Organisers of the Vodka O Australian GT Championship released to the competitors and media at last weekends Bathurst 1000, a "directions" document outlining the future of the category in Australia, and based on the reaction from both sectors, the future looks strong for Australia's most exotic motorsport category.
Outlined in the document were a number of initiatives from both a car and calendar perspective, which Category Administrator Craig Nayda said was formulated on the feedback from a number of parties including competitors, manufacturers and category stakeholders.
"From the moment we started this process, we have been in regular contact with all the stakeholders to make sure we get the formula right in an effort to grow the product in the coming years," he said.
"With the varying performance capabilities of all the different cars, parity was by far the biggest issue that needed addressing, and I think we have done that with strategy we have adopted."
From 2012, the organisers of the category have opted to run in compliance with the FIA GT3 rules and eligibility, giving Australian competitors a stable technical, sporting and parity platform for at least the next three years, plus giving the motorsport fans of Australia the ability to see the latest GT cars running at their circuits.
Category Owner and current competitor Tony Quinn said he was buoyed by the amount of interest that has been received from potential competitors since the rumor about following the European formula started to emerge.
"The FIA spend millions of Euro's getting the parity right and the racing in GT3 categories in Europe is sensational, with big grids and lots of different manufacturers, so to run anything outside that structure just doesn't make sense," he said.
"There are new cars already landing in Australia as we speak including more Audi's, a Ferrari 458, a hot new Lambo and few others like a Nissan GTR, so the future is definitely exciting for the category."
TV and round schedules are still under negotiation; however Mr Nayda again said that the competitor's feedback was instrumental in the direction of where the cars will race. It is intended to go to one hour television programs for each round where possible to give better overall coverage and exposure to all competitors and stakeholders.
"These cars are built to do long distance racing, so a mixture of one hour and half hour races will be scheduled, and the rounds are likely to be on a mix of V8 Supercar and Shannon's Nationals, giving everyone a very strong mix of race distances and crowd attendance," he said.
Leading driver and GT Championship Veteran Peter Hackett said that so far he has been impressed with the developments that have been announced.
"Everything for 2012 is looking very exciting and as a result, my team, Erebus Racing is a long way down the track of bringing in another SLS AMG Mercedes Benz."
"We are looking forward to competing against some current spec GT3 cars and if the crowd reaction that my car has enjoyed over the last few rounds is any indication Ferrari, Audi, Lamborghini and few others will be made to feel very welcome when they join."
