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GT Racing
GT: Villeneuve To Race In Baku City Challege
1997 Formula One World Champion to join Jos Verstappen in Muhlner Motorsport-run Porsche for next month's street race in Baku, Azerbaijan...
Jacques Villeneuve will make his GT racing debut in next month's City Challenge in Baku. (Photo: Nick Busato/LAT)
Open-wheel turned stock-car star Jaques Villeneuve will add GT racing to his resume next month when the 1997 Formula One World Champion will compete in the City Challenge GT race in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The 41-year-old French Canadian will join fellow ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R, fielded by Mulhner Motorsport.
“GT racing will be an entirely new experience for me, which I am really looking forward to," Villeneuve said. "Racing on a street circuit is always something special, as I know from such events I have raced in before, mainly in the US.”
The race, organized by the Berlin-based City Challenge GmbH, will mark the first in the Middle Eastern nation. It will comprise of two 30-minute qualifying sprint races and a one-hour feature race on the weekend of October 5-7.
Standalone from any existing GT3 championship, the race will run on a 14-turn temporary circuit built around the Azerbaijan Government House, near the Seaside Boulevard and the Caspian Sea.
“I have never been in Baku or Azerbaijan before, so that is something new, too," Villeneuve said. "From what I have read and heard about the city, there is a lot of development going on.
"Of course, there is not much of a motor racing tradition there, so seeing race cars on the streets will be a new experience for the local people."
In addition to Mulhner as well as Vita4One Racing, both Rhino's Leipert Motorsport and GRT Grasser Racing have committed to the event with their GT3-spec Lamborghinis, with additional announcements expected to be forthcoming.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
The 41-year-old French Canadian will join fellow ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R, fielded by Mulhner Motorsport.
“GT racing will be an entirely new experience for me, which I am really looking forward to," Villeneuve said. "Racing on a street circuit is always something special, as I know from such events I have raced in before, mainly in the US.”
The race, organized by the Berlin-based City Challenge GmbH, will mark the first in the Middle Eastern nation. It will comprise of two 30-minute qualifying sprint races and a one-hour feature race on the weekend of October 5-7.
Standalone from any existing GT3 championship, the race will run on a 14-turn temporary circuit built around the Azerbaijan Government House, near the Seaside Boulevard and the Caspian Sea.
“I have never been in Baku or Azerbaijan before, so that is something new, too," Villeneuve said. "From what I have read and heard about the city, there is a lot of development going on.
"Of course, there is not much of a motor racing tradition there, so seeing race cars on the streets will be a new experience for the local people."
In addition to Mulhner as well as Vita4One Racing, both Rhino's Leipert Motorsport and GRT Grasser Racing have committed to the event with their GT3-spec Lamborghinis, with additional announcements expected to be forthcoming.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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