GT World Challenge Europe 2024

[chunterer]

News yesterday that Comtoyou Racing will swith from Audi to Aston Martin for next season.

Be good to see Aston represented by a top squad in the series once again.

After today's final round of 2023 we should start to get more announcements.

Hopefully we will see the new Mustang but so far only some kind of WEC and IMSA programmes have been mentioned.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Hopefully we will see the new Mustang but so far only some kind of WEC and IMSA programmes have been mentioned.

It will come eventually, but Ford have been pretty clear about the domestic and global markets coming first, hence the priority going to IMSA/WEC. GTWC Europe doesn't reach the eyeballs Ford are looking for at the moment.

I'm surprised that (relatively) so many teams are sticking with Audi, it's still a fine car, but the writing is on the wall for Audi in GT3. I think a few more teams will be moving away a la Comtoyou.

[J Jay]

That'll teach me to open my mouth.

Goo on Dinamic for going in early with the Mustang.

[GT3_Fan]

I'm sure Audi has one more good year of representation in the series. So that is good to see. But after that I'm afraid we'll see it go the way of Nissan and Bentley as former active GT3 manufacturers. Perhaps we need to start cheering for the Audi teams to win as we know their future is not bright in GT3 racing.

[chunterer]

Great news about the Dinamic tie up. I had an inkling there would be Mustangs next year!

Now what about that lovely P&M Corvette GT3! Corvette were a long standing presence in the main GT serie in Europe in years gone by.

[GT3_Fan]

Probably won't happen but still a thought. I like that there is only 2 cars per manufacturer in WEC GT. FIA GT did that for 1 year in 2012 I think it was in the early days of GT3 racing as we know it. I liked it a ton. I wonder if SRO should revert back to that for the GT World Challenge sprint series. Perhaps a limit of 4 cars per manufacture. Would still produce 30 plus car grids.Its been better this year, but I lost interest in the series in 2022 after finding out the races were all Audis and Mercedes and not much more.

[broadrun96]

If the teams and manufacturers wanted to be there they would be. The FIA saying 2 per would limit not increase involvement. Teams wanted to be in FIA GT1 at first but it suffered the same fate as almost all GT series and collapsed when costs got out of hand.

[chunterer]

The requirements for entry in WEC and GTWCE are quite different both in terms of driver status and grid numbers. Whilst Ratel will be very happy that 'his category' is now part of Le Mans, The amateur driver focus is a good thing.
I suspect Ratel will be keen to maintain his own series status as the premier GT3 series for professional drivers
Overall, GT3 should be an even greater draw for manufacturers now, already highlighted by the arrival of new Ford, Aston and Toyota cars.
I would mot be at all surprised to see new Honda, Nissan and probably Mercedes GT3 models very soon.

[broadrun96]

Has Nissan updated the GTR in a while or even have that many left running outside of Japan? I'm guessing they're still out there just can't recall many

[chunterer]

It appears Akka ASP's Lexus RCF announcement is only for WEC and they will not compete in WCE in '24.

Also as their Lambo deal is ending, KPax are taking a year out to evaluate their next 4 wheeled hardware.

I wonder if it will be Corvette...

Anyway it means 2 crack teams will be absent in '24.

[J Jay]

Looks like the ACO's designs on top-tier GT3 teams is paying off, that's a fine addition to the class for next year.

Thankfully SRO aren't wanting for high-quality entrants, but I suspect Akka's switch to WEC will sting, more than slightly.

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by J Jay

Looks like the ACO's designs on top-tier GT3 teams is paying off, that's a fine addition to the class for next year.

Thankfully SRO aren't wanting for high-quality entrants, but I suspect Akka's switch to WEC will sting, more than slightly.

More so for Mercedes than for SRO, though. I wonder who's going to get promoted to their tip-of-the-spear team in GTWC now.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Has Nissan updated the GTR in a while or even have that many left running outside of Japan? I'm guessing they're still out there just can't recall many

On the entry list for the last round of SuperGT there are 5 GT3s, but outside Japan? In major series I would say zero.

[FIRE]

Long time BMW team Walkenhorst switches to Aston Martin:

...

As one of AMR’s official race partners, Walkenhorst Motorsport will enter a new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the PRO category in both the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Powered by AWS (GTWC) and rounds of the Nürburgring Langstrecken Series (NLS).

...

https://www.dailysportscar.com/2023/...on-martin.html

With Walkenhorst and Comtoyou Aston Martin got some strong partners.

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Long time BMW team Walkenhorst switches to Aston Martin:

https://www.dailysportscar.com/2023/...on-martin.html

With Walkenhorst and Comtoyou Aston Martin got some strong partners.

Nice to see a move towards more diversity on the grid. The BMW's, AMG's, and Audi's are great, but its meant for very consistent looking racing.

Great to see AMR back with some force, Mustang joining the party, hopefully Mclaren bolstered... Corvette seems a stretch but can hope

[v8supes]

Hello, today we see that Boutsen VDS have switched from Audi to Mercedes.

https://sportscar365.com/sro/world-c...-mercedes-amg/

[GT3_Fan]

Originally Posted by Bcarr6

Nice to see a move towards more diversity on the grid. The BMW's, AMG's, and Audi's are great, but its meant for very consistent looking racing.

Great to see AMR back with some force, Mustang joining the party, hopefully Mclaren bolstered... Corvette seems a stretch but can hope

By my count we have 12 active GT3 makes now.

1. Audi 2. Porsche 3. BMW 4. Mercedes 5. Ferrari 6. Lamborghini 7. Aston Martin 8. Mclaren 9. Lexus 10. Acura 11. Chevrolet 12. Ford

Any race that gets at least 9 of them is impressive. GTD at the Daytona 24 is getting 11 of them!

