FIA GT1 World Championship

The FIA GT1 World Championship is a world championship sports car racing series developed by the SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It features multiple grand tourer race cars based on production road cars and conforming with the GT1 regulations competing in one-hour races on multiple continents. Championships are awarded each season for drivers and teams.

The FIA GT1 World Championship has started in 2010 as a successor to the previous FIA GT Championship which featured the GT1 category as well as a GT2 category. In 2012 the series plans to move away from exclusive use of GT1 cars by allowing 2009-spec GT2 from the former FIA GT Championship as well as current performance balanced GT3 specification cars to compete alongside the series' current GT1 cars. All vehices will be performance balanced with weight and restrictor adjustments to make different makes artificially more equal. The series title will be altered to the FIA GT World Championship.^[1]

Format

The FIA GT1 World Championship holds races in ten countries, with each event consisting of two races over a weekend. Qualifying involves a knock-out system similar to Formula One, in which three sessions are held and following each session, the slowest cars are eliminated and their grid positions set. The first race of each weekend is a qualifying race, the results of which determine the starting grid for the second race awarding full championship points. Each car is required to change tires and drivers at least once during each race.^[2] The points system for the series is identical to that adopted by the FIA in 2010 with the top ten finishers in the second race earning points; only the top three finishers in the qualifying race earn points.^[3]

A maximum of six manufacturers are accepted with each manufacturer limited to supplying two privateer teams. Each team is limited to running a maximum of two cars. This creates a grid of up to 24 cars and 48 drivers at each event. To ensure close competition, each model of car is tested by the FIA to determine any mandatory adjustments (such as extra weight ballasts and restrictor tweaks) for performance balancing.^[2][4] Performance adjustments are also made between races during the season. Michelin serves as the sole tyre supplier for the series.

To defray costs for individual teams, the SRO provides free transport for cars and equipment as well as airline tickets for ten personnel per team.^[2] Also, unlike the FIA GT Championship, where several tyre manufacturers competed, there is a single supplier, Michelin.

Races

The world tour has visited three continents so far, with plans for a fourth. Yas Marina Circuit of the United Arab Emirates represents the series' only Middle East round. South America has featured the Potrero de los Funes Circuit in Argentina and both the Interlagos and Curitiba circuits in Brazil. European races have included the Czech Brno Circuit, British Silverstone Circuit where the winners are awarded the RAC Tourist Trophy, French Paul Ricard, Portuguese Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, and Spanish Circuito de Navarra. Germany's races have switched from the Nürburgring to the Sachsenring from 2010 to 2011, while Belgium's races have moved from the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to Zolder. For 2011 the series visits Asia with a Chinese round at the Ordos International Circuit. Due to the cancellation of the round at Curitiba in 2011, the series elected to visit Goldenport Park Circuit at Beijing shortly after the round at Ordos, with a short exhibition street race afterwards.

History

Six manufacturers were represented in the inaugural season of FIA GT1, with Corvette, Maserati, and Aston Martin retaining the cars they had previously utilized in FIA GT. Ford, Nissan, and Lamborghini all brought new vehicles developed specifically for FIA GT1.

The first champions of the 2010 season were crowned at the San Luis street circuit in Argentina after the Qualifying Race on the 5th of December 2010. Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini, three-time FIA GT Champions, clinched the Drivers' Championship while their Vitaphone Racing Team clinched the Teams' Championship. Aston Martin earned the SRO Trophy for Manufacturers. In 2011 the defending champions did not return and Maserati was no longer represented, leaving a field of 18 cars from five manufacturers. The series visted China for the first time for two rounds. Germans Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr of the JR Motorsports team won the year's Drivers' Championship in the penultimate race of the season, while Hexis AMR won the Teams' title in the final race of the year.

List of FIA GT1 World Champions

See also

• Blancpain Endurance Series
• FIA GT3 European Championship
• GT4 European Cup

References

External links

• FIA GT1 World Championship