British GT

British GT announces 2016 calendar

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Going into the final round at Donington Park there were four challengers for the title (Credit: Nick Smith/TheImageTeam.com)

SRO, the organisers of the British GT Championship, has today announced the series’ calendar for 2016 with the same collection of tracks but in a different order.

The biggest change in the nine round calendar is the removal of Oulton Park from its curtain raising Easter Weekend round with Brands Hatch taking round one honours instead with a two hour races on the April 16/7 weekend.

Oulton Park instead has its two one-hour races on the May Bank Holiday weekend on May 28th and 30th with the two races being held on the Monday as it did on its Easter dates.

Sandwiched between those two weekends is the two hour race at Rockingham which is straddling the end of April and start of May.

Going into June only one round is scheduled – the Silverstone 500 three-hour race on June 11 and 12 which is always highlight of the season. To make an already great race even better 2016 will see the European GT4 Series make a welcome addition to an already jam-packed GT4 grid.

Indeed the European GT4 Series will be following British GT off on its July holiday to Spa-Francorchamps where the championship will again take in a Friday/Saturday weekend in support of an as-of-yet unknown race – last year it was the 25 Hour VW Fun Cup race – on July 8 & 9.

Going into August and because of Brands Hatch’s new date Snetterton has seen itself moved to earlier in the month with August 6/7 slated for the grid tackle the Norfolk circuit’s pair of 60 minute sprint races.

Finally, Donington Park will again play host to the final round of the season with a two hour blast on September 10/11.

In 2016, with the closer link up with its sister Blancpain races, including the introduction of Pirelli tyres, British GT has made sure that the calendar doesn’t clash with any Blancpain GT Series races to encourage as many teams as possible to commit to as wide a range of GT races as physically possible

British GT Championship Manager Benjamin Franassovici said: “I’m delighted that next season’s British GT calendar will mix elements of continuity with a slightly re-jigged format. We’re always keen to explore new opportunities but, after consulting with our teams, believe retaining the same seven circuits as this season was the best option.

“Obviously moving the opening round away from Oulton wasn’t a decision we took lightly. It’s always been a fantastic host and I’m sure the local crowd’s enthusiasm for British GT will be as evident over a May Bank Holiday as it has been during the traditional Easter date. But we were keen to try something different and Brands Hatch, which staged a brilliant race last season, offered that opportunity.

“That the European GT4 Series, which recently announced it would be running the same Pirelli tyres as British GT4, will also join our grid at Silverstone and Spa is obviously great news. The same goes for our successful partnership with BRDC F4, which will feature a new, much faster car for its second season alongside British GT. It’s also worth noting that a number of new GT3 teams will be announcing their plans over the winter period, and we might even see several new-generation GT3 models joining the fray, too.

“The British GT package has seldom looked stronger.”

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