Ive asked about this before, but since then have a better knowledge of the topic, but still would like to know more..... Lets talk about the different GT car racing series. There are so many and even after a year plus of following i am still getting a feel for each one and its place in the grand scheme. Weathertech imsa - North america only, great for us here but seems minor in grand scheme. The ford/chevy battles have been fun Continental Tire challