The Alpine Elf Cup is a one-make sports car racing series founded in 2018 featuring the Alpine A110 Cup .
25-398: The series consists of events in various European countries which feature two races over a weekend. Each weekend the series hosts two 25 minute races plus one lap with two separate qualifying sessions determining the grid order. Teams may run one driver over the entire weekend or split the car between two drivers with one driver running the first qualifying session and race and the other running
50-695: A 24 Hours Nürburgring victory in 2012. Group GT3 also expanded to the United States with the Rolex Sports Car Series allowing several GT3 cars with specification wings, as well as the Japanese Super GT and Super Taikyu Series , while Nissan became the first Japanese manufacturer to sell a GT3 car. GT3 category cars also replaced Group GT1 cars in the FIA GT1 World Championship before rebranding as
75-751: A category specifically for the FIA's new Group GT3 machines. The SRO Group expanded the category in 2007 with the launch of two new regional championships, the Brazilian GT Championship and the German ADAC GT Masters , exclusively running Group GT3 cars. The British GT Championship abandoned Group GT2 cars, promoting GT3 to their premiere category, while the Belcar series reorganized their class structure to introduce GT3 as their lead class. The French FFSA GT Championship also added
100-417: A level playing field through strict control of their performance by the FIA. This would allow drivers a bridge between smaller national series and the professional international FIA GT Championship. Further, the category was conceived to use sprint formats for races, but manufacturers could develop and sell an upgrade kit for their cars to allow GT3 cars to be used in endurance races . A similar category, under
125-550: A minimum production number required for GT3 race cars would be enforced. Ten units must be made within twelve months as from the homologation date, twenty units must be made within twenty-four months and so on. Following dwindling manufacturer support for their Class One regulations , the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series switched to the GT3 formula in 2021, abandoning its touring car origins. In 2022,
150-615: A new GT3 category. The Australian GT Championship brought on board the GT3 category in 2008 while the VLN Series and 24 Hours Nürburgring added GT3 categories in 2009. By 2011 Group GT3 was expanding into endurance racing with the formation of the Blancpain Endurance Series as well as winning overall at the Bathurst 12 Hour , Dubai 24 Hour , Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race , and Spa 24 Hours , followed by
175-475: A period of seven years unless a request for extension is made by the manufacturer. Currently, all homologations prior to GT3-025 have expired and not been renewed, although these expired cars are allowed to compete in national series under local approval (such as SCCA Trans-Am Series XGT classes) or in historic events such as Le Mans Classic . Group GT3 cars can be built either directly by the automotive manufacturer or built by racing teams and tuning companies at
200-475: A single manufacturer from becoming dominant in the class. The cars in GT3 are designed to have a weight between 1200 kg and 1300 kg (2645 lbs and 2866 lbs) with horsepower between 500 hp and 600 hp. All cars have a very similar power to weight ratio but achieved either by high power and high weight such as the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG or low power and low weight such as
225-631: A wide variety of car types to be homologated with almost no limit on engine sizes and configurations or chassis construction or layout. GT3 cars must be based on mass production road car models that are being built and sold at the time of homologation. Performance of all the Group GT3 cars are regulated, either by the GT Bureau of the FIA or by a series' specific ruling body, through the balance of performance formulae that adjusts limits on horsepower, weight, engine management, and aerodynamics to prevent
250-507: Is a grand tourer -style sports car racing series founded in 2006 by the Spanish GT Sport Organización. It was a spin-off of the now-defunct Spanish GT Championship , but is now a distinct series featuring FIA GT3-spec cars modified from production road cars. The series consists of events in various European countries which feature two races over a weekend. In its first year, the races had an identical format to
275-608: Is a set of regulations maintained by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for grand tourer racing cars designed for use in various auto racing series throughout the world. The GT3 category was initially created in 2005 by the SRO Motorsports Group as a third rung in the ladder of grand touring motorsport, below the Group GT1 and Group GT2 categories which were utilized in
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#1732782836036300-767: Is a single 300 km race. In early seasons, a few races have been a part of the World Touring Car Championship support package. Now the first race of a weekend is 70 minutes long and the second is 60 minutes. The current support series are the Euroformula Open Championship (formerly Spanish F3 Open) and the GT Cup Open Europe with some race weekends also featuring TCR Europe and the Alpine Elf Europa Cup . Past support series have included
325-606: The FIA GT Series in 2013. After NASCAR merged their Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series with IMSA's American Le Mans Series, the new United SportsCar Championship allowed more types of GT3 cars to join the GTD category, and in 2016 limited the category to only GT3 spec machines. On 9 March 2018, it was announced that the FIA World Motor Sport Council approved the introduction of a new process, in which
