“It’s going to be a close fight”, reckons the Spaniard, “but being right behind the leader is the best position. The pressure is not on us, and we’ll try to do our best, as in every race. It has been an incredible season for us, improving the car and getting a better feeling with it at every race, thanks to the fantastic job done by a fantastic team.” His Swedish team mate confirms: “If we were told at Estoril, at the beginning of the season, that we would have been fighting for the title at the final round, we would have not believed it. We had a very strong season, all in crescendo, and I personally enjoyed very much the GT Open, a truly great series. We’ll face Barcelona in no different way from the usual, but we’ll drive this race as if we have to steal it!”

The third in contention is the Emil Frey Racing Lexus RC F of Albert Costa and Philipp Frommenwiler, who lie 14 points behind the top, at 83 points, after an impressive season (3 wins) with a brand new car and a team new to the GT Open. Albert Costa will race at his very home in Barcelona and sums up the spirit reigning in the Swiss camp: “We are extremely motivated and will fight until the end. We have prepared this decisive round very thoroughly, I’m just out of the simulator, and we’ll get there without stress, as we are in the hunter’s position. Of course, being on my home track that I know perfectly, and having some extra testing sessions on Thursday, should be a plus to have the car perfectly set-up.”

Given what at stake, the “Swiss” Lexus may count on the support of its “German” sister car, driven by the Farnbacher brothers, which also had a very solid campaign, while Rueda-Bouveng will be able to rely on the other Teo Martín’s M6, entrusted to Portuguese stars António Da Costa-Lourenço Beirão.

Thomas Biagi, the reigning co-champion, now paired with GT Open super-expert Raffaele Giammaria, is the second card in the hands of Imperiale Racing, 16 points behind former team mate Venturini. The Italian team will have a not easy strategic plan to draft in Catalonia, and to maximize its chances has upgraded the line-up of its car, with freshly-crowned BES co-champion and factory driver Christian Engelhart joining Vito Postiglione for the occasion.

Mathematically, also the Spirit of Race pair composed of Miguel Ramos and Mikkel Mac is in the title race, but things will be quite difficult for the Ferrari of the “two Mikes”, who are 16 points behind the leader.