Organisers of the GT Cup Championship have announced that the structure of the Championship for the 2011 season will remain stable and follow the same successful grid formula established for the 2010 season. Minor adjustments will however be introduced to better align the Groups and to create a more clear distinction between Group 1 and 2 in terms of pace and to attract more entries into Group 3.
Featuring three Groups the GT Cup lead pace is matched to the Porsche 997 GT3 and Ferrari 430 GTC.
A more radical shake up of the grid is planned for 2012 with the introduction of a new, faster Group One resulting in four race Groups to allow GT3 pace cars to enter.
Close racing has been a hall mark of the GT Cup Championship in 2010 with eleven different race group winners in fourteen races. The chase for the Championship title is equally close with just forty eight points separating the top six drivers after allowing for dropped rounds and more than sixty points available at the final round.
Open to both homologated and non-homologated GT cars the 2011 technical regulations will require competitors to provide more detailed technical specifications for non-homologated cars. Where cars comply with manufacturer or FIA papers, competitors will not have to submit the same detailed technical information, other than to declare basic parameters and any variations from manufacturer or FIA specification. Pirelli will continue to be the control tyre manufacture in the third year of a three year GT Cup tyre supply agreement.
A Technical Coordinator will be appointed for the 2011 season to work with Chris Mount theChampionship’s hugely experienced MSA sanctioned Championship Eligibility Scrutineer. The Technical coordinator will help to liaise with competitors, control assessment of entry eligibility, the enforcement of technical regulations and management of the equalisation process. They will provide a point of contact for competitors to assist them with their championship compliance and to keep the racing competitive. The Technical Coordinator will also attend race weekends to assist with championship technical scrutineering checks.
A pre-season test is planned for the New Year to aid in the equalisation process, although the data amassed so far this year has resulted in remarkably close racing from a wonderfully varied grid of cars.
Bute Motorsport has confirmed that with pre 2010 Porsche 997 GT3 cars no longer being allowed to enter the Porsche Carrera Cup they expect to see a strong entry of those cars. The latest 2011 model Porsche may not however be allowed as it is expected to be considerably faster than the current 997 but further time will be allowed for this to be assessed. The door is also being left open at present for the new Ferrari 458 Challenge car pending further analysis.
Further developments being investigated for 2011 include the introduction of mandatory data loggers and cameras to monitor performance and driving standards. Other innovations may include the introduction of chassis dynamometer power testing, which is known to provide very accurate power figures as it reads power directly from the drive shaft and can be carried out track side. Further evaluation will be carried out before the measures are introduced.
Managing Director Marc Haynes commented “Our third year in existence and first year running as a Championship has worked extremely well and I’m keen we should move forward in 2011. Championship status has improved the dynamic of the GT Cup and we will continue to make progress with technical regulation. We will also remain true to our principle of well organised, competitor focused, premium quality, enjoyable GT racing for sports men and women.”
