Brazil team's Blancpain plans delayed

The race-winning Brazilian AH Competicoes team has been forced to put its plans to contest this season's Blancpain GT Series on hold for financial reasons.

Antonio Hermann's squad, which competed as BMW Team Brazil and then BMW Sports Trophy Team Brazil in Europe over the past three seasons, had planned to field a pair of Lamborghini Huracan GT3s in both the Endurance and Sprint Cup segments of the BGTS in 2016. It has now been forced delay its return after parting company with the German manufacturer, whose Z4 GT3 it had run since entering the FIA GT Series in 2013, by the devaluation of the Brazilian currency.

Hermann, whose team took victory in last season's Blancpain Sprint Series opener at Nogaro, said: "We are facing a big economic crisis in Brazil and the devaluation of the real means the budget I need to find to race in Europe has gone up four times.

"I had a pre-agreement with Lamborghini for two Huracans and we are still talking. We are trying to race in the second half of the year to prepare for next season, but it is more likely that we won't be back until 2017."

AH Competicoes, which finished third in the teams' classification in last year's BSS, is retaining its European base near Estoril in Portugal in preparation for its return.

Hermann, whose squad expanded its program to include the Blancpain Endurance Series as well as the BSS last season, will keep the team together with a one-car assault on the Brazilian Stock Car Championship in 2016. It will field a Chevrolet Sonic for Valdeno Brito, a regular with the team in Europe for the past two seasons, in conjunction with the AMG Motorsport squad.

The Brazilian will contest this weekend's two-driver series opener in Curitiba together with BMW DTM driver Maxime Martin, who together with Dirk Muller claimed the Nogaro victory last year.

Originally on Autosport.com