Introduction
The FIA GT1 World Championship brings together six iconic brands – Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford, Lamborghini, Maserati, Nissan – in spectacular competition in an exciting sprint format.
The pinnacle of sports car racing features 12 teams, 24 cars and 48 of the world’s leading drivers will compete on 10 of the leading circuits on four continents.
Overall, the new FIA GT1 World Championship is ground-breaking, truly global, prestigious, and technically innovative; ushering in a new era for sportscar racing.
As Stephane Ratel, the promoter of the FIA GT1 World Championship, says, “the series showcases the pinnacle of sports car racing in a single world championship and is now one of the ‘big four’ international motorsport series recognised by the FIA.”
Cars from six of the most renowned sportscar marques will battle for supremacy. The Aston Martin DB9, Corvette Z06, Ford GT, Lamborghini Murciélago RS-V, Maserati MC 12 and Nissan GT-R are all striving for top spot. Monitor how they perform in each race and the final championship rankings.
The FIA GT1 World Championship will visit some of the world’s most legendary and iconic circuits. The season starts in the United Arab Emirates in April on the F1 circuit at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi. The European leg of the championship starts on another Grand Prix circuit at Silverstone in the UK where the drivers will be the first to race on the new ‘Arena’ circuit and compete for the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy.
The next round is held in Eastern Europe at Brno in the Czech Republic before heading to the Paul Ricard HTTT in the South of France. At the end of July, the championship features two 60-minute races at the challenging Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, before the 24 Hours of Spa. Round 6 will be held at the end of August at the Nürburgring in Germany, with the final European round held in September in the Algarve, Portugal.
The Championship then heads to the southern hemisphere with Round 8 in South Africa on the streets of Durban. The final two rounds will take place in South America with Round 9 at Interlagos in Brazil before the finale of the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship season takes place in Argentina on the majestic San Luis circuit in December.
The Cars
Cars from six of the most renowned sportscar marques will battle for supremacy. The Aston Martin DB9, Corvette Z06, Ford GT, Lamborghini Murciélago RS-V, Maserati MC 12 and Nissan GT-R are all striving for top spot. Monitor how they perform in each race and the final championship rankings.
The Teams
Each manufacturer supplies two teams with two cars and provides support to the 12 highly-professional independent teams. Teams consist of drivers, trackside engineers, technicians and managers. Check out who this year’s teams are and see how they compare against each other.
The Drivers
Will youth and verve triumph over wisdom and experience? It’s all up for grabs this season as the top GT1 drivers battle for personal pride and points. A walk through the grid reveals former Formula One drivers, Le Mans 24 Hour winners, GT champions – a blend of wily old heads and eager young guns. Take a look at this year’s contenders and compare their track records. Can you predict who will be this year’s champion?
New to GT1?
The FIA GT1 World Championship is a world championship sportscar racing series, regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and promoted by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO).
Entrants compete in one-hour races on multiple continents, driving ‘grand touring’ race cars that are based on standard production road cars, and conform to strict GT1 regulations.
Championships are awarded to teams and drivers each season.
Heritage
A proud history
Grand Touring (GT) races first came to the fore in the 1950s, with the first FIA GT Cup for drivers and manufacturers awarded in 1960. That year, Ferrari took the manufacturers’ honours, with Olivier Gendebien triumphant among the drivers. After a period of recession, a new series of endurance GT races was created by BPR (Barth – Peter – Ratel) in the 90s. With an average entry of 50 cars per event, it soon became the world’s leading sportscar series. Featuring a grid of world-famous GT cars, headlined by the battle between the Ferrari F40 LM, the McLaren F1 GTRs and the Lotus V8s, the series proved compelling competition for media and fans.
The FIA GT is born
In 1997, the FIA – motorsport’s world governing body – created an officially sanctioned GT series to be promoted by SRO. The first year saw a direct confrontation between five manufacturers in GT1 and four in GT2, with an average grid of 45 cars. The contest between Mercedes and BMW continued right up to the last race, offering one of the best shows ever seen in GT racing. However, manufacturer participation sent the costs of racing soaring and hindered the competitiveness of privately-entered teams.
Rebirth of the privateer
With the departure of the last manufacturer after the 1999 season, by 2000 the FIA GT Championship had evolved into a Championship led by privateer teams, with manufacturer support. The racing rebuilt itself around the GT and N-GT categories, including makes such as Chrysler, Lamborghini, Lister, Porsche and Ferrari.
