GT World Challenge Europe 2021 early thoughts

[chunterer]

The provisional calendar was released recently with no UK rounds as we know, sadly.

My initial questions about entries are mainly about the Japanese side.

No real Nissan presence this year, and much less of the NSX which went strongly at Spa.

Also the Lexus remains a handy car in the right hands.

Does anyone see these 3 cars featuring in greater numbers or with competitive teams next year?

This year Porsche really ramped up their involvement. And it worked.

Will they field the same anount of cars next year and with the sane outfits?

Surely we will see a greater level of Mclaren involvement too.

Covid hindered a lot of planned runners and the schedule this year but the quality and quantity was arguably as strong as ever.

[gert]

Originally Posted by chunterer

No real Nissan presence this year, and much less of the NSX which went strongly at Spa.

AFAIK during the Spa24 broadcast it was mentioned there would only be an Intercontinental programme for the NSX, not a full SRO programme.

Originally Posted by chunterer

This year Porsche really ramped up their involvement. And it worked.

Will they field the same anount of cars next year and with the sane outfits?

I haven't heard anything official, but I'd assume Porsche will have a similar presence next year?
If they want to hang on to their works drivers they will have to find a place for them to race.
After stopping the IMSA programme, they need to find something for Bamber, Vanthoor, Tandy and Makowiecki and also for Jani after the end of his Formula E involvement.

So, I don't think winding down on SRO entries would help them ?

[WyldStallion]

Originally Posted by chunterer

The provisional calendar was released recently with no UK rounds as we know, sadly.

My initial questions about entries are mainly about the Japanese side.

No real Nissan presence this year, and much less of the NSX which went strongly at Spa.

Also the Lexus remains a handy car in the right hands.

Does anyone see these 3 cars featuring in greater numbers or with competitive teams next year?

This year Porsche really ramped up their involvement. And it worked.

Will they field the same anount of cars next year and with the sane outfits?

Surely we will see a greater level of Mclaren involvement too.

Covid hindered a lot of planned runners and the schedule this year but the quality and quantity was arguably as strong as ever.

1. Indeed would love to see more of the following next year: McLaren, Aston Martin, Lexus, Acura

2. I think Nissan is out of motorsports pretty much now, except in Japan.

3. A great way to up the Porsche involvement is to see some legit sprint series entries which we have not seen in years really

4. I always have and always will hate Circuit Paul Ricard.

5. The series will never have any chance of generating interest beyond what it is now as long as they maintain the hideous FCY/SC procedure. It seriously is messed up. Especially for the endurance races. I think SRO knows very well that we hate it. But for some reason they just won't budge on the issue.

[S griffin]

We’ll see which manufacturers will be in the series next year. Depends which ones benefit from this series

I do hope for plenty of variety of cars throughout the field. And I can’t imagine a GT series without Porsche

I don’t mind Paul Ricard, but there are far better circuits out there

And I think the FCY is fine, as long as it is done the right way. It works fine at Le Mans, just needs to be improved in other series

[tux]

Well there is still the Sprint round at Brands Hatch but no Endurance round at Silverstone. Id have loved an explanation just so that we can understand why the round was lost, i always enjoyed attending the Silverstone round so for me personally its a shame but if we can get a reason then it makes it easier to swallow.

Ill be interested to see what the grid will look like. The final round this season the grid has dropped to 40 cars. Now 40 cars is still a great grid, dont get me wrong.

[chunterer]

It's 'only' 40 cars cause of the French situation but also cause there are other events with GT3 significance clashing.

Fully expect there to be the normal 50+ come next spring.

[chunterer]

Mods apologies can you merge the 2 '21 threads? I had forgotten about the original one.

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by tux

Id have loved an explanation just so that we can understand why the round was lost, i always enjoyed attending the Silverstone round so for me personally its a shame but if we can get a reason then it makes it easier to swallow.

The same reason every other major GT series is giving the UK a miss in 2021: Brexit.

Specifically, the uncertainty around entry rules and the possibility of customs delays, visas, border queues and so on. In SRO's case this was thought manageable for ~28 cars for the Brands sprint round but not for the 50+ cars and support series for a Silverstone Endurance round.

There also seems to have been some tension between SRO and Silverstone in the past, with rumblings about low attendance. I also think Silverstone charge a lot, which is why it's the only SRO event of the year closed to spectators on the Friday. Plus, it's ugly, the empty stands look horrible on TV and it's not seen as being as glamorous as other circuits SRO like better.