Ace GT team Reiter Engineering has launched a brand new series for upcoming drivers aiming to find the best new driver pairings.
Titled the Reiter Young Stars Championship, young drivers will race identical KTM X-Bow GT4 cars at tracks across Europe in support of the GT4 Euro Series.
The new championship, which is supported by SRO, will be backed by a series of top universities across Europe as the Reiter look to develop not just drivers, but support staff as well.
It means that on each of the five weekends (taking in Monza, Pau, Spa, the Hungaroring and Zandvoort) two young engineers, a marketing student and a business student will take the lead in running the KTM – with support from Reiter Engineering staff.
Team Owner Hans Reiter explained further: “To explain the idea behind this new championship is easy: Primarily the drivers’ education should be sustainable and give our partners – KTM Sportscar and SRO – the opportunity to access talented young engineers. Young drivers and engineers should be introduced to GT racing and have more opportunities to use their skills than merely optimizing tyre pressures.”
To further this ‘collective responsibility’ the driving pairings will not just be focussed on race wins, in addition the fastest five laps per male and female driver, tyre wear, and damage will all play their part on the championship standings. The championship’s engineers will also battle for their own prize to be judged by a panel of experts.
Come the season’s end, the fastest male and female driver will be handsomely rewarded for their efforts with the two drivers joining forces for a crack at the 2017 Blancpain Sprint Series with all entries fees paid for and 20 sets of Pirelli tyres provided by SRO.
The founder and CEO of SRO, Stephane Ratel, was very pleased about Reiter Engineering’s plans: “At the SRO Motorsports Group we have always believed in supporting young and upcoming drivers to make their mark in GT Racing. That is why we fully embraced the Reiter Young Stars idea. It is an innovative concept and a cost-effective first step in GT Racing. Hans Reiter’s experience in GT Racing is a certain guarantee for a solid program.”