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GT Racing
GT: City Challenge To Be Held In Baku
Capital city of Azerbaijan to host GT3 festival on Oct. 5-7...
The former Soviet-reigned nation of Azerbaijan will host a GT race on the streets of Baku in October. (Photo: City Challenge)
GT teams looking for an end-of-season, winner-take-all event are in luck, as City Challenge GmbH announced last weekend that it will hold an invitational race for GT3 cars on the streets of Baku, Azerbaijan later this year.
Following successful events in both Bucharest, Romania and Budapest, Hungary with the FIA GT Championship from 2007-2009, the Berlin-based organization has signed an agreement with authorities from the Middle Eastern nation for a street race scheduled for Oct 5-7.
Standalone from any existing GT3 championship, the City Challenge will compete on a 14-turn temporary circuit built around the Azerbaijan Government House, near the Seaside Boulevard and the Caspian Sea.
A nation of approximately nine million, Azerbaijan is located in the Caucasus region, bordering Iran and Turkey on the south and Russia to the north.
“Since our last events, our team has been working very hard to turn our vision of cultural entertainment and motorsport for the entire family into reality in other cities,” said Hartmut Beyer, CEO of City Challenge GmbH.
“We are delighted that negotiations with the authorities in Baku have been successful as they share our vision that sporting and cultural events can build bridges between people.
“Baku is a very fascinating city with a rapid development. We are looking forward to adding this next chapter to the City Challenge story and continue to work on future events.”
The event will consist of two 30-minute sprint races (one for each driver), along with a 60-minute feature race on Sunday that will feature a mandatory pit stop and tire change, similar to the FIA GT1 World Championship regulations.
And unlike many GT3 championships worldwide, there are no driver categorization restrictions, allowing for complete freedom in each of the team’s lineup, according to the organizers.
In addition to the on-track activity, a town parade and autograph session is also planned, along with other entertainment including a concert and a lights show in Baku City.
Teams from many of the leading national and continental GT3 championships, including ADAC GT Masters, Blancpain Endurance Series, GT3 Europe, British GT and Italian GT, are expected, with Michael Bartels’ Vita4One squad one of the interested parties.
Beyer also hasn’t hidden his desire for City Challenge to evolve into a full-fledged championship, with talks already underway for a second event at the end of December and a further expansion of the calendar for 2013.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Following successful events in both Bucharest, Romania and Budapest, Hungary with the FIA GT Championship from 2007-2009, the Berlin-based organization has signed an agreement with authorities from the Middle Eastern nation for a street race scheduled for Oct 5-7.
Standalone from any existing GT3 championship, the City Challenge will compete on a 14-turn temporary circuit built around the Azerbaijan Government House, near the Seaside Boulevard and the Caspian Sea.
A nation of approximately nine million, Azerbaijan is located in the Caucasus region, bordering Iran and Turkey on the south and Russia to the north.
“Since our last events, our team has been working very hard to turn our vision of cultural entertainment and motorsport for the entire family into reality in other cities,” said Hartmut Beyer, CEO of City Challenge GmbH.
“We are delighted that negotiations with the authorities in Baku have been successful as they share our vision that sporting and cultural events can build bridges between people.
“Baku is a very fascinating city with a rapid development. We are looking forward to adding this next chapter to the City Challenge story and continue to work on future events.”
The event will consist of two 30-minute sprint races (one for each driver), along with a 60-minute feature race on Sunday that will feature a mandatory pit stop and tire change, similar to the FIA GT1 World Championship regulations.
And unlike many GT3 championships worldwide, there are no driver categorization restrictions, allowing for complete freedom in each of the team’s lineup, according to the organizers.
In addition to the on-track activity, a town parade and autograph session is also planned, along with other entertainment including a concert and a lights show in Baku City.
Teams from many of the leading national and continental GT3 championships, including ADAC GT Masters, Blancpain Endurance Series, GT3 Europe, British GT and Italian GT, are expected, with Michael Bartels’ Vita4One squad one of the interested parties.
Beyer also hasn’t hidden his desire for City Challenge to evolve into a full-fledged championship, with talks already underway for a second event at the end of December and a further expansion of the calendar for 2013.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
FIA GT Nogaro
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