Brazilian team AH Competicoes's 2016 Blancpain GT plans delayed

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 to delay its return by the devaluation of the Brazilian currency.

The team had run BMW's Z4 GT3 since entering the FIA GT Series in 2013 and won last year's Blancpain Sprint opener, whle also expanding into the Endurance series for the first time.

Hermann told Autosport: "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 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 claimed the Nogaro BSS victory last year alongside Dirk Muller.