A trio of teams have made driver announcements this week as the start of the new Fanatec GT Europe season draws closer.
Series newcomer Theeba Motorsport has confirmed the crew of its #81 Mercedes-AMG, which will contest the full campaign in the Bronze Cup class. Team owner Reema Juffali will anchor the line-up, running her first full season in the championship after making a winning debut at last year's CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
The Saudi racer will be joined for the 10-round campaign by Ralf Aron, who returns to top-line motorsport after a five-year absence. The Estonian clinched the Italian F4 title in 2015 and went on to win races in European F3, but has not competed at the professional level since. At Endurance Cup rounds, their crew will be completed by Alain Valente, who is set to contest his season year in the long-distance series after representing HRT in 2022.
Having already announced a Pro crew, the new Tresor Attempto Racing alliance has now added a Silver Cup effort to its 2023 programme. The #99 Audi will be driven by Lorenzo Patrese and Alex Aka in Sprint, with Pietro Delli Guanti joining them for Endurance events.
Patrese showed well last year as part of Tresor's previous alignment with Car Collection Motorsport, while Aka is a mainstay of the Attempto Racing line-up and among the most quickest Silver-rated drivers in the paddock. Delli Guanti is the only series newcomer, though the 19-year-old has already driven GT3 machinery for Tresor Attempto Racing at last year's Gulf 12 Hours.
Finally, Madpanda Motorsport has added Alexey Nesov to its Endurance Cup line-up alongside team owner Ezequiel Perez Companc. The 19-year-old has experience of single-seater and GT series, as well as extensive success in sim racing. This puts the Barcelona-based squad in a strong position for the Fanatec Esports GT Pro Series, which awards real-world championship points.
Nesov and Perez Companc will be joined in the #90 Mercedes-AMG by a yet-to-be-announced third driver to compete for Silver cup honours. Madpanda Motorsport has already confirmed that Jesse Salmenautio will partner Perez Companc in the Sprint Cup.
The 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS season begins with an Endurance Cup race at Monza on 21-23 April. The Sprint campaign gets under way at Brands Hatch on 13-14 May, while the marquee CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa is scheduled for 29 June – 2 July.