350-627: The Porsche 911 GT3 . GT3 cars also have traction control , ABS , and built-in air jacks for quick pit stops . The concept behind Group GT3 was introduced by Stéphane Ratel, head of the SRO Group and promoter of the FIA GT Championship in 2005. The Group GT1 and Group GT2 cars in the FIA GT Championship required manufacturers to build a car based on regulations, and then develop that car to increase its performance, thus increasing
375-665: The SEAT León Supercopa (2014-2016), and Formula V8 3.5 Series (2016). Each race consists of a field of grand touring-style cars broken into different classes based on power and weight. For 2006, two classes were used, known as GTA and GTB. GTA was equivalent to the GT2 class used in the FIA GT Championship , but it also allowed non-homologated cars provide they obey the FIA GT2 technical regulations. Most of
400-625: The FIA confirmed that the GTE cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship would be replaced by GT3 cars, racing in the LMGT3 class. This means GT3 cars will be able to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2024 onward. As of April 2024 , 58 vehicles have gone through the homologation process with the FIA, although some of these homologations failed to be completed or were later revoked. Homologations expire after
425-594: The International GT Open began using only FIA GT3 -spec cars with 2 sub-categories. The Am category is only for drivers given the "Bronze" designation by GT Sport. Pro-Am requires one Bronze driver with no restrictions on the co-driver. All other entries are scored overall with the only driver restriction being a ban on having two Platinum drivers. Title won on number of wins count back. Group GT3 Group GT3 , known technically as Cup Grand Touring Cars and commonly referred to as simply GT3 ,
450-549: The SRO's FIA GT Championship , and launched its own series in 2006 called the FIA GT3 European Championship . Since then, Group GT3 has expanded to become the de facto category for many national and international grand touring series, although some series modify the ruleset from the FIA standard. By 2013, nearly 20 automobile manufacturers have built or been represented with GT3 machines. Group GT3 allows for
475-650: The Spanish GT Championship, with two 200 km races, the first held on Saturday and the second on the Sunday. Three of the six rounds were joint events for the Open and the Spanish GT Championship. In 2007, the first race, known as Pro-Am , covers approximately 200 km distance, while the second race is 150 km and known as GT Open . The only exception is the Open GT Barcelona, which
500-631: The behest of the manufacturer. Other vehicles have been allowed to run alongside Group GT3 cars in various series under homologations from national ruling bodies, including the Mosler MT900R GT3 , Ginetta G55 GT3 , Chevron GR8 GT3 , Radical RXC GT3 , Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003C , Emil Frey Jaguar XKR G3 , Acura TLX-GT , Renault Sport R.S. 01 GT3 , Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro and Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD . Since 2006, Group GT3 cars have been either exclusive to or in
525-626: The cost for the manufacturers and the customers wanting to race the cars. GT3 was envisioned as a category that would simplify the process by combining several existing cars from one-make series , such as the Porsche Supercup or Ferrari Challenge , as well as other race cars available from manufacturers that did not fit in GT1 or GT2, such as the Aston Martin DBRS9 or Dodge Viper Competition Coupe , and allow them to all compete on
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#1732782836036550-811: The field was made up of Ferrari F430 GTs and Porsche 911 GT3 -RSRs. Non-homologated cars like the Mosler MT900 R and the SEAT Cupra GT were also competitive. The GTB class consisted of cars usually from a manufacturer's one-make cup series, like the Ferrari F430 Challenge, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, and the Marcos Mantis . A GTS class was created to house the FIA GT3 class, consisting mainly of Dodge Viper Competition Coupes and Lamborghini Gallardo GT3s. Starting in 2015,
575-591: The overall Drivers' Championship: Junior, for drivers under 25 years of age and Gentlemen, which is designated by the series officials but generally given to drivers over 45 years of age. At the end of the season the highest Gentleman driver in points receives an official test in an Alpine A110 GT4 racecar along with a cash prize. The highest placed Junior driver receives an official test in the Signatech-Alpine-Matmut LMP2 prototype. International GT Open The International GT Open
600-555: The same name, had been in use in the British GT Championship which the SRO Group also organized. The regulations and homologations for Group GT3 were prepared by the FIA and ready by the start of the 2006 season, with eight manufacturers represented as the first Balance of Performance test prior to the debut of the FIA GT3 European Championship . The International GT Open , British GT Championship , Spanish GT Championship , and Italian GT Championship all created
625-619: The second. The series supports multiple other racing series depending on the round including the International GT Open , FFSA GT Championship , and the Blancpain GT Championship . Each race consists of a field of Alpine A110 Cup cars. The A110 Cup is the only eligible model in the series and very few modifications to the car are permitted as well as Nissan MR18DDT 1.8-liter inline-four turbocharged engines. The series has two sub-categories along with
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