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GRAND-AM
SPORTSCAR: FIA, ACO To Create Unified GT Category
Fusion of GTE and GT3 regulations underway, for single GT platform to be launched as early as 2015...
GTE and GT3-spec cars and new-breed production-based machines will race together under a unified GT class, beginning as early as 2015. (Photo: FotoSpeedy/GT Open)
Following years of having two distinct sets of GT regulations, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and FIA are poised to introduce a single platform worldwide, which could be launched as early as 2015.
The intention to fuse the current ACO GTE and FIA GT3 regulations together was announced by technical chiefs from both organizations last weekend in Japan, site of the penultimate round of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship.
Both parties confirmed that a technical working group, involving all current and prospective GT manufacturers, will be formed to create the new unified GT category, which is expected to be embraced by all major sports car championships currently featuring GTE or GT3 regulations.
The first meeting for the working group is scheduled for next month.
According to ACO Sport Director Vincent Beaumesnil, the philosophy of the new formula would be to take the technical credibility of GTE and combine it with the reduced costs currently seen in GT3.
"For sure we will not propose anything now,” Beaumesnil said. “The first thing we will do is to get the input of all the manufacturers to see how we will manage this working group and what the targets will be.
“It means: When should we introduce these [new regulations]? What kind of [regulations] will we produce? What will be the transition be for what we have today and in the future?
“For sure, our target is not to force the teams to get of their current cars. There will be a transition period where the current cars will be able to race.”
Beaumesnil and FIA Technical Director Bernard Niclot confirmed that no major changes will be made to the current GTE and GT3 platforms for the next two years and that GT3 cars will continue to not race in the WEC or at Le Mans during that time.
A transition period, which likely would see the grandfathering of existing machinery from both categories, along with the new breed of GT machinery, could begin as soon as 2015.
Niclot indicated that a formal announcement of the new regulations could be made as early as next June. He also confirmed that the integration of hybrids into the new platform will be one of the major discussion points with the working group.
"We imagine... some manufacturers will develop hybrid GT cars more quickly than others, so we will have to decide if we will accept completely new hybrid cars,” Niclot said. “The intention is quite high but we have to be sure we can balance these cars with the existing cars. I think it's something we're going to have to analyze.
“If we had to integrate an hybrid car, where we know the effect of the hybrid system of the energy recovery system, we would be perfectly able to say, ‘In order to balance this car, we would need to do this or that.’
“So I am quite confident that we can achieve to accept new modern hybrid cars with this system.”
This latest development will likely have an impact on the class structure of the soon-to-be merged American Le Mans Series/GRAND-AM championship.
The unified North American sports car series is due to begin in 2014, at least one year prior to the new single-class GT formula’s launch.
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
The intention to fuse the current ACO GTE and FIA GT3 regulations together was announced by technical chiefs from both organizations last weekend in Japan, site of the penultimate round of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship.
Both parties confirmed that a technical working group, involving all current and prospective GT manufacturers, will be formed to create the new unified GT category, which is expected to be embraced by all major sports car championships currently featuring GTE or GT3 regulations.
The first meeting for the working group is scheduled for next month.
According to ACO Sport Director Vincent Beaumesnil, the philosophy of the new formula would be to take the technical credibility of GTE and combine it with the reduced costs currently seen in GT3.
"For sure we will not propose anything now,” Beaumesnil said. “The first thing we will do is to get the input of all the manufacturers to see how we will manage this working group and what the targets will be.
“It means: When should we introduce these [new regulations]? What kind of [regulations] will we produce? What will be the transition be for what we have today and in the future?
“For sure, our target is not to force the teams to get of their current cars. There will be a transition period where the current cars will be able to race.”
Beaumesnil and FIA Technical Director Bernard Niclot confirmed that no major changes will be made to the current GTE and GT3 platforms for the next two years and that GT3 cars will continue to not race in the WEC or at Le Mans during that time.
A transition period, which likely would see the grandfathering of existing machinery from both categories, along with the new breed of GT machinery, could begin as soon as 2015.
Niclot indicated that a formal announcement of the new regulations could be made as early as next June. He also confirmed that the integration of hybrids into the new platform will be one of the major discussion points with the working group.
"We imagine... some manufacturers will develop hybrid GT cars more quickly than others, so we will have to decide if we will accept completely new hybrid cars,” Niclot said. “The intention is quite high but we have to be sure we can balance these cars with the existing cars. I think it's something we're going to have to analyze.
“If we had to integrate an hybrid car, where we know the effect of the hybrid system of the energy recovery system, we would be perfectly able to say, ‘In order to balance this car, we would need to do this or that.’
“So I am quite confident that we can achieve to accept new modern hybrid cars with this system.”
This latest development will likely have an impact on the class structure of the soon-to-be merged American Le Mans Series/GRAND-AM championship.
The unified North American sports car series is due to begin in 2014, at least one year prior to the new single-class GT formula’s launch.
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
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