Page 23 - Bespoke Issue

With all the new racing seasons getting underway my personal favourite is the ercely-contested Blancpain GT Series, with balanced grids of professional and amateur entrants preparing to tackle the 10-round campaign, the series retains its reputation as the world’s most popular form of GT racing. Last years season saw great action on track at every race, record numbers of fans and an atmosphere from grandstand to paddock that made every race weekend an event.
The Paddock Life team are looking forward to the start of the Blancpain GT Series in April, which has now nalised its full-season entry list for 2018, with no fewer than 11 major manufacturers set to be represented. A total of 45 cars arrived at the French circuit of Paul Ricard for the group test, with each of the 11 manufacturers that will contest the 2018 season present.
The freshly resurfaced Paul Ricard track, which has also seen modi cations to some corners, also gave teams plenty to think about, allowing them to carry out vital setup work ahead of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup round at the French venue later in the season.
The teams were rewarded with near-perfect conditions at the track, with clear skies and bright sunshine prevailing from Tuesday morning through to Wednesday afternoon. This ensured that competitors could work through their test programmes without disruption. Teams, running in various con gurations, adopted a variety of approaches across the two days, with some focussing on setup and others targeting lap times. Tyres were a key area of focus throughout the pit lane, with teams and drivers investing signi cant time building their knowledge of the new- speci cation produced by series supplier Pirelli who are continuing their support for the 2018 campaign. Pirelli has a long and illustrious history in endurance racing, and has also claimed a huge variety of class wins in GT racing all over the world. The design of the new Pirelli GT tyres meets the needs of GT racing while maintaining the performance characteristics that endurance drivers have appreciated in the past.
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