From April 18 to 21, the Nogaro Easter Cups will launch the ninth season of the FFSA French GT Championship in GT4 version
Redefinition of classes in the championship
The SRO GT Academy will allow a young driver under 30 to drive in the GT World Challenge in 2026
Beyond its arenas and its castle, protected as a historical monument, Nogaro is primarily known beyond the borders of Gers for its circuit created in the early 1960s. And since the first edition of the Coupes de Pâques in 1968, the Paul Armagnac Circuit has traditionally been the venue for the French motor racing season. From April 18 to 21, this will once again be the case!
A new season that is one of renewal for the FFSA French GT Championship, notably by the modification of the classes. For a better reading of the race and to put the Pro-Am crews back in the spotlight, competitors can register either in Pro-Am (with one of the two drivers who is classified Bronze by the FIA and who is therefore considered an amateur), or in Am Cup (two Bronze drivers or a Bronze driving solo). We thus return to the bases of the championship, these two classes being those which already constituted the backbone of the FFSA GT in 2017 when the new formula launched with the GT4 category.
Another new feature comes with the launch of the GT Academy, which concerns around ten young drivers under 30 years old on January 1, 2025. As part of the program set up by SRO Motorsports Group with the support of the French Motorsport Federation, the winner of this GT Academy will receive a grant of 150,000 euros to drive a GT3 in the GT World Challenge powered by AWS in 2026. In addition, they will benefit from sporting supervision within the FFSA Academy itself.
With five rounds this year, the FFSA French GT Championship will once again feature two 60-minute races per weekend, with a mandatory driver change. It offers unique media exposure in France, with all races broadcast free of charge on the GTWorld YouTube channel (which has over 688,000 subscribers!) and replays on Automoto la chaîne, either live or with highlights in the days that follow.
Six former French FFSA GT champions on the grid
The FFSA French GT Championship has almost always given pride of place to the Pro-Am class, and it's therefore no surprise to see that this will be the most crowded class in this 2025 season. Reigning champion Rodolphe Wallgren is back to defend his crown. The Montpellier driver will, however, be changing teams and cars. In 2025, he will be back in an Alpine, in this case the A110 GT4+, the latest evolution of the modern Berlinette. Partnered with Nelson Panciatici on a car entered by Chazel Technologie Course, Rodolphe is certainly one of the favorites! This is also the case for the duo Olivier Jouffret-Éric Trémoulet. Champions in 2023 and runners-up in 2024, the two friends will once again share the Vic'Team Mercedes-AMG GT4, which will be racing on home soil at the Nogaro event.
Also competing in this Pro-Am class is one of the 2024 Am champions, Rudy Servol. The former motorcyclist returns to the CMR team, with which he was runner-up in 2022, to ward off bad luck. This time, he will have the Ginetta G56 GT4 EVO, a car that immediately scored five victories during its debut campaign in 2024. Partnered with rally driver Nicolas Ciamin, who will be competing in his first full season in FFSA GT, Rudy dreams of winning the Pro-Am crown a year after the Am Cup. To do so, he will also have to beat his sister car. With Gwenaël Delomier and Ethan Gialdini, who dominated the Ginetta GT Academy in the FFSA French Touring Championship last year, the #10 could also make waves this year.
Best Rookie of the 2024 season, young Gaspard Simon is back, still with 2021 Am Cup champion Pascal Huteau. While they remain loyal to the Alpine A110 GT4 EVO, it will however be entered by the Code Racing Development team in 2025. The Boulazac (Dordogne) team will be present with two Alpines, the second being entrusted to Yves Lemaître and Vincent Beltoise, who will miss the first round but will be present for the rest of the season.
The Mirage Racing team will also be present in force with no fewer than three cars. The two Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evos will be entrusted to foreign crews: Scottish driver Jodie Sloss in the #5 and regulars Stanislav Safronov and Aleksandr Vaintrub in the #7, a duo that could well surprise the French after having accumulated valuable experience last year. The third Mirage Racing car will be a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. It will be entrusted to brothers Rémi and Axel Van Straaten, who will be making their FFSA GT debut.
Still riding a Porsche, Viny Beltramelli will once again represent JSB Competition. The FFSA French Touring Champion in TC will be partnered with Julien Paget to try to add to his list of achievements.
Toyota's return to the FFSA GT series is also worth noting, with the all-new GR Supra GT4 EVO2 from the Circuit Toys team. Thomas Léal, who won a race in the FFSA French Touring Championship last year, is making the jump to GT4. He will be partnered by Sri Lankan Dilantha Malagamuwa.
In the Am Cup, 2024 runners-up Stéphane Lémeret and Stéphane Auriacombe will start as favorites in the CMR Alpine A110 GT4 EVO. However, watch out for Florent Grizaud and Kevin Jimenez. After two seasons in the GT4 European Series, the 2022 Am Cup finishers, who finished 3rd in the 2022 series, are back with the ambition of winning the title. While they will remain loyal to GPA Racing, they will have to discover a new Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. Mathieu Casalonga will also be competing in the same car and with the same team.
