International GT Open : 5th round

Before the summer break, the competitors in the International GT Open were at the Circuit Paul Ricard this weekend for the fifth round of their season. With 12 sprint races scheduled over the weekend, the circuit also welcomed the single-seaters and touring cars of the GT Cup Europe.

In 18 years, the International GT Open has become one of the most important Europe's GT3 competitions, with six manufacturers taking part this season: Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes and Porsche.

Among the young drivers on the track, Williams Academy driver Alessandro Giusti (ART Grand Prix), who won last year's race at Le Castellet, repeated during the second race. His team-mate Evan Giltaire also had a fine weekend, finishing 8th and 5th. Doriane Pin also defended the French colours this weekend as part of the Iron Dames team. The promising driver, who has joined the Mercedes-AMG F1 Junior program and is also taking part in the F1 Academy, continued her breakthrough in single-seaters with Alpine (P28 in race 1 and P14 in race 2). Results

Although the drivers and cars suffered from the heat from the start of practice on Friday, the sun was replaced by thunderstorms on Sunday for some hectic races on a wet track. Spectators were able to witness the action from the Grand Prix Burger grandstand, which is open free of charge every day during the holiday period.

Watch Round 5 Race 2 Replay on the GT Open website

At the end of this first day of GT Open racing, and after two successful editions last May, the Rooftop Party at the Circuit Paul Ricard was still "sold out" on Saturday 20 July. It's a not-to-be-missed summer event, with privileged access. Participants of this musical event, orchestrated by resident DJ Marie Prieux, were able to go down onto the track after the last race and get close to the cars in the pit lane as the sun set. A much-appreciated evening concept which will be back next season.

Results of the International GT Open