GT4 European Series

(Redirected from FIA GT4 European Cup)

The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which utilizes SRO GT4 class cars, and runs alongside the GT World Challenge Europe as a support series.

GT4 European Series
CategoryGrand Tourer (SRO GT4)
CountryEurope
Inaugural season2007
GT ClassesGT4
Drivers49
Teams27
Tyre suppliersPirelli
Official websiteGT4 European Series
Current season

History

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Following the successful introduction of the FIA GT3 European Championship in 2006, the formula was expanded to include usage by other nationally based professional championships such as the British GT Championship, Belcar, Australian GT Championship and German ADAC GT Masters. While the FIA GT3 European Championship continues, the SRO felt that a true amateur championship was needed in order to complement GT3 which allowed a certain level of professional driver to compete. Many national series also adopted the GT4 regulations as a lower class, and the European Cup eventually lacked the competitors needed to continue. During the 2016 24 Hours of Spa, the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) announced that the European Cup would be divided in 2 different series for 2017.[1] They are called the GT4 European Series Northern Cup and the GT4 European Series Southern Cup. The Northern Cup will be the same as the European Cup, while the Southern Cup will collect forces with the FFSA GT Championship. Since Stéphane Ratel spoke out about his firm belief in this class, many championships and constructors have followed. In 2018 the Southern Cup was renamed FFSA GT - GT4 France, while the Northern Cup became the sole GT4 European Series again.

Drivers

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Like GT3, GT4 drivers have a set of criteria which would automatically eliminate them from competition based on their level of experience. Since GT4 class drivers are meant to be true amateurs, these criteria are tighter than that seen in GT3.

Drivers under the age of 30 are not allowed to have had a top-ten finish in any national or international single-seater championship, nor to have had a distinguishable career in a national or international GT championship. These drivers are known as Silver drivers. Drivers over the age of 30 who did not receive their racing licenses until after turning 30 and having no single-seater experience at all are also allowed in the series, under the term Bronze drivers.

Races

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Just as in GT3, each event would consist of two races of equal distance, usually held on different days. Teams were not required to have two drivers and could use the same driver for each race.

Championship

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The championship used the standard FIA point scheme for the top ten finishers: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. If a team used different drivers for each race in a single event, both drivers would receive points. A driver and team championship were both held.

If at least five cars of the same make participate in a race, then a manufacturer cup would also be awarded, similar to the style used in GT3.

Champions

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Drivers

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Year GT4 Light Supersport
2007   Eric De Doncker Not awarded Not awarded
2008   Eric De Doncker   Christopher Haase
2009   Joe Osborne Not awarded   Augustin Eder
2010   Paul Meijer   Gianni Giudici
2011   Ricardo van der Ende   Gianni Giudici
Year Silver Cup Pro (2013–2016)
Pro-Am Cup (2017–)
Am (2013–2016)
Am Cup (2017–)
2013 Not awarded   Ricardo van der Ende   Jörg Viehbahn
2014   Bernhard van Oranje
  Ricardo van der Ende
  André Grammatico
2015   Jelle Beelen
  Marcel Nooren
  Daniel Uckermann
2016   Peter Terting
  Jörg Viebahn
  Jérôme Demay
2017   Ricardo van der Ende
  Max Koebolt
  Luc Braams
  Duncan Huisman
  Giuseppe Ghezzi
2018   Milan Dontje
  Nicolaj Møller Madsen
  Markus Lungstrass   Niki Leutwiler
2019   Simon Knap
  Alec Udell
  Marcus Påverud
  Luca Trefz
  Pascal Bachmann
  Clément Seyler
2020   Valentin Hasse-Clot
  Théo Nouet
  Bastian Buus
  Jan Kasperlik
  Nicolas Gomar
  Gilles Vannelet
2021   Charlie Fagg
  Bailey Voisin
  Grégory Guilvert
  Fabien Michal
  Michael Blanchemain
  Christophe Hamon
2022   Roee Meyuhas
  Erwan Bastard
  Jean-Luc Beaubelique
  Jim Pla
  Mikhail Loboda
  Andrey Solukvtsev
2023   Michael Schrey
  Gabriele Piana
  Grégory Guilvert
  Christophe Hamon
  Alban Varutti

Teams

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Year Overall
2007 Not awarded
2008   Motorsport98
2009   RJN Motorsport
2010   Rhesus Racing
2011   Ekris BMW/Racing Team Holland by Ekris Motorsport
2013   Ekris Motorsport
2014   Racing Team Holland by Ekris Motorsport
2015   V8 Racing
2016   PROsport Performance
Year Silver Cup Pro-Am Cup Am Cup
2017   Ekris Motorsport   Las Moras Racing   Autorlando Sport
2018   Phoenix Racing   Racing One   TFT Racing
2019   MDM Motorsport   Leipert Motorsport   Street Art Racing
Year Overall
2018   Racing One
2019   Leipert Motorsport
2020   AGS Events
Year Silver Cup Pro-Am Cup Am Cup
2021   United Autosports   Saintéloc Racing   Team Fullmotorsport
2022   Saintéloc Racing   AKKodis ASP Team   AKKodis ASP Team
2023   Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport   Saintéloc Junior Team   AVR-Avvatar

Similar series

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Since the introduction of the GT4 European Cup, the GT4 class of cars have been expanded to various national series. The British GT Championship and Belgian GT Championship allow GT4 and Super Sport class cars to compete alongside the GT3 class, while the stand-alone Dutch GT4 Championship ran its first season of competition 2009.[2] The Spanish GT Cup Open Europe series also allows GT4 cars to compete with one-make cars. A GT4 championship plans to be run in Brazil in 2010.[3] Norway introduced a national championship called GTF in 2014 featuring GT4 regulated cars. The Super Taikyu Series in Japan also includes a GT4 class called ST-Z. The United States–based ACCUS offers the GT4 America Series promoted by SRO and sanctioned by the United States Auto Club for one-hour sprint races, and the Michelin Pilot Challenge sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association for longer races (2-4 hours).

References

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  1. ^ "GT4 European Series Splits; Extended Schedule for 2017". sportscar365.com. Jake Kilshaw. December 29, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  2. ^ "GT4 European Cup - News". Gt4cup.com. 2008-06-25. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  3. ^ "FIA GT Championship - News". Fiagt.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
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