Blancpain Endurance Series & Top 5 Features of the Ferrari 458 GT3 You Didn't Think Of

Hello Carmrades!

Did you know that driving a racecar with multiple drivers can be dangerous? You’re about to find out.
Check out the video I shot during Blancpain Endurance Series’ visit to my beloved Nürburgring!

I hope you enjoyed the video, but if you’re in a serious mood, then keep reading.

Blancpain Endurance Series

Are you still in a serious mood? Then here is what Wikipedia has to say about the BES:

The Blancpain Endurance Series is a sports car racing series developed by the SRO Group and the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium (RACB) with approval from the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). It features grand tourer racing cars modified from production road cars complying with the FIA’s GT3 regulations. The series’s goal is to be an endurance racing championship for GT3 cars, similar to the European Le Mans Series which uses GTE cars and Le Mans Prototypes. The series is primarily sponsored by Swiss watchmaker Blancpain, and the company’s Lamborghini Super Trofeo series serves as support races.

Are you less serious? Good. Blancpain Endurance Series is about making the supercars that little boys dream of and making them racecars that rich men dream of.

The images you’ve seen serve as a proof, cars such as Ferrari 458, Mercedes SLS, Lamborghini Huracan and Bentley CGT dominate the grid.

You may know the estimates of the prices for the cars mentioned above, but here are the estimates of the races for you to proof the “rich men” aspect I mentioned earlier.

One endurance race costs about 75.000 euro. This is an estimate, it varies per team, car and all the extras you want to do.

Of course, this means that if you’re a team with 3 drivers, you can divide the cost among everyone, which would make it about 25.000 euro per driver.

Of course you may also involve sponsors, but real ballers pay for everything including for the starting fees of their carmrades.

Now make this times six to race the complete season and you can buy yourself a nice supercar of your own.

Not impressed? Sorry, I forgot to mention that the season also includes the world-famous 24h race of Spa Francorchamps, which alone costs roughly 250.000 euro.

Again, those are just estimates, parties with girls and supplements not included ;)

Ferrari 458 GT3

Enough about the series, let’s check out the hero of my video and I am talking about the car.

The 458 was unveiled in 2009, but it’s more hardcore GT3 version was launched in 2011 as replacement for the successful 430, which became the most succesful GT3 car as the years progressed.

How successful?

It has won six times the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (two in the GT3 PRO AM category and two in the Gentlemen Trophy), four times the Gulf 12 Hours (three overall and one in the Gentlemen Trophy), the 2013 and 2014 12 Hours of Sepang, the 2014 and 2015 24 Hours of Dubai in the A6-AM class, the 2014 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour at the famous Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst and the 2014 24 Hours of Barcelona.

The 458 Italia GT3 holds the record for number of Titles won in many international Championships. In the Blancpain Endurance Series it took the 2011, 2012 and 2014 GT3 PRO AM Team and Drivers’ crowns and the 2013 and 2014 Gentlemen Trophy Team and Drivers’ honours, while in the European Le Mans Series, since the creation by the ACO of a GT3 class, clinched the 2013 and 2014 GTC Team and Drivers’ Titles. In the International GT Open the Maranello car gained the 2011, 2012 and 2014 GTS Team and Drivers’ crowns, the 2012, 2013 and 2014 GTS Manufacturers’ honours and the 2014 Overall and Super GT Drivers’ Titles. The 458 Italia GT3 has also a strong racing record in the most important Asian GT series, the GT3 Asia, in which it achieved the 2011 Drivers’ crown and the 2012 and 2014 Team and Drivers’ honours. Last but not least are the 2011 FIA GT3 Drivers’ Title, the 2013 Asian Le Mans Series GTC Team and Drivers’ crowns and the successes obtained in national Championships like French GT, British GT, Italian GT, GTSprint and Supercar Challenge.

What’s its secret? There are many, but the 4.5L V8 revving up to 9.000 rpm redline is definitely one of them.

And lots of racing electronic features a simple mortal would never understand. But in the end it’s about the pilots who drive those cars to the finish line.

And the team that makes it possible!

I’d like to say big THANK YOU to Rinaldi Racing Team for having me over!

And a separate thanks to the photographer Denis Zarubin that is responsible for all the carporn. Make sure to give him a follow!

Here are some extra shots for those who made it to the end!