Misplaced Pages

#820179

34-728: Following the successful introduction of the FIA GT3 European Championship in 2006, the formula was expanded to include usage by other nationally based professional championships such as the British GT Championship , Belcar , Australian GT Championship and German ADAC GT Masters . While the FIA GT3 European Championship continues, the SRO felt that a true amateur championship was needed in order to complement GT3 which allowed

68-835: A North American series added in 1994. It now encompasses four official series in Europe , North America , Japan & The United Kingdom . Competitors from each series are brought together at the annual World Finals (Finali Mondiali) event. In the course of more than 30 years of history, the one-make championship has featured eight cars from the Maranello marque: in addition to the Ferrari 348 Challenge, Ferrari F355 Challenge (debut in 1995), Ferrari 360 Challenge (Since 2000), Ferrari F430 Challenge (Since 2006), Ferrari 458 Challenge (Since 2011), 458 Challenge Evo (Since 2014), Ferrari 488 Challenge (Since 2017), 488 Challenge Evo (Since 2020) and

102-689: A certain level of professional driver to compete. Many national series also adopted the GT4 regulations as a lower class, and the European Cup eventually lacked the competitors needed to continue. During the 2016 24 Hours of Spa , the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) announced that the European Cup would be divided in 2 different series for 2017. They are called the GT4 European Series Northern Cup and

136-865: A national championship called GTF in 2014 featuring GT4 regulated cars. The Super Taikyu Series in Japan also includes a GT4 class called ST-Z. The United States–based ACCUS offers the GT4 America Series promoted by SRO and sanctioned by the United States Auto Club for one-hour sprint races, and the Michelin Pilot Challenge sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association for longer races (2-4 hours). FIA GT3 European Championship The FIA GT3 European Championship

170-445: A race containing as many of the competitors across all series in both Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell as can fit, with Ferrari declaring the winners to be "world champions". The following table has the winners of each event: The Ferrari Challenge uses a single model from the manufacturer's road car range, suitably modified to make them safe for competition use. The lineage began with the 348 Challenge in 1993, followed by its successor,

204-549: A set of criteria which would automatically eliminate them from competition based on their level of experience. Since GT4 class drivers are meant to be true amateurs, these criteria are tighter than that seen in GT3. Drivers under the age of 30 are not allowed to have had a top-ten finish in any national or international single-seater championship, nor to have had a distinguishable career in a national or international GT championship. These drivers are known as Silver drivers. Drivers over

238-484: A system where drivers are graded from A (International Driver) to D (Fully Amateur), however, at least one of the drivers in each car must be of amateur status (C or D), except if a team is composed of two B-graded drivers, in that case, the car gets a 60 kg ballast penalty. Various other championships are also running now which allow GT3-spec cars to participate, notably British GT Championship , FFSA GT Championship , Belcar , Super GT and Super Taikyu . In 2007

272-651: Is that most commonly used to describe the drivers in FIA GT3. However, in order to ensure that the drivers in FIA GT3 are of amateur status, the FIA put into place rules regarding what determines a driver's skill level. [1] Archived 2008-02-15 at the Wayback Machine Drivers under the age of 55 who fit the following criteria are not allowed in FIA GT3: Exception to this is that drivers over

306-641: The 24 Hours Nürburgring and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters . [2] The series is the first national level version of FIA GT3. In 2005 the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport launched the return of the Australian GT Championship which uses older GT2 and GT3 cars with balanced performance. As of 2012 the Australian GT Championship allows GT3 cars and will allow older GT cars as well. Starting from 2007,

340-648: The Coppa Shell (lit. " Shell Cup"). This format has now been transferred to the Europe Challenge series. It was originally launched in 1993, with backing from Pirelli. The European series is a four-class championship, the classes are: The North American also features the Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell class system. This championship was inaugurated in 1994. It is organized by Ferrari North America and sanctioned by IMSA . Starting with

374-471: The Ferrari F430 GT3 was replaced by the 430 GT3 Scuderia . The Alpina B6 and Chevrolet Corvette Z06R were also dropped by the 2011 season, while the Ferrari 430 GT3 Scuderia was replaced with the 458 Italia GT3 . From 2006-09 teams were limited to a maximum of 3 cars, with each car having 2 drivers. From 2010 teams are limited to a maximum of two cars, each with two drivers. A team must use

