[FIA GT] GT1 FIA = GT1 ACO according to Stephane Ratel

[Fogelhund]

From Daily Sports Car.

I'm not sure what to think about this??????

So, we return to a silhouette type formula, where race cars don't share many of the mechanical parts as their road going kin.

So, we could put a 5.5 V10 in a Porsche Cayman, and call it a GT1 car? :roll:

[Dauer 962]

Don’t know you read into this, it’s widely known that the ACO will take over 2010 FIA GT1 regs and nothing really new. Pretty much same as announced already in Spa 2008.

[The Badger]

Thats great news ..... I wasnt aware of that !!! Finally some people are starting to think right .

[Speed-King]

A split between FIA and ACO would have helped no one with the possible exception of Jesus Pareja, so it's a good idea.
And I like the possibility to change the engines as it gives more manufacturers a possibility to compete in the series, even if their roadcars don't have an engine suited for racing.

Oh and if I understood a recent end-info article right, Lambo or probably Reiter are already interested in entering the new GT1 in 2010 and are suppossed to show their car during the 09 season. Perhaps a beefier version of their GT2?

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

Oh and if I understood a recent end-info article right, Lambo or probably Reiter are already interested in entering the new GT1 in 2010 and are suppossed to show their car during the 09 season. Perhaps a beefier version of their GT2?

According to Hans Reiter they will build a GT1 based on the Murcielago LP640.

[NightStalk3r]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

According to Hans Reiter they will build a GT1 based on the Murcielago LP640.

Hopefully they can carry the iconic sound over to the new GT1.

[Speed-King]

Ratel has one thing going for his GT1-championship and that is the comparatively good coverage FIA GT enjoys across Europe. Combined with the fact that the new GT1s are suppossed to be a good deal cheaper to race(!) than the current ones, a number of current GT1-teams might decide to give the new class a try.

And Ratel has one problem why he can't go GT2: International GT-Open.

[JAG]

If your a 'GT' fan your focus will be on Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, GM etc. in GT2, afterall they're closely related to the road car, and secondly, they're factory backed efforts.

Ratel is looking to push forward his GT1 plans as arguably Jesus Pareja's GT series is looking stronger than FIA GT.

You have to give Ratel credit for GT3, but this is a step too far IMO.

I'm sure there will be some cool GT1's, but my interest is prototypes and real GT's, not some mish mash of the two.

[Fogelhund]

Actually, this is a terrible idea IMHO, for the ACO.

The manufacturers have made their opinion and direction known. Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Lambo, Panoz, Ford GT, Viper, Aston Martin and Spyker, Lambourghini... and potentially (Jaguar) will have GT2 cars. Many of these are factory supported and designed cars. These GT2 cars feature cars that are very similar to their road going counterparts, and the manufacturers have chosen this direction for their marketing.

Now Ratel insinuates that a silhouette formula will be introduced for the ACO, that will devalue these GT2 factory efforts, by making them the "sub-class". No, I'm sorry these cars need to be the feature.

The only manufacturer that has stepped forward is Nissan.... with a 5.5V8 "GTR"..... Sorry while I laugh my you know what off.... If you want to build a prototype, go ahead and build a freakin prototype. We have a class for that, it's called LMP1. If you want to build a GT car, build one that is an actual representation of the cars you build.

The ACO would be far better off supporting the current GT2 category. It isn't the ACO that is diverting from the existing cars, to some change... it is Ratel. Yes, it would be better to have uniform rules and actually listen to what the manufacturers want to build, not to ram down our throats his particular vision. We have a very large supply of GT2 cars, and a diverse entry field of manufacturers. The manufacturers listened to Ratel, told him no.. .and he went ahead anyway. Ratel wants to have people buy all new equipment for this vision of his, during economically difficult times. I hope it flops, and I hope that the ACO (for once) does the right thing, and makes GT2 their premier GT category, ignoring this mess.

[Dead-Eye]

I don't like the engine switching either, but calling it a silhouette formula because you can put another one of your engines in is simply ridiculous. So the WTCC Chevy Cruze is a silhouette car too?

10 years ago we had prototypes being called GT1. How is this worse?

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by Dead-Eye

. So the WTCC Chevy Cruze is a silhouette car too?

10 years ago we had prototypes being called GT1. How is this worse?

I profess to know nothing, nor care anything about this Chevy Cruze. If the engine isn't the same basic block as it's road kin, yes I'd call it a silhouette.

In some ways that GT1 was problematic in enforcement and got out of control. The situation was addressed when they simply called these cars LMP GT. They weren't trying to present "road cars" though, which this is attempting to do. We should be learning from our mistakes of past.......

