The season starts on March 7-8th with the official tests at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France. The first race is scheduled on April 1-3rd in Imola, and the season ends on October 2nd at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the home track of Madpanda Motorsport, while Serbian ace is expecting a total of 5 races and 2 official tests.
"The decision to switch from touring races to GT endurance did not come easily. For me and my NIS Petrol Racing team, this is a completely new experience and a great challenge. We will certainly do our best to exceed expectations and be a valuable part of the Madpanda Motorsport, which proved to be very good in this category", said Borkovic.
So far, this competition has shown its attractiveness by the strong cars on the starting grid and the number of spectators, which reached over 200,000 people at the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium before the Covid-19 pandemic, but this year it is certainly the participation of the global superstar Valentino Rossi.
"What else could I want in my career, except to share the track with Rossi. I shared it with Loeb and it was a dream come true. Now I wanted a change and I made it in the best direction. I chose a competition for which I completely need new skills for and I want to push my limits. In this competition, physical fitness and endurance are in the first place, especially due to the length of the races, but also because of the power of the car, which exceeds everything I have driven so far," said Borkovic.
Before the first race, the driver of the NIS Petrol Racing team will have two test locations, on March 7-8th at the Circuit Paul Ricard official test days will be held and a week later a test in Barcelona. In June, another official test at the Spa Francorchamp track will be held, as well as many team tests.
"I will have to get used to a lot and adjust my driving style since I am turning to a whole new direction in my 29th season of professional racing. There are between 40 and 60 best cars in the world on the starting grid and I will have to reduce my need for duels to a minimum. I drive every race with two other drivers with whom I share a car with and with whom I must work as a team. For everyone, the seat will have to be adapted, which will work according to me due to my 207cm height and entering the pit for changing drivers takes only 40 seconds, which will be a great challenge.", Borkovic said, adding: "The race at Spa Francorchamps is 24 hours long and covers about 4500 km, and during that time one car uses over 100 tires just for that one race. When we add tests, which are the most important before such a race, the number of used tires will be ten times higher. I am sure that this will be a valuable experience, as well as a great opportunity to promote Serbia and all my sponsors," Borkovic concluded.
In addition to Mercedes, the most famous car manufacturers are participating in this prestigious car competition: Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, McLaren, Audi, Aston Martin, BMW and Bentley.
SEASON SCHEDULE:
7 - 8. 3. OFFICIAL PAUL RICARD TESTS
1 - 3. 4. IMOLA (DURATION OF THE RACE: 3 HOURS)
3 - 5. 6. PAUL RICARD (RACE LENGTH: 1000 KM)
21 - 22.6. OFFICIAL TEST OF SPA FRANCORCHAMPS
28 - 31. 7. SPA FRANCORCHAMPS (DURATION OF THE RACE: 24 HOURS)
2 - 4. 9. HOCKENHEIM (RACE DURATION: 3 HOURS)
30. 9 - 2. 10. BARCELONA (DURATION OF THE RACE: 3 HOURS)
