very few queues and plenty of access to the track; BES is great to wander around and not be fixed in any one place. You won't find a magical atmosphere and full grandstands; it'll be fairly empty, but if you go nice and early you will be able to wander the paddock and meet teams and drivers, because it is a less pressured environment many of them are happy to chat usually and will happily let you stand in garages and watch the cars being prepped.

I don't know for sure how the Monza round works, but I doubt there'll be a large crowd, parking and getting tickets there probably won't be an issue. Send us some photos if you do go!

[Pizzamannen]

Cool. Sounds good!

I am Swedish, so maybe I can get a few words with A. Simonsen.

Ill try to get there early. I own a heavy Pro DSLR but haven't really used it a lot. So hopefully at Monza I can get a few pics and ill post them.

[IndyMeister]

Originally Posted by Rodger Davies

Hey, you should expect very few queues and plenty of access to the track; BES is great to wander around and not be fixed in any one place. You won't find a magical atmosphere and full grandstands; it'll be fairly empty, but if you go nice and early you will be able to wander the paddock and meet teams and drivers, because it is a less pressured environment many of them are happy to chat usually and will happily let you stand in garages and watch the cars being prepped.

Well said!
Except one thing: I've been to Monza when the stands were pretty empty for the races and - for me - the place lost nothing of its special atmosphere. I enjoyed it to wander around in a more 'personal' way without 100K other visitors.

@Pizzamannen: Enjoy your trip to Monza!

[Rodger Davies]

Actually, I agree with that; I've been there when it's been empty and it's like visiting a famous cathedral. I was talking about the race day and comparing it to the modern Silverstone BES experience - comparing the circuits would be sacrilege.

[Coach Ep]

Make sure you have enough time to visit the old banking as well!

Remember, it's a big place so plan to have sufficient time for all the 'must do's' on your list.

Have fun, you will enjoy it!

[Pizzamannen]

Originally Posted by Coach Ep

Make sure you have enough time to visit the old banking as well!

Remember, it's a big place so plan to have sufficient time for all the 'must do's' on your list.

Have fun, you will enjoy it!

Ill make sure I get up early in the morning My girlfriend won't be too amused. But atleast she will have a week of vineyards, lake and mountain views and BBQs.

I get Monza and Ferrari Museum in Modena

[Coach Ep]

I'm sure the misses likes the walk in the royal parc, last year saw some great weather and I did see quite a few families with little kids and all, visiting the parc & track. Bring her a bottle of wine and you're fine!

[rich07]

Spa 24hr news

Aston Martin Brussels to field two Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 at Spa, with one having Red Bull sponsorship. Drivers TBA

http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/be...ins-at-spa-24/

[chunterer]

Excellent entry once again!
I can't find hide nor hare of it in the tv listings though?
Motors or Eurosport not showing it?

[Pizzamannen]

Domenica ridotto | Sunday reduced fare Biglietto unico - tribune e paddock / Not numbered seats - stands and paddock €10.00

Domenica | Sunday Biglietto unico - tribune e paddock / Not numbered seats - stands and paddock €14.00




Whats the difference?

[Accident]

Originally Posted by Pizzamannen

Ferrari Museum in Modena

Will you be going to the one in Maranello as well? It isn't far if you are driving, less than 15 minutes away if I remember correctly, and there is even a shuttle that goes back and forth between them if you aren't driving.

[Pizzamannen]

Originally Posted by Pizzamannen

Domenica ridotto | Sunday reduced fare Biglietto unico - tribune e paddock / Not numbered seats - stands and paddock €10.00

Domenica | Sunday Biglietto unico - tribune e paddock / Not numbered seats - stands and paddock €14.00




Whats the difference?

Never mind, the cheaper one is for 13 - 17 year olds... That i could save some money.

Originally Posted by Accident

Will you be going to the one in Maranello as well? It isn't far if you are driving, less than 15 minutes away if I remember correctly, and there is even a shuttle that goes back and forth between them if you aren't driving.

Is this the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari? Have to pay an extra 20 euros. Will see how the day plan is looking.

[Rodger Davies]

Ooh, interesting. With Parente and now Kevin Estre at ART, they seem to be the de facto McLaren works team this year, two equally strong lineups there.

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by Rodger Davies

Ooh, interesting. With Parente and now Kevin Estre at ART, they seem to be the de facto McLaren works team this year, two equally strong lineups there.

Yep. Seems that McLaren are reforging their links with ART, especially if you look at their two GP2 drivers.

[IndyMeister]

Originally Posted by Rodger Davies

Ooh, interesting. With Parente and now Kevin Estre at ART, they seem to be the de facto McLaren works team this year, two equally strong lineups there.

Not many McLaren teams are left in BES (Gulf, von Ryan and Hexis are gone) except Boutsen who are more one the Pro-Am side of things... But ART GP should be able to challenge for wins and pdoiums this year.

Quick Update: No Autorlando-Porsche and JMB-Nissan in Monza.

[Rodger Davies]

Pity to see no Autolando in particular; worthy winners of the first BES round; one of my favourite GT races I've watched.

[Accident]

Originally Posted by Pizzamannen

Is this the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari? Have to pay an extra 20 euros. Will see how the day plan is looking.

Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari is the one in Modena, it has a short tour with videos that tell the story of the early days for Ferrari, then the large building next door that has lot of historical things (engines, stories, models) as well as several cars (was about the history of Maserati vs Ferrari when I visited last year).

The one in Maranello is the normal museum, near Fiorano circuit. It has a store and simulator you can drive in (costs though), small theater that plays a documentary (when I was there it was about Pininfarina), a section for Formula 1 stuff, and then of course a bunch of cars in whatever theme they are going with.

If you could only choose one to go to then I think the one in Maranello has a bit more to look at and will have more cars, but depending on what is on display in each one might change your opinion (ie if it's F1 theme at Maranello and vintage GT at Modena, then you choose which one you care about more).

Also just to suggest, if you do go to the one in Maranello and you want to pick up a souvenir or you collect die cast cars, I highly suggest you check out "Push Start" before you pick something up directly from the museum. It's hard to miss, it's basically in the parking lot of Museum, and they should have a line of Ferraris out front, along with a (when I was there anyway) bright green Gallardo Superleggera and a Maserati or two that you can rent. They have a lot of official Ferrari stuff (some older things and different things than the Ferrari Museum) and are a bit cheaper, and they have a HUGE selection of diecast cars in all scales for surprisingly reasonable prices considering their location.

Enjoy your trip, I'm a bit jealous because I didn't get to go to Monza when I was there (was there when it was close to the Monza rally show).

[urdragon]

Originally Posted by Rodger Davies

Ooh, interesting. With Parente and now Kevin Estre at ART, they seem to be the de facto McLaren works team this year, two equally strong lineups there.

Nice entry list updates:



My bet on the tilte contenders are the WRT's the Bentleys,the ART Mclaren no 99 and maybe the best SLS according to the BoP.

[IndyMeister]

For those who are interested in driver interviews: Motorsport-Magazine.com has done an exclsive one with Tomáš Enge.

[urdragon]

Camaro replaced by Gallardo at monza for engine issues:

http://www.reiter-engineering.com/en...nce-monza.html