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FIA GT: 10 Questions With Stephane Ratel
Written by: John Dagys   
11/20/2009
Chicago, IL
 
A new chapter in the history of sportscar racing begins next year with the launch of the FIA GT1 World Championship. The brainchild of longtime race promoter Stephane Ratel, the 12-round global series evolves from the FIA GT Championship in Europe to offer a new flavor to sportscar aficionados.
Stephane Ratel is the man behind the new FIA GT1 World Championship. (LAT) » More Photos

Featuring single-class racing, regulated by homogenized two-car teams competing in one-hour sprint races, the World GT1 Championship is a far cry from the sport’s traditional endurance format. But in a ever-present time of change, World GT1 could be the “change” sportscar racing needs to put itself back in the international spotlight.

Following Monday’s feature on the GT1 World Championship, we sat down with Ratel to further discuss the goals for next year, including the series’ planned visit to Canada in July. Ratel also gave insight into the future of GT racing worldwide. It’s all a part of the latest installment of “10 Questions.”

DAGYS: There’s 12 rounds provisionally on the 2010 World GT1 Championship schedule. Do you envision any major changes to it before its official release by the FIA next month?

RATEL: Since we’ve issued the first calendar, we’ve had even more interest from places that we didn’t think would mature for 2010. Some of the locations on the provisional calendar are proving to be more difficult than we thought. Under FIA World Championship conditions, we need to visit three continents and have 10 events. That, we’re absolutely sure to have. Our dream is to have 12 races on all five continents. In the end, we may end up with 11 rounds on four continents.

I’m flying to South Africa tomorrow. I will be in Canada next week, Brazil and Argentina in two weeks. After this ‘world tour’, we will be able to see where we stand. We’ve been working on it for months, but in the end, you need to rubber stamp it, get the money into the bank, and then you know you have an event. So it takes a bit more more time.

DAGYS: A Canadian round is one of the four yet-to-be-confirmed events for 2010. Can you tell us more about this initiative and what circuits are in contention?

RATEL: We were talking to four tracks, but now we’re down to three. Mosport has dropped off the radar screen. So you can figure out the others. We’re going to meet with all of them and see the best options. I’m optimistic. Canada is an easy venue for us. You can take the European transporters on a boat
from Rotterdam, The Netherlands to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and its a two week journey. It doesn’t require expensive air freight. Plane tickets from Europe to Canada are reasonable. It’s a cost-effective overseas event for us.

DAGYS: What are the prospects of holding a U.S. round in the future?

RATEL: We hope that we can make the Canadian event even more cost-effective by having a second round in the U.S. in the future. We have no plans for 2010, but it would be essential for us by 2011 or 2012 to establish ourself in the U.S. market. Even if America’s economy is not in the best of shape, it still represents a key market for all GT and luxury cars. To be there is extremely important. But I’m still reasonably young and have all the time in the world to make it happen!

Max Mosley once told me that the World GT1 Championship may have a better chance at penetrating the American market than Formula One ever had. Why? Because we have the American icons racing that are all very identifiable. We’re starting the championship with the Corvette and Ford GT. We could very well imagine having a Dodge Viper in GT1. Those are the kind of cars that excites the fans.
The FIA GT Championship held races in the U.S. at Sebring, Homestead-Miami and Laguna Seca in 1997-98. (Gary Horrocks) » More Photos

DAGYS: Given the saturation of sportscar racing in the U.S., do you think there’s room for the World GT1 Championship?

RATEL: This type of racing is very different. The U.S. has been mainly about prototype racing. For the GT manufacturers, they’re in the third or fourth category. Here, you have GT at the top. I think there could be room for that. As I’ve said before, it’s not going to come overnight, but I’m confident we will be there at one point.

DAGYS: Just a few years ago, FIA GT events were 500km/three-hour races, but recently shortened to two-hour sprints. World GT1 races next year will be one hour in length. Why go with the shorter format?

RATEL: I’ve been a part of long distance racing for 15 years and have contributed in establishing the Le Mans Series. But I realized we simply need a different product. For me, this was opening new opportunities in terms of television and promotion. Long distance racing is one of the problems. Personally, I like shorter races. It was a long-term vision and we didn’t want to lose the participants. We’ve proven with GT3 and all the national championships that it’s a very cost-effective format. It’s more spectacular and costs less money. For example, you don’t need refueling, which in turn requires less personnel. We’ve designed all of this to be cost-effective in difficult times, and the teams are in agreement.

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