Plans for GT1 series revival with super-sports car track days
A new series for privately-owned, track-only supercars is set to revive the GT1 name in 2021
A GT1 revival is in the works with SRO planning a three-weekend offering
Ker Robertson/Getty Images
You’ve spent £1m+ on your no-holds-barred supercar; customised it in the colour of your spouse’s eyes and built a heated garage to keep it warm in winter.
But you can’t drive it on the road and the appeal of track days only goes so far. What next?
A new super-sports car series will bring private supercar owners together on track in a new “racing-inspired” series, that’s intended to revive the spirit of the FIA GT1 World Championship from the 1990s.
The new series is being pitched as a blend of the jaw-dropping and mind-blowing, with track-focused supercars, such as the McLaren Senna GTR, new Porsche 935, Lamborghini Essenza SCV12 and Brabham BT62 lapping together.
Gordon Murray has had a hand in the series, working together with Stephane Ratel and SRO Motorsports Group, the promoter, to ensure that buyers of his new T.50s supercar can take part.
Three events are currently scheduled for next year at Monza, Paul Ricard and Barcelona, supporting other SRO series, including the GT World Challenge.
“Despite the absence of a championship for such extreme machines, the most prestigious manufacturers have continued to produce highly exclusive track designed evolutions of their super sports cars,” said SRO. “They would be the GT1s of today should they be homologated to race.
“Some of the manufacturers have organised single-make gatherings for their clients, but no attempt has been made yet to bring these different models to the same circuit at the same time.
“What a spectacle it would be both for the participants and for the fans. What a melody it would produce.”
SRO is looking to revive the name of the GT1 series which, in its heyday, saw the likes of the McLaren F1, Ferrari F40 LM and then later the Maserati MC12 competing on track.
As part of the new series, private owners of these cars would be offered VIP tickets to race weekends to form a revived GT1 series and a three-weekend calendar that is “racing inspired” (but not a fully-fledged race), according to the motor sport organisation.
The events would consist of eight hours of total track time across the two-day event, with the cars on display for fans to take in up close within the paddock when they aren’t being run on track.
“Despite the absence of a championship for such extreme machines, the most prestigious manufacturers have continued to produce highly exclusive track designed evolutions of their super sportscars,” an SRO statement said. “They would be the GT1s of today should they be homologated to race.
“Some of the manufacturers have organised single-make gatherings for their clients, but no attempt has been made yet to bring these different models to the same circuit at the same time. What a spectacle it would be both for the participants and for the fans! What a melody it would produce!”
Currently, there are three race weekends that have been earmarked for an initial run of events next year: at Monza during the GT3 15th Anniversary meeting on 19-20th April; Paul Ricard’s GT World Challenge event on 31 May and 1 June before a final visit to Barcelona for the GT World Challenge event on 11-12 October.