And so the tenth season of the FIA GT Championship gets underway, with the historic Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy. The Championship is looking stronger and more varied than ever before, and it is truly impossible to say who is likely to step up to the top of the podium to accept the magnificent Trophy, which will be awarded to the overall winners after Sunday’s three-hour race.

In GT1, the level of cars and drivers has risen yet again, and everyone is expecting the competition to be tougher than ever. Vitaphone Racing Team, the defending Champions, are back, with Bertolini and Davies joining Bartels and Biagi behind the wheel of the Maserati MC 12 cars, bearing numbers 1 and 2. They will face GLPK Carsport, the Belgian team which won two races last year, and which has upgraded to the latest Corvette C6 model. Two powerful Saleen S7 cars will be aiming to get back to the top of the podium : Zakspeed, from Germany, and Balfe Motorsport from the UK have both entered the American car, and times in Dijon and Paul Ricard showed their speed. B-Racing RS Line is a new team with big ambitions for the Lamborghini Murciélago. They will all face the biggest group in GT1, the six Aston Martin DBR9 cars. Two of them will be on Michelin tyres : Cirtek Motorsport and Phoenix Racing, driven respectively by Bouchut/Brabham and Piccini /Deletraz. On Dunlop, the two Race Alliance cars from Austria, for Wendlinger/Peter and Lechner/Diefenbacher. And on Pirelli, the Aston Martin Racing BMS cars, for Gollin/Babini and Pescatori/Ramos.

In GT2, after two relatively quiet seasons, the fight is back on ! 17 cars are due to line up for this first round. The biggest group remains the Porsches, entered by ARC Bratislava, Ebimotors, Race Alliance, Renauer Motorsport, Team Felbermayr Proton and Vonka. But they will be up against six new Ferrari 430 GT2 cars : two for Italian team AF Corse, two for JMB Racing of Monaco and two for Scuderia Ecosse. RJN Motorsport will enter its Nissan 350Z, with British single-seater star Darren Manning making his European sportscar debut, while Team LNT, a close runner-up to the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 GT2 in the first British GT races, will enter its Panoz Esperante. A sole car will run in G2, the original and competitive Gillet Vertigo, for Bas Leinders and Renaud Kuppens. On a circuit most drivers enjoy, the grid promises three hours of thrilling racing. As to the winners ... we’ll all have to wait and see !

As for the GT3 Championship, all eyes will be on the very first start, with a magnificent grid of up to 46 cars : Ascari KZ1R, Aston Martin DBRS9, Corvette Z06, Dodge Competition Coupé, Ferrari 430 GT3, Lamborghini Gallardo, Maserati GranSport Light and

Porsche 997 GT3. The remaining cars which have signed up for the full season of the Championship are being finalised at this moment, and the full grid of 51 cars should be ready in time for the second round, in Oschersleben.

SILVERSTONE - WHAT THE DRIVERS THINK

“Definitely a nice place to visit for the first race of the season. First of all, it’s a legendary track, but above all, it’s very challenging. It’s quite fast, with some difficult corners, making a good aerodynamic balance very important. Weather conditions can be crucial in the race strategy. The Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy makes the race even more attractive !” - Anthony Kumpen, GLPK Carsport Corvette C6

““I’m very pleased to be going to Silverstone, which is one of the best circuits in the world. This circuit is full of history, and you can feel that when you arrive. My last time there was seven years ago with the European Formula Renault, and I have good memories of the place. The first part is amazing, very fast with technical corners : a big challenge for the driver. I hope to be competitive there : it will be our first race, so we need to put some kilometres under our belts, but I am quite confident to start the season with a smile !” - Matteo Bobbi, AF Corse Ferrari F430

“Silverstone is a very fast circuit, one of the last in Europe which has kept its original feel while adapting to new regulations. I really like this circuit, with its wide fast corners, and also the tight corners. One of my favourites.” - Christophe Bouchut, Cirtek Motorsport Aston Martin DBR9