Indian driver Armaan Ebrahim will compete in the Blancpain GT World Series this season that gets underway at the French track of Nogaro tomorrow.
The quality of drivers in the series this year is unequalled, with as many as six Formula One drivers and several former GT champions fighting for top honours over seven rounds featuring 14 races.
Twenty cars are confirmed for the full season with a couple of extra cars expected at each round on a race-by-race basis. The first round of two races will be held on Sunday and Monday, the latter being a holiday in France.
Chennai-based Armaan, 24, took his first podium in a GT car with the BMW Sports Trophy Team India last season in his maiden tryst in the FIA GT1 championship.
Tomas Enge, Andrea Montermini, Giorgio Pantano, Nelson Piquet Jr, Marcus Winkelhock and Alex Zanardi have a combined experience of 118 F1 Grand Prix under their belt, and Armaan, who will turn out for Fortec Motorsport with British teammate Benjamin Hetherington in the Silver Cup, will race against them for the overall championship.
The series will feature two one-hour races per race weekend, with a window between 25 to 35 minutes for driver change-over. The qualifying is based on the aggregate qualifying time of both the drivers in a team.
The newly-created Silver Cup, reserved for Silver drivers aged 25 and under, will be the scene of some exciting duels. The young talents are not only eager to claim their place among the frontrunners, they can also pocket the additional prize money awarded to the class, allowing for a 50,000 Euros reward for winning a race overall.
"This is the toughest grid that I have been part of with as many as six F1 drivers and many others with a lot of experience in GT racing," says Armaan, who is teaming up with Benjamin for the first time.
"It will be interesting to see how Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 holds up against the title favourite Audi. The team that I have signed up with is a very professional team, that has won almost every championship in single-seater classes.
