Teams representing Lamborghini, Porsche and BMW have recently announced their driver line-up for the 2023 Fanatec GT Europe season.
Austrian outfit Grasser Racing will field a pair of Silver Cup entries in this year's Endurance Cup. The Lamborghini squad confirmed its initial #85 crew of Clemens Schmid, Glenn van Berlo and Benjamin Hites ahead of the pre-season prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard, and has now named Fabrizio Crestani, Sam Neary and Ricky Capo to drive the sister #58 machine.
The experienced Crestani will compete in the series for the first time since 2019, having previously driven for Rinaldi Racing and Daiko Lazarus. Neary adds a Fanatec GT Europe programme alongside his Intelligent Money British GT Championship effort, which has seen the 20-year-old form a successful father-son line-up with dad Richard. Neary also impressed as a last-minute substitute at the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games.
The crew is completed by Ricky Capo, who has experience in his native Australia and on the European scene. Last season saw Capo at the wheel of GT4 machinery in the DTM Trophy, while his resumé also includes outings in other GT cars and prototypes.
A new addition to the Fanatec GT Europe paddock, Pure Rxcing has named a strong driver line-up for its 2023 assault, which will see the Lithuanian squad use Porsche's new 911 GT3 R. Team owner Alex Malykhin will contest the full 10-round championship in the Bronze Cup class, with Porsche contracted driver Ayhancan Güven joining him in the Sprint Cup.
At Endurance Cup rounds Malykhin will be partnered by Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler, both of whom are very familiar with Porsche machinery. Sturm has made six starts with Allied Racing over the past two seasons, while Bachler has earned three overall wins in the Fanatec GT Endurance Cup, including the 2022 finale at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Finally, BMW squad Walkenhorst Motorsport has named Anders Buchardt, James Kell and Thomas Neubauer as the drivers for its Bronze Cup assault. An experienced amateur racer, Buchardt's recent Fanatec GT Europe outings have been for the Walkenhorst outfit, while newcomer Kell moves over from the Intelligent Money British GT Championship. Neubauer, meanwhile, returns to the Walkenhorst setup having driven a Pro car for the team in 2021. The Frenchman is also set to campaign a Team WRT BMW in this season's Fanatec GT 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. Tickets for these events are available to purchase now.