SECTION 10

#1732791127821

408-596: The GT3 Brasil Championship has been held in Brazil, also organized by SRO, with several veteran drivers racing in some events, such as former Formula One champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Nelson Piquet and former Brazilian Stock Car champions Chico Serra and Alexandre Negrão , who also was the first series champion. Differently from the European series, GT3 Brasil accepts professional drivers, in

442-723: The GT4 European Series Southern Cup . The Northern Cup will be the same as the European Cup, while the Southern Cup will collect forces with the FFSA GT Championship . Since Stéphane Ratel spoke out about his firm belief in this class, many championships and constructors have followed. In 2018 the Southern Cup was renamed FFSA GT - GT4 France, while the Northern Cup became the sole GT4 European Series again. Like GT3, GT4 drivers have

476-665: The 2019 season, the regional Ferrari Challenge UK series has been launched, contested at some of the UK's most iconic tracks, from Silverstone to Brands Hatch, Oulton Park to Snetterton. Starting with the 2023 season, the calendar of the Prancing Horse single-make series has been enriched with the second regional series, the Ferrari Challenge Japan, which includes five rounds taking place at the tracks of Fuji (two rounds), Autopolis, Suzuka and Sugo. The Asia-Pacific

510-468: The F355 Challenge, and the 360 Modena was introduced in 2000. The F355 remained eligible during 2000 and 2001. The 360 Challenge version was the first competition-orientated version to be marketed to the public. The F430 Challenge was phased in during a transitional year in 2006, with the same being the case for the 458 Challenge in 2011. The F430 introduced carbon - ceramic brake discs for

544-545: The FIA GT1 World Championship races that took place in Europe. The FIA GT3 European Championship was launched in 2006 as a way to expand manufacturer involvement in motorsports as well as to help amateur drivers across Europe. It attempts to combine multiple one-make series into a larger event with a race within a race, teams competing not only to beat others in their own manufacturer cup but also to win

578-551: The Ferrari 296 Challenge (Since 2024). Currently there are four distinct series, in Europe, in North America, in the UK, and in Japan. The Ferrari Challenge is managed by Ferrari's Corse Clienti department. The now defunct Ferrari Challenge Italy used a two-class format in which distinguished between professional competition drivers in the Trofeo Pirelli (lit. " Pirelli Trophy") and amateur "gentleman drivers" in

612-544: The GT4 European Cup, the GT4 class of cars have been expanded to various national series. The British GT Championship and Belgian GT Championship allow GT4 and Super Sport class cars to compete alongside the GT3 class, while the stand-alone Dutch GT4 Championship ran its first season of competition 2009. The Spanish GT Cup Open Europe series also allows GT4 cars to compete with one-make cars. A GT4 championship plans to be run in Brazil in 2010. Norway introduced

646-623: The SRO and FIA have launched a similar championship, known as the GT4 European Cup , which features the same concept of using serial production sports cars, but with smaller engine sizes, minimum modifications and restrictions on the professionalism of participating drivers. In 2010-12, the FIA GT1 World Championship acted as a senior series to this series. Drivers in GT1 drive were more experienced (and can be hired by

680-408: The age of 30 who did not receive their racing licenses until after turning 30 and having no single-seater experience at all are also allowed in the series, under the term Bronze drivers. Just as in GT3, each event would consist of two races of equal distance, usually held on different days. Teams were not required to have two drivers and could use the same driver for each race. The championship used

714-447: The age of 45 can petition the SRO and FIA to be allowed to race even with prior professional experience. For each event in the FIA GT3 season, two individual races are held. Each driver on the two car team qualifies the car individually, and then starts each of the two races from their respective starting position, with one driver starting the first race and the other driver starting the second race. Each race requires one pit stop, where

SECTION 20

#1732791127821

748-551: The cars used in the series are track only, although some 360 Challenges have been made road legal in Australia, with extensive modifications. However, due to new legislation, this is not possible anymore. The 360 Modena Challenge used in the series should not be confused with the 360 Challenge Stradale , which was a road-legal, track day oriented version of the 360, similar to the 430 Scuderia . In 1999, Sega 's producer Yu Suzuki created Ferrari F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa ,

