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GRAND-AM
SPORTSCAR: Manufacturers, Series Weigh In On Proposed GT Merger
John Dagys gets reactions from some of the key players to be involved with GT merger talks...
The future of GT racing worldwide could dramatically change, if talks to merge the GTE and GT3 formulas are successful. (Photo: LAT)
The FIA and ACO’s proposal to create a single GT platform has received a mix of early reactions from manufacturers, series and competitors in all branches of sports car racing worldwide.
The concept, which would fuse the ACO’s manufacturer-driven GTE regulations with the popular GT3 category, primarily comprised of privateer entries, could be introduced into GT racing globally by as early as 2015, according to technical officials from both organizations, who unveiled the plan last month in Japan.
While manufacturer representatives, along with officials from the major championships and sanctioning bodies will hold their first “Working Group” meeting on Nov. 14 in Geneva, Switzerland, to begin formal discussions, SPEED.com caught up with some of the key players to get their initial thoughts into the proposed merging of the regulations.
“I think it's a very interesting opportunity,” said Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan. “I've often, frequently, and for a long, long time, have indicated that GT racing around the world ought to be a single class with a single set of rules. That's what makes the most sense.
“The devils are in the details. How you attempt to achieve that is something entirely different. The attempted integration of GT3 into a GT category may not be the most effective way to accomplish that goal. I think we have to wait and see what the proposals are made of, what the different thought processes might be on behalf of all the manufacturers.”
Fehan confirmed Chevrolet’s new-generation GT racer, the Corvette C7.R, set for a 2014 debut, will be built to GTE regulations, despite the possibility of a unified set of regulations due out the following year.
By the same token, it’s understood McLaren is set to roll out a GTE version of its MP4-12C sometime next year, while SRT recently entered the manufacturer-heavy GTE ranks with its new Riley-built Viper GTS-R for the ALMS.
While questions remain over the time frame of the proposed integration, it’s expected current GTE and GT3 machinery would be grandfathered into the unified category for a minimum of two years.
Others, such as Aston Martin Racing team principal John Gaw, however, are not convinced the merger will actually happen, although like Fehan, remains optimistic of finding common ground.
“I think there is a lot of work to be done,” Gaw said. “It's good that there's going to be a forum to talk about with all of the manufacturers and the ACO. I think at this stage, it will be about asking questions as opposed to doing the 'how to.’ I don't think it's yet decided 'Will we?' I think the question is, 'Should we?'”
The fundamental difference between GTE and GT3 regulations is that GT3 cars are built to no common technical platform and are instead performance balanced by the FIA, usually at a pre-season official test.
GTE-spec cars, on the other hand, must conform to technical regulations laid out by the ACO, and more recently the FIA, which often results in a more structured platform for manufacturers, although Balance of Performance measures and technical waivers are also handed out in this category.
“What's really important to be defined early on is that if there's going to be a single class, what rules does it run under?” Gaw asks. “Does it run under the tight technical rules of GTE, or does it run under the looser rules of FIA? If you're going to have manufacturer racing, it has to be tight technical rules. Otherwise, costs will spiral out of control.
“If we get an agreement from all parties that it should be the tight technical rules, then I can see it working.”
One of the major opposers of the proposed merger has been Stephane Ratel, the brainchild of the GT3 platform, which was first introduced in 2006.
The founder and CEO of the SRO Motorsports Group, who launched the now-defunct FIA GT1 World and European Championships, along with the Blancpain Endurance Series, which has seen considerable growth in 2012, proposes stability within the GT3 formula.
A statement from SRO reads: “FIA GT3 [is] one of the most successful and fastest growing categories in motorsport, the only one ever to bring 14 different makes to a single class, with models developed and sold by the manufacturers or their official tuners. They should not be disturbed by the need to rescue the ACO GTE category which has never enjoyed anywhere near the success of GT3.”
Ratel’s group says that an attempt to merge the two categories would “tarnish the technical competition in GTE,” while also raising the costs in GT3 and “render some of the models uncompetitive.”
