The World Motorsport Council (WMSC) has agreed a nine date calendar for the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship, including a race at the Chinese Ordos International Circuit. A tenth date, at the Sachsenring in Germany, may be a confirmed later this month.
The schedule marks a significant change from the inaugural season which drew to close last weekend (December 5) in Argentina.
The year starts, once more, in Abu Dhabi, but then travels to Zolder in Begluim – one three new tracks to the series. The other – Ordos aside – is Curitiba, which replaces Interlagos as the host of the Brazilian race. The season once more ends with a pair of races in South America, San Luis retaining the finale – which is a month earlier than this.
The series' British round will once more be held at Silverstone, though after being held in early May in 2010 it is pushed back to June – a week before the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Spanish circuit of Navarra is given a confirmed race in 2011, after hosting a round in 2010 when the planned event in Durban, South Africa was postponed.
“This year saw the FIA GT1 World Championship become a reality and 2011 will see us build on the solid foundations we laid this season by adding a race in Asia alongside the ones in Europe, South America and the Middle East,” said Stephane Ratel, CEO of the SRO Motorsports Group. “China is a very important market for luxury and sportscar manufacturers and another step in our long term strategy that will eventually see GT1 World Championship race on every continent.”
As well as the calendar the WMSC also confirmed that success ballast in the 2011 will be applied after both the qualifying and championship races of weekends. A new scale will be applied to the Qualifying Race, with an altered scale being used for the Championship Race.
A team's tyre allocation for the season has also been altered, with six sets per car every race, with four ring fenced for use in the qualifying and the two races. The FIA's intention is to encourage to use the tyres to their full capacity in the practice sessions, reducing – the FIA claim – the need for private testing.
2011 FIA GT1 World Championship Calendar
March 27 – Abu Dhabi, UAE
April 10 – Zolder, Belguim
May 8 – Algarve, Portugal
June 5 – Silverstone, UK
July 3 – Navarra, Spain
July 17 – Paul Ricard, France
September 4 – Ordos, China
October 23 – Curitiba, Brazil
November 11 – San Luis, Argentina