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by GT3_Fan

By my count we have 12 active GT3 makes now.

1. Audi 2. Porsche 3. BMW 4. Mercedes 5. Ferrari 6. Lamborghini 7. Aston Martin 8. Mclaren 9. Lexus 10. Acura 11. Chevrolet 12. Ford

Any race that gets at least 9 of them is impressive. GTD at the Daytona 24 is getting 11 of them!

13. Nissan (at least in Japan, don't know if there are any active in rest of the world)
14. Honda

[Bcarr6]

A very modest initial entry tracker for 2024... So far keeping all the lower classes in one group as the announcements have been vague where they will land. I will update as things get clearer with drivers.

The usual bigger lean on the Endurance side of things, I wonder if we will see a smaller PRO contingent this year.

At the very least, we look set to have less of a AMG vs AUDI feel to this coming year, with Ford and AMR already announcing strong entries



GTWC Europe 2024

SPRINT CUP - 9 Cars

PRO CUP - 3 Cars

Boutsen VDS - Mercedes AMG GT3 - TBC / TBC
Comtoyou Racing - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - TBC / TBC
Dinamic GT - Ford Mustang GT3 - Christopher Mies / Frederich Vervisch

SILVER CUP / PRO-AM CUP / GOLD CUP - 6 Cars

Boutsen VDS - Mercedes AMG GT3 - TBC / TBC
Comtoyou Racing - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - Matisse Lismont / TBC
Dinamic GT - Ford Mustang GT3 - TBC / TBC
GMB Motorsport - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - Gustav Birch / Simon Birch
GSM Motorsport - Lamborghini Huracan GT3 - Andrea Grillini / Mikkel Johansen
Rutronik Racing - Porsche 911 GT3 R - TBC / TBC



ENDURANCE CUP - 13 Cars

PRO CUP - 4 Cars

Boutsen VDS - Mercedes AMG GT3 - TBC / TBC / TBC
Comtoyou Racing - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - TBC / TBC / TBC
Dinamic GT - Ford Mustang GT3 - Christopher Mies / Frederich Vervisch / Dennis Olsen
Walkenhorst Motorsport - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - TBC / TBC / TBC

SILVER CUP / PRO-AM CUP / GOLD CUP - 7 Cars

Boutsen VDS - Mercedes AMG GT3 - TBC / TBC / TBC
Comtoyou Racing - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - Matisse Lismont / TBC / TBC
Dinamic GT - Ford Mustang GT3 - TBC / TBC / TBC
GMB Motorsport - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - Gustav Birch / Simon Birch / Kasper Jensen
Kessel Racing - Ferrari 296 GT3 - TBC / TBC / TBC
Rutronik Racing - Porsche 911 GT3 R - TBC / TBC / TBC
Walkenhorst Motorsport - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - TBC / TBC / TBC

BRONZE CUP - 2 Cars

Kessel Racing - Ferrari 296 GT3 - Nicolo Rosi / Niccolo Schiro / David Fumanelli
Walkenhorst Motorsport - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - Tim Crewswick / Ben Green / Mex Jensen

[chunterer]

Thought I saw that Rutronik have confirmed some of their drivers now?

There be more Porsche Pro entries to come.

[flatlandsman]

I think Ratel has fair reason to feel miffed, he was the man largely responsible for the mass expansion of GT3 in its early days, Blancpain was immense in ts heyday, then DTM and WEC come along and spread the field much thinner.

I think in all honesty GT2 is Ratels way forward, less expensive cars maybe, slightly slower, I think he has to go that way as anyone worth their salt is likely to eventually go WEC

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by flatlandsman

I think Ratel has fair reason to feel miffed, he was the man largely responsible for the mass expansion of GT3 in its early days, Blancpain was immense in ts heyday, then DTM and WEC come along and spread the field much thinner.

I think in all honesty GT2 is Ratels way forward, less expensive cars maybe, slightly slower, I think he has to go that way as anyone worth their salt is likely to eventually go WEC

Ratel is nothing if not forward-looking. He has a history of being ahead of the curve, mostly for the betterment of his series and sportscars in general. I agree that he is already well into positioning GT2 as SRO's fallback/exclusive series. He's never been comfortable with too much factory involvement, which other series have been able to take advantage of to entice semi-factory entrants away.

Even then, there are only so many teams that can leave - it's not as if WEC/DTM can easily and rapidly expand their current grids - and the absolute hegemony of GT3 means that there are a large number of strong teams involved, even at the highest level. SRO may no longer monopolise GT3, but they are still one of, if not (still) the most relevant organiser, both in terms of regulations and events.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by flatlandsman

I think Ratel has fair reason to feel miffed, he was the man largely responsible for the mass expansion of GT3 in its early days, Blancpain was immense in ts heyday, then DTM and WEC come along and spread the field much thinner.

I think in all honesty GT2 is Ratels way forward, less expensive cars maybe, slightly slower, I think he has to go that way as anyone worth their salt is likely to eventually go WEC

The WEC and IMSA GT3 expansion is good for SRO and not bad..

More top series for teams to play in, more chance of new manufacturers building cars etc.

The GTWCE will remain the premier series for GT3 cars for the foreseeable.

[GT3_Fan]

Originally Posted by chunterer

The WEC and IMSA GT3 expansion is good for SRO and not bad..

More top series for teams to play in, more chance of new manufacturers building cars etc.

The GTWCE will remain the premier series for GT3 cars for the foreseeable.

Not to mention a place to run Mercedes and Audis. And also all pro driver race cars. WEC GT3 is still a limited pro am category. Its not as big of a deal as one makes it out to be. It still those other series out there like DTM and GT Open that might be more of a problem for SRO.

[stuart thompson]

Century motorsport- sprint cup-Darren Leung and Dan Harper.