Growth and stability
In 2001, the 24 Hours of Spa was introduced, becoming a mandatory event for all FIA GT teams the next year. Its success was an immediate, establishing the race as one of the leading blue-ribbon motorsport endurance events. Between 2002 and 2004, the FIA GT Championship was part of the Super Racing Weekend multi-series platform, ensuring steady development and growing media coverage.
Performance balancing
From 2005, the GT1 and GT2 categories re-established themselves in the FIA GT Championship, thanks to the implementation of the FIA’s Balance of Performance system.
This guaranteed a level playing field across the different architecture of brands such as Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Saleen. In 2006, the FIA GT celebrated its centenary race at the French circuit of Dijon-Prenois.
The brave new world of GT1
2010 marks the next stage of this story with the birth of a new World Championship, with six manufacturers, 12 teams, 24 of the world’s most iconic sportscars and 48 of the leading sportscar drivers from across the globe racing on four continents. With the continued success of the FIA GT3 European Championship, the future of GT racing is looking very good indeed.
2010 Season
This is the first season of the new FIA GT1 World Championships, and is an evolution of the extremely successful FIA GT Championship, rich with 13 seasons of GT1 and GT2 (see below) competition. Now it’s strictly GT1, promising an even faster, more exciting race series that will keep you on the edge of your seat all season. Races will be held in 10 countries, and each event will consist of two one-hour races. The first race is a qualifying race to determine the starting grid for the main race where Championship points will be awarded.
Sporting Regulations and Weekend Format
Each of the 10 events held in 2010 will feature two 60-minute races, one Qualifying Race and one Championship Race. Qualifying will take place over three periods, with the eight slowest cars dropping out after the first and second periods, leaving the final eight battle it out for pole position. The qualifying race will determine the grid for the Championship Race on the final day. There will be a mandatory pit stop for tyre and driver change in each race, and success ballast will be added to the top four cars at the end of the weekend. Points will be awarded to the top 3 in the qualifying race and the top 8 in the championship race.
Weekend Format
The events are generally run over 3 days, with altered schedules for some of the overseas races and the 24 Hours of Spa.
| Free practice and Pre-qualifying | 2 x 80’ | Friday |
| Qualifying sessions |
1 x 20’ followed by 7’ break 1 x15’ followed by 8’ break 1 x 10’ |
Saturday |
| Qualifying Race | 1 x 60’ | Saturday |
| Championship Race | 1 x 60’ | Sunday |
The starting grid for the Championship Race will be determined according to the results of the Qualifying Race.
Qualifying
There is one 60-minute qualifying practice session, divided into 3 periods with a break between each one and the next.
This session will take place as follows:
Q1. All cars driven by the first driver will be permitted on the track and at the end of this 20-minute period the eight slowest cars will be prohibited from taking any further part in the session. The lap times set by the sixteen remaining cars will then be deleted.
Q2. After a 7-minute break the sixteen remaining cars driven by the second driver will be permitted on the track and at the end of this 15-minute period, the eight slowest cars will be prohibited from taking any further part in the session.
The lap times set by the eight remaining cars will then be deleted.
Q3. After an 8-minute break the eight remaining cars driven by the first driver will be permitted on the track for the final 10-minute qualifying session.
Success Ballast
Success ballast will be allocated to drivers and cars according to the following scale for each Championship Race only:
- 1st + 40 kg
- 2nd + 30 kg
- 3rd + 20 kg
- 4th + 10 kg
- 5th 0 kg
- 6th - 10 kg
- 7th - 20 kg
- 8th - 30 kg
- 9th - 40 kg
- -40kg until the last car taking part
The maximum success ballast that can be attributed is 100 kg.
An additional 50 kg will be added to reach a total weight of 150 kg if a car or its driver(s), already ballasted with the maximum handicap of 100 kg, wins an Event. If the car or driver(s) penalised as above does not win the next Event, the additional 50 kg penalty will be cancelled for the following Event.
Mandatory Pit Stops
A mandatory pit stop for changing drivers and all four tyres is to be carried out during each of the two races, between the 25th and 35th minutes.
Points
Points for all titles are awarded at each Event according to the following scale:
Qualifying Race:
- 1st: 8 points
- 2nd: 6 points
- 3rd: 4 point
Championship Race:
- 1st: 25 points
- 2nd: 18 points
- 3rd: 15 points
- 4th: 12 points
- 5th: 10 points
- 6th: 8 points
- 7th: 6 points
- 8th: 4 points
- 9th: 2 points
- 10th: 1 points