The 1st of April is getting closer and closer and the while the INTERNATIONAL GTSPRINT SERIES is about to enter its third year, teams and drivers are showing huge interest. Representatives from 20 teams and several manufacturers met last week at Bologna and discussed their potential commitment to the International Series promoted by FG Group, with its key aspects being 2-day weekends, 30-minute sprint races and a big leadership in terms of media coverage. Thanks to a brand-new formula, the INTERNATIONAL GTSPRINT SERIES made it to the center stage of the Grand Touring arena also by relying on a powerful pairing with the SUPERSTARS SERIES, which provided massive crowds on-track and an extremely wide media and TV coverage that included 175 countries and more than 1.780 hours of broadcast.The media value of the INTERNATIONAL GTSPRINT SERIES has been estimated in 36 Million euors. In addition to the sales and marketing potential, the upcoming season will feature new rules starting from the addition of an International Title for the GTS2 and GTS3 classes and an International Trophy for the GTS Cup category.
“There are a lot of GT championships around Europe - said AF Corse's Amato Ferrari - and sometimes they are very similar. Having the chance to run two sprint races per weekend is setting GTSPRINT apart, as it's the only Grand Touring championship to allow single-driver entries. It's a really clever format for GT racing”.
“Our time in the 2011 INTERNATIONAL GTSPRINT SERIES has been really positive - said Rossella Redolfi of Autorlando Sport - and for 2012 we want to repeat the same experience this time with two cars instead of one. We got a really positive feedback from drivers, as they like the idea of driving alone and not share their cars with others. Then, the arrival of Hankook and the continuation of the partnership with Shell confirmed how good our choice has been”.
The highly-international calendar of GTSPRINT is definitely one of its strongest points. The season will feature seven double rounds on some of the most beautiful racetracks in Europe, including three events outside the Italian borders. After the 2012 opener at Monza, teams and drivers will race at Imola (April 22), Mugello (June 3), the new-to-the-series Hungaroring (July 1), Spa-Francorchamps (July 15), Portimao (September 16) and Vallelunga (October 7). The INTERNATIONAL GTSPRINT SERIES is the only Grand Touring championship allowing single-driver entries. A clever “balance of performance” avoids mandatory pit-lane compensation time, and there are no drive-time limits. Many of the most renowned teams have already showed huge interest, as confirmed by their managers.
“The wide TV coverage, involving so many countries, offered by the INTERNATIONAL GTSPRINT SERIES is key for a team like ours, constantly involved at international level - told Villorba Corse's Graziano Mamprin - the media coverage is definitely an added value for the championship and we're happy to say that we're preparing to be on-track at the start of the 2012 season”