Instead, the SRO proposes to preserve GT3 and instead launch a new FIA GT2 category based on strict technical rules with limited waivers, similar to the objectives of GTE. However, Ratel offers the idea of limiting Balance of Performance to success ballast, a method his FIA GT Championship used nearly a decade ago.
The concept, which would fuse the ACO’s manufacturer-driven GTE regulations with the popular GT3 category, primarily comprised of privateer entries, could be introduced into GT racing globally by as early as 2015, according to technical officials from both organizations, who unveiled the plan last month in Japan.
While manufacturer representatives, along with officials from the major championships and sanctioning bodies will hold their first “Working Group” meeting on Nov. 14 in Geneva, Switzerland, to begin formal discussions, SPEED.com caught up with some of the key players to get their initial thoughts into the proposed merging of the regulations.
“I think it's a very interesting opportunity,” said Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan. “I've often, frequently, and for a long, long time, have indicated that GT racing around the world ought to be a single class with a single set of rules. That's what makes the most sense.
“The devils are in the details. How you attempt to achieve that is something entirely different. The attempted integration of GT3 into a GT category may not be the most effective way to accomplish that goal. I think we have to wait and see what the proposals are made of, what the different thought processes might be on behalf of all the manufacturers.”
Fehan confirmed Chevrolet’s new-generation GT racer, the Corvette C7.R, set for a 2014 debut, will be built to GTE regulations, despite the possibility of a unified set of regulations due out the following year.
By the same token, it’s understood McLaren is set to roll out a GTE version of its MP4-12C sometime next year, while SRT recently entered the manufacturer-heavy GTE ranks with its new Riley-built Viper GTS-R for the ALMS.
While questions remain over the time frame of the proposed integration, it’s expected current GTE and GT3 machinery would be grandfathered into the unified category for a minimum of two years.
Others, such as Aston Martin Racing team principal John Gaw, however, are not convinced the merger will actually happen, although like Fehan, remains optimistic of finding common ground.
“I think there is a lot of work to be done,” Gaw said. “It's good that there's going to be a forum to talk about with all of the manufacturers and the ACO. I think at this stage, it will be about asking questions as opposed to doing the 'how to.’ I don't think it's yet decided 'Will we?' I think the question is, 'Should we?'”
The fundamental difference between GTE and GT3 regulations is that GT3 cars are built to no common technical platform and are instead performance balanced by the FIA, usually at a pre-season official test.
GTE-spec cars, on the other hand, must conform to technical regulations laid out by the ACO, and more recently the FIA, which often results in a more structured platform for manufacturers, although Balance of Performance measures and technical waivers are also handed out in this category.
“What's really important to be defined early on is that if there's going to be a single class, what rules does it run under?” Gaw asks. “Does it run under the tight technical rules of GTE, or does it run under the looser rules of FIA? If you're going to have manufacturer racing, it has to be tight technical rules. Otherwise, costs will spiral out of control.
“If we get an agreement from all parties that it should be the tight technical rules, then I can see it working.”
One of the major opposers of the proposed merger has been Stephane Ratel, the brainchild of the GT3 platform, which was first introduced in 2006.
The founder and CEO of the SRO Motorsports Group, who launched the now-defunct FIA GT1 World and European Championships, along with the Blancpain Endurance Series, which has seen considerable growth in 2012, proposes stability within the GT3 formula.
A statement from SRO reads: “FIA GT3 [is] one of the most successful and fastest growing categories in motorsport, the only one ever to bring 14 different makes to a single class, with models developed and sold by the manufacturers or their official tuners. They should not be disturbed by the need to rescue the ACO GTE category which has never enjoyed anywhere near the success of GT3.”
Ratel’s group says that an attempt to merge the two categories would “tarnish the technical competition in GTE,” while also raising the costs in GT3 and “render some of the models uncompetitive.”
Instead, the SRO proposes to preserve GT3 and instead launch a new FIA GT2 category based on strict technical rules with limited waivers, similar to the objectives of GTE. However, Ratel offers the idea of limiting Balance of Performance to success ballast, a method his FIA GT Championship used nearly a decade ago.
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