18 countries want to win the inaugural FIA GT Nations Cup
The inaugural FIA GT Nations Cup will take place at Bahrain International Circuit on November 30 and December 1. Eighteen countries will have their representatives in GT3-spec cars driven by 36 Silver and Bronze-rated drivers.
The event organizers and promoters are the Bahrain Motorsport Federation (BMF) and the Stephane Ratel Organisation (SRO), in conjuction with FIA.
Over two days, drivers will have two practice sessions, two qualifying sessions, two qualifying races of sixty minutes each, and a third and final race of sixty minutes to determine the overall winners. Prizes will be awarded to the top three crews in the final race, with the winning crew also receiving an additional Nations Cup Trophy.
Competing crews will use cars from seven different manufacturers, supported by teams that do not need to be a team of the same nationality. Some of them will run multiple cars, so AF Corse will have three Ferrari 488 GT3s (Italy, Japan, UK), Rinaldi Racing will run two Ferraris (Germany, Russia) and Herberth Motorsport will operate two Porsches (China, Australia).
2018 FIA GT Nations Cup entry list
| Country | Operating team | Car | Number | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | Audi R8 LMS | 8 | Mike den Tandt, Charles Weerts |
| Italy | AF Corse | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 11 | Matteo Cressoni, Piergiuseppe Perazzini |
| Japan | AF Corse | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 12 | Tamotsu Kondo, Ken Seto |
| UK | AF Corse | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 14 | Chris Buncombe, Chris Froggatt |
| Mexico | Squadra Corse Garage Italia | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 15 | Martin Fuentes, Ricardo Perez de Lara |
| Denmark | Formula Racing | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 16 | Johnny Lauren, Nicklas Nielsen |
| Belarus | AT Racing | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 17 | Alexander Talkanitsa Jr., Alexander Talkanitsa Sr. |
| Argentina | HB Racing | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 18 | Jose Manuel Balbiani, Ezequiel Perez Companc |
| Malaysia | Axle Motorsport | Audi R8 LMS | 19 | Mitchell Cheah, Zen Low |
| Hong Kong | KCMG | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 | 20 | Alex Au, Andy Yan |
| Turkey | RAM Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | 34 | Ayhancan Guven, Salih Yoluc |
| Thailand | Kessel Racing TP12 | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 39 | Piti Bhirombhakdi, Pasin Lathouras |
| France | Akka ASP | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | 89 | Jean-Luc Beaubelique, Jim Pla |
| Sweden | Garage 59 | McLaren 650S GT3 | 188 | Victor Bouveng, Alexander West |
| Germany | Rinaldi Racing | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 333 | Nico Bastian, Alexander Mattschull |
| Russia | Rinaldi Racing | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 993 | Denis Bulatov, Rinat Salikhov |
| China | Herberth Motorsport | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 910 | Chao Li, Yeo Le |
| Australia | Herberth Motorsport | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 911 | Brenton Grove, Stephen Grove |
GT4 International Cup as a support event
The FIA GT Nations Cup is a part of the Bapco Bahrain GT Festival. The part of the Festival would also be the inaugural GT4 International Cup. Twenty-one crews from ten countries announced a participation in eleven different GT4-spec cars.
The cars are Audi R8 LMS, Ekris M4 and BMW M4, McLaren 570S, KTM X-Bow, Alpine A110, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche Cayman, Aston Martin Vantage, Maserati Grand Turismo MC and Ginetta G55.
Photos: Blancpain GT Series,
