SRO Motorsports Group and SPORT1 Unveil TV Agreement
London ( 22 April, 2010) – SRO Motorsports Group (SRO), promoters of the new FIA GT1 World Championship today announced that SPORT1 will televise every round of the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The SPORT1 agreement is part of a global broadcast expansion programme which will take the FIA GT1 World Championship to an estimated 750 million television viewers with live coverage in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Middle East and Africa.The FIA GT1 World Championship will be delivered to broadcasters in a groundbreaking TV production with onboard, track and pit cameras all in HD.
Having been awarded world championship status by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, the FIA GT1 World Championship will visit 10 countries on four continents and will feature the iconic marques Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford, Lamborghini, Maserati and Nissan.
The 2010 Championship began at the stunning Yas Marina Circuit Abu Dhabi on April 17 and ends at the spectacular circuit built around a volcanic lake in San Luis circuit in Argentina on December 5.CEO of SRO, Stephane Ratel says: “We have reduced the race length to one hour to create a more TV friendly format, the perfect platform to showcase the word’s most desirable cars competing at the world’s most spectacular circuits.Just like SPORT1, we are embarking on a new venture and I am sure that this partnership will be a great success for both parties.”
Zeljko Karajica, Managing Director of SPORT1 adds: “We are excited about adding the FIA GT1 World Championship to our schedule. It features some of the world’s great cars, provides SPORT1 viewers with thrilling and dynamic races – especially fitting perfectly to our core target group of men aged 14 to 49.”
The championship has further secured a number of key broadcast partners to provide full live coverage of the FIA GT1 World Championship on every single continent.
About the FIA GT1 World ChampionshipThe FIA GT1 World Championship is only the fourth fully FIA-sanctioned world motorsport series alongside Formula One, World Rally Championship and the World Touring Car Championship.
GT racing was traditionally based on an endurance format, with races spread over various GT categories over varying race lengths.
The championship began at the futuristic Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi and then visits some of Europe’s classic grand prix circuits including Silverstone, Spa Francorchamps, and Nurburgring and also includes a street race in Durban, South Africa. The season concludes with two South American rounds in Interlagos, Brazil and the spectacular San Luis, Argentina.SRO Motorsports Group specialises in the promotion and organization of motorsport series. Although primarily concerned with GT racing, with whose revival in the 1990’s SRO was inextricably linked, SRO also promotes multi-platform events, such as the FFSA Super Série and the British F3-GT Series. SRO has offices in London, Paris, Belgium and Germany, as well as a partnership in Latin America.
SRO promotes nine championships and series, including the FIA GT1 World Championship, the FIA GT2 and FIA GT3 European Championships, the GT4 European Cup, the FFSA French GT Championship, the British GT Championship, the British F3 International Series, the ADAC GT Masters, and the GT 90’s Revival Series. SRO is also a partner in the Le Mans Series and the Brazilian GT3 Championship and has franchise agreements with the Belcar and the Dutch GT4 Championship.
SRO is chaired by Stephane Ratel, working with a growing team of full-time staff and freelancers worldwide, and with the support of the FIA and numerous other national sporting authorities and sanctioning bodies.
According to CEO of SRO, Stephane Ratel, the shorter races will make the racing more fan and media friendly. The race weekend format will feature a one-hour Saturday qualifying race which carries championship points and determines the main championship race, also over an hour, the following day.
