HANKOOK 24H COTA USA 2017 LIVE STREAM NOW AVAILABLE
SCCA Pro Racing sanctions first CREVENTIC SERIES powered by Hankook event at Circuit of the Americas
Austin, Texas (Nov. 10, 2017) – Fans won’t miss a second of the action during the inaugural Hankook 24H Circuit of the Americas USA 2017 CREVENTIC SEIRES powered by Hankook season finale Nov. 10-12. The FIA Silver Series grand finale is available by LIVE stream through the SCCA Pro Racing website (SCCAPro.com) or by visiting the series site (24hseries.com/scca/).
Open for GTs, touring cars and 24H Specials, the race at COTA in Austin, Texas, is the final round of CREVENTIC’s new-for-2017 ‘Championship of the Continents’. It marks the first event for the Dutch agency to be held in the United States. A total of 25 different nationalities are expected on the grid for the 24-hour race, including seven US-based teams and one outfit from Mexico.
CREVENTIC marks the fourth FIA supported series that SCCA Pro Racing sanctioned, provided insurance, track liaisons, assistant clerks and national hall-of-fame stewards. SCCA Pro also partners with Formula E when it holds events in the United States and owns Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda and the newest FIA open-wheel regional championship F3 Americas Powered by Honda.
“It’s a great honour for SCCA Pro Racing to sanction the American round of the FIA Silver Series by CREVENTIC,” SCCA Pro Racing Vice President Steve Oseth said. “SCCA members, Charles Putman and Charles Espenlaub, 2017 Class Champions in this series, along with 16 additional SCCA members are slated to race during the 24H COTA USA 2017 event. We’re excited to be a part of such a unique event that represents more than two dozen nationalities. Fans can stream the experience for free from their personal devices or come to the track and experience an exciting weekend of racing also at no charge.”
In total, 44 teams registered to participate in the 24-hour race at COTA.
“We are delighted to stage our event at COTA,” CREVENTIC’s Peter Freij said. “Opened in 2012, the circuit is a state-of-the-art facility, well-known as the venue of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, the North-American round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Grand Prix of the Americas MotoGP round and events of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, to name but a few.”
The A6 class, predominantly for GT3 cars, will account for a quarter of the grid, including 24H SERIES powered by Hankook championship winners Hofor Racing. A6 class cars expected to race in Texas are the Mercedes-AMG GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 R, Chevrolet Corvette C6-ZR1, Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and the Audi R8 LMS. Noteworthy drivers are regular IMSA class winners Jeroen Bleekemolen and Ben Keating in the #3 Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3, the reigning German Porsche Carrera Cup champion Dennis Olsen in the #13 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, the Le Mans-experienced quartet of Roald Goethe, Stuart Hall, Jamie Campbell-Walker and Nicolas Minassian in the #31 ROFGO Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and multiple 24H SERIES race winners Daniel Allemann, Ralf Bohn and Robert and Alfred Renauer in the #911 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Six Porsche 911 Cup cars entered the 991 class, including 24H SERIES class champions PROsport Performance and its drivers Charles Putman, Charles Espenlaub and Joe Foster, plus Andy Pilgrim who is joining the team for the Texas round. The SP2 class is the second-largest with eight entries, including a pair of the new Mercedes-AMG GT4, plus three MARC silhouette cars, two Porsche 991 Cup cars and a BMW M3 F80 Endurance. The SP3 class has two Porsche Cayman GT4 MRs, two BMWs and two Aston Martin Vantage GT4s.
Four TCR cars lead the touring car contingent, with two SEAT Leons facing competition from two Peugeot 308 Racing Cup cars, entered by reigning 24H SERIES touring car champions Team Altran Peugeot. Five BMW 235i Racing cars are competing in the CUP1 class, with multiple cycling champion Tom Boonen as one of the drivers for the Belgian QSR Racingschool team. Three Hondas and one Peugeot RCZ in the A2 class round out the field.
With its flagship event in Dubai, various races throughout Europe and now the inaugural event in North America, CREVENTIC organized races on three different continents in 2017. That provided an ideal opportunity for a separate ‘Championship of the Continents’, with the score from Dubai, the best score from any of the European rounds and the score from COTA being taken into account. To make the battle for the championship even more exciting, 1.5 times the regular number of points will be awarded for the race at COTA this weekend.
Official track action starts with free practice from 2:00-3:30p.m. CT, followed by qualifying from 5:00-6:00p.m. CT and night practice from 7:00-8:30p.m. CT. On Saturday, the first part of the race will be held from 9:00a.m.-11:00p.m. CT, followed by an intervention under parc fermé conditions. Racing resumes on Sunday at 8:00a.m. CT, with the finish at 6:00p.m CT. The race is free for spectators.