782-556: The competition by the FIA. The Jaguar XKR , Ford Mustang FR500GT , Ford GT , and Morgan Aero 8 were added to the homologation list for 2007, while the Venturi Atlantique silhouette, Maserati Trofeo , and Lotus Exige were all dropped due to lack of participation. The Jaguar XKR, Ford Mustang, and Morgan were eventually dropped by the 2011 season. The Audi R8 LMS and the Alpina B6 were homologated for 2009, while

816-513: The development of the road cars to their racing counterparts, as well as attempting to make all cars equal by pre- and in-season performance balancing adjustments. Unlike FIA GT1's GT1, the GT3 class cars are not allowed to be developed by their manufacturers over the course of a racing season. Manufacturers simply provide a ready-to-race car to a customer and the teams are limited in what they can alter from production specs. All cars that participate in GT3 must be allowed permission and equalized with

850-537: The factory), drove more powerful cars, and the season was longer and visited more countries (including non-European countries). Because the GT1 Championship allowed performance balanced GT3 cars and 2009-spec GT2 cars in 2012, the only difference in the car lineups was the GT3 Championship still being restricted to GT3 cars. All GT3 races occurred on the same weekend as a corresponding GT1 race, and

884-541: The first time and gained 80 hp (60 kW) over the 360CS, which has reduced lap times to approximately three seconds shy of the F430 GT2. The 458 Challenge is the first to have driver controlled aids such as traction control, stability management and adjustable ABS brakes. The 296 Challenge is the most recent in a line of Ferraris used in the Ferrari Challenge series. The lineage is as follows: All

918-591: The overall GT3 Teams Championship and Drivers Championship. Points are awarded to the top eight on the scale of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1, with each car in a team scoring points even if multiple entries finish in scoring positions. On November 29, 2006, the German ADAC launched a race series known as GT Masters , which will be a national level series for FIA GT3 cars. Their initial season in 2007 will feature six races (all but one in Germany), serving as support races for

952-491: The overall race. In the future, the FIA and SRO plan to not only expand the overall European championship, but also to help in the development of multiple one-make series across Europe, similar to the Ferrari Challenge and Porsche Supercup . Following in the established name usage from FIA GT, the FIA's Group GT3 differs from its GT1 and GT2 counterparts by using more low-cost engineering and design elements in

986-479: The races were also at different times of the day (e.g. Paul Ricard hosts both a GT1 and a GT3 race on the same weekend). Some manufacturers like Aston Martin had raced cars in both the GT1 and GT3 championships. Ferrari Challenge The Ferrari Challenge is a single-marque motorsport championship that was created in 1993, initially catering to owners of the 348 Challenge who wanted to race their cars. The first European season took place in 1993, with

1020-472: The same type of car for each of their entries. There can be no more than six entries per marque (three two car teams), although teams entering cars in the GT1 championship can enter cars in GT3 beyond this restriction. The drivers in FIA GT3 are not on the same level as those in FIA GT, in that they are intended to be more amateur drivers than the professionals who are hired in FIA GT. The term gentleman driver

1054-405: The standard FIA point scheme for the top ten finishers: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. If a team used different drivers for each race in a single event, both drivers would receive points. A driver and team championship were both held. If at least five cars of the same make participate in a race, then a manufacturer cup would also be awarded, similar to the style used in GT3. Since the introduction of

GT4 European Series - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-503: The team must switch between the two drivers, as well as change all four tires. Each team is limited to only two crew members in the pits during a pit stop. All races are one hour in length. FIA GT3 attempts to present itself as a gathering of cup races. Besides the fact that all cars are individually fighting against others to have a race win, cars are also meant to be competing against cars of their same make. Each individual make in GT3 has their own respective drivers championship alongside

1122-566: Was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a championship derived from the international FIA GT1 World Championship , but meant to provide competition for more amateur racers in closer to production cars. The series used extensive performance balancing and handicap weights to make cars more equal. FIA GT3 European Championship races served as support races for

1156-486: Was organised from 2011 to 2022, inaugurated in combination with the growing interest and sales for Ferrari in Asia. The seasons included events in Japan, China, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. The Asia-Pacific also featured the Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell class system. From 2013, the major Ferrari Challenge series have combined to host a World Final common event for all championships. This event culminates in

#820179