Pescara, Italy – After having conquered two second and one third place in the Italian GT Championship, Solaris Motorsport will field its Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the last round of the International GT Open, taking place in Barcelona on November 5th and 6th. Jody Fannin, a young but very expert and talented English driver, will join Francesco Sini at the wheel of the Vantage GT3 fielded by the Italian team.

2012 British GT4 Champion and 2011 runner up in the Ginetta GT Supercup, Fannin debuted in the GT3 world at the end of 2012. In 2015, Jody was selected for the Aston Martin Racing Evolution Academy. Fannin raced the last two seasons in the British GT Championship with a Vantage GT3, conquering two podiums and one pole position.

“After my British GT Championship finished a round early, it’ll be good to get out again before the end of the year. I’m looking forward to working with Solaris Motorsport and Francesco.” commented the 23 years old Jody Fannin, who debuted in the International GT Open in 2014, bringing home 1 win and 1 second place at Silverstone at the wheel of an Aston Martin. “I haven’t been to Barcelona before, but I know the GT3 Aston and am confident that we can run at the sharp end.”

The helmet of the English driver is dedicated to his family’s origin. Based on the South African flag because of his father, it has the Union Jack below the visor due his mother. His name, written on the side of the helmet, comes from the 1979 F1 World Champion Jody Scheckter.

“I’m excited to be back in the International GT Open. Our Aston Martin was very competitive in the Italian GT Championship and I’m confident that together with Jody we can aim at important goals.” said Francesco Sini, who will appear for the third time in the GT Open, after taking part in the 2015 Paul Ricard and Monza rounds. “It will be the first time I drive with Jody, but I’m sure we will find the right feeling early. He knows very well the car and this can help us to find a good race pace quickly. I want to finish the season with the best result possible!”

“After the good season in the Italian GT Championship, we had the desire to face an international challenge. The GT Open round in Barcelona is the best stage we could choose because of the high level of the partecipants and because there will be other Aston Martins on track, two factors that will tell us how competitive we are. We will have also new Michelin tyres, instead of the usual Pirelli, and we will have to discover their behaviour.” commented Roberto Sini, who is helped in managing the team by his sons Francesco and Laura. “I’m very happy to have a young and talented driver as Jody. He’s just 23 but he already has a very good background in GT races. His knowledge of the Vantage GT3 will help us make another step forward.”

The final chapter of the International GT Open in Barcelona will officially start on Friday, November 4th, with two practice sessions, scheduled for 1:30 PM and 4:50 PM. The Saturday morning qualifying session will decide the starting grid for the 70-minute Race 1, which will start at 4:15 PM, while again on Saturday morning at 9:40 there will be a second qualifying session for the 60-minute Race 2. Both the races will be streamed live on the official International GT Open YouTube channel.

For further information you can visit the web site www.solarismotorsport.com or send an email to media [at] solarismotorsport.com

Follow the Solaris Motorsport’s Aston Martin on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Massimiliano Palumbo