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Dead-Eye

I don't like the engine switching either, but calling it a silhouette formula because you can put another one of your engines in is simply ridiculous. So the WTCC Chevy Cruze is a silhouette car too?

10 years ago we had prototypes being called GT1. How is this worse?

That wasn't by choice and they eventually became LMGTP/LMP1.

This class is needed for FIA GT to distinguish itself from International GT, and give the series a headline class to compete with LMP1/2, it isn't wanted by manufacturer's or most fans.

[Dani Filth]

I'm yet to decide if it's a good or bad thing .. but I guess if it will be a success it would be good .. if not ..

[chunterer]

Me neither.

On one hand the current GT1 was an exotica car fans dream with the hardware available although ultimately restricting the entry levels to privateers (or privateer plus in some cases!) prevented manufacturers getting heavily involved. Thus kept costs down to a degree but surely it also deterred the car makes from continually developing the cars or new models which most other big series need to succeed.

The new regs will stop them getting involved for diferent reasons, namely them already being involved in either GT2 or LMP1/2 as already suggested by some posters.

However I always liked the idea of current GT1 with makes building the cars (or letting people build them under licence) and then selling them to professional private entrants, which GT2 and GT3 seems to have done more successfully albeit using slower and less specatacular cars imo.

My only real problem with it at this stage is the prospect of 1 hour races.......what on earth?

I don't really want to see another silhouette based series but if there's a big enough entry list, plenty of different cars and sounds and the racing is good maybe it will be good? But in that case Ratel might as well have got in touch with the DTM organisers and made a new series with them!!

[Hugewally]

Crap...

Someone please put out some rat bait.

[cmk]

Going to have to chip in with Fogelhund on this one - what a bloody stupid idea, and I only hope I can continue to say I'll believe it when I see it on the grounds that I expect never to see it.

[Canada ALMS fan]

Forgive the stupid question. So am I correct in reading that although it will be a separate series with the ACO's blessing we may see these cars as a class at Le Mans? If so some of these cars would be bumping those that support the LMS & ALMS and the rumoured new single GT class. If I was a current GT2 manufacturer I would not be happy.

[Dead-Eye]

It would just be a replacement for current GT1. If such a class was created at Le Mans, it would exist in all of ACO racing, so there would be new GT1 cars that support LMS & ALMS.

[Canada ALMS fan]

Originally Posted by Dead-Eye

It would just be a replacement for current GT1. If such a class was created at Le Mans, it would exist in all of ACO racing, so there would be new GT1 cars that support LMS & ALMS.

I think the ALMS is done with GT1.

[cmk]

Originally Posted by Canada ALMS fan

I think the ALMS is done with GT1.

I think the ALMS is done with current GT1.

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by Canada ALMS fan

I think the ALMS is done with GT1.

Would they make an official ACO-class non-elegible? I don't think so. So if the ACO is indeed supporting Ratel, the idea of GT3 as a new fourth class for ALMS is most probably stillborn.

[Canada ALMS fan]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

Would they make an official ACO-class non-elegible? I don't think so. So if the ACO is indeed supporting Ratel, the idea of GT3 as a new fourth class for ALMS is most probably stillborn.

A valid point but there is a real possibility of no entries in GT1 in the ALMS if this does in fact happen? Why would the new GT1 be any more successful in North America than the current one? Ratel is possibly de-stabilizing the sportscar climate, that's why it's best if he fails IMO. Even though the cars may be nice, it's not worth the price.

[deggis]

http://fiagt.com/newsitem.php?key=1932

[HORNDAWG]

The current 'rules' GT-1 is breathing its last breaths! What replaces that as the premier ACO GT class is still not been fully answered by the ACO. We know for a fact that the major mfg's do not want the Ratel proposed GT-1 replacement and would prefer it be replaced with a single class or at least be based on the current GT-2 cars. Until it is an, in writing, ACO GT class this is nothing but SRO blowing wind. He still does not even have the backing from all quarters to go ahead, which he stated in the interview, its all still in a state of speculation!



L.P.

[Rodger Davies]

Originally Posted by Canada ALMS fan

I think the ALMS is done with GT1.

and in my opinion is all the better for it. Stop thinking as GT2 as #2 and just call it GT, what are you left with? Exciting racing based on production cars competed for by factory and privateer alike. Let's leave it as that and allow the one positive of this year's ALMS to grow with BMW and Chevrolet (and very wishfully Jaguar), not split into two again.