The GT4 European Series 2020 season finally got underway this weekend with a double win for RN Vision STS Racing at Imola in Italy and a perfect start for the BMW M4 GT4 and the BMW M customer racing teams.
Italian Gabriele Piana and his Dutch teammate Bas Schouten drove the RN Vision STS Racing Team #111 BMW M4 GT4 to victory on both Saturday and Sunday, dominating both races, finishing the first race on Saturday a clear 23 seconds ahead of the field and taking the chequered flag again on Sunday this time with an eight-second lead.
In the Pro-Am class, Turkish drivers Cem Bolukbasi and Yagiz Gedik from the Borusan Otomotiv team, took third place in Saturday’s race to secure victory in the Pro-Am class. In the AM category, Paolo Meloni and Stefano Valli from San Marino, won in the W&D Racing Team BMW M4 GT4.
Both RN Vision STS Racing and Borusan Otomotiv had further cause for celebration with podium finishes from Dutch drivers Koen Bogaerts and Mark van der Aa in Piana and Schouten’s team’s second car when they finished third in the Silver class on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Ibrahim Okyay came second in the AM category in the other car from Bolukbasi and Gedik’s team.
GT World Challenge Europe
It was a challenging season-opener for Boutsen Ginion Racing in the GT World Challenge Europe at Imola , with BMW works driver Nick Yelloly from Britain, Karim Ojjeh from Saudi Arabia and Frenchman Gilles Vannelet taking the chequered flag in sixth place in the Pro-Am class after a gruelling 85 laps in their BMW M6 GT3.
In other motorsport news, the delayed season opener for the ESET V4 Cup took place at the weekend at Grobnik in Croatia. In the second sprint race on Sunday, Hungarian Ferenc Ficza won in the GT4 class in his BMW M4 GT4 for Trevor Racing, having come home second in class in Saturday’s sprint race and finished third with teammate Gregor Zsigo and fellow countryman in the endurance race.
The next round of the GT4 European Series is again in Italy at Misano and takes place on the weekend of 7th to 9th August. You can check out the full season calendar here: https://european.gt4series.com
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is Editor of Our Man Behind The Wheel, a member of The Guild of Motoring Writers, professional photographer and former saloon car racing driver.
Photographs courtesy of BMW
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