The SRO has announced plans to get the GT World Challenge Europe series underway in the summer with the calendar confirmed to start in July.
All racing this year has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic however we are now starting to see plans announced by a number of series to get the action back underway in a safe manner with the SRO being the latest.
The events will be run under local regulations and with appropriate precautions in place, while SRO will adopt stringent social distancing rules to maintain the safety of competitors, circuit workers and the wider community. Further information on these measures will be communicated in due course.
The GT World Challenge Europe will consist of 8 events spread evenly between the Sprint and Endurance events. The Sprint Cup weekends however will move to a 3 race format at Misano and Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as well as the Nurburgring Endurance event will change to a 6 hour race. This is to make sure the series runs to its original total race distances over a shortened season with the loss of Brands Hatch and Silverstone.
So the new calendar will get underway at Imola on 25/26 July with the first round of the Endurance Cup which will be a 3 hour race at the historic San Marino circuit.
The series will then head to Misano on 7-9 August for the first round of the Sprint Cup and the first of the three race events. The Nurburgring six hour event is next up with it being run on the original 5-6 September date followed by 3 Sprint Cup rounds at Magny-Cours (11-13 September), the revised Zandvoort on (25-27 September) and the final 3 race round at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (9-11 October).
The jewel that is the Total 24 Hours of Spa will be run on 22-25 October with the test days happening on 29-30 September. The GT World Challenge Europe season will then conclude at Circuit Paul Ricard with its six hour race being held on 13-15 November.
Stephane Ratel, SRO Motorsports Group founder and CEO has said: “We are pleased to present a complete programme that maintains 10 Sprint Cup races and the full Endurance Cup duration, while respecting our commitment to our teams to bring down costs.
“With fewer meetings, all of which are centrally located in Europe, transport times will be reduced.
“Teams and drivers will be able to reach these events by road during a period when air travel is likely to remain challenging. Our other key priority was to create a calendar in harmony with the FFSA French GT Championship, British GT Championship, GT4 European Series and ADAC GT Masters.
“Most of our teams also compete in at least one of these championships and I would like to thank the organisers of ADAC GT Masters for their constructive contribution to this process.
“We are now very much looking forward to starting the 2020 season. In the meantime, I am pleased that we continue to maintain competitive momentum for our drivers and fans through the SRO E-Sport GT Series.”
All the dates are however subject to the local government restrictions and could still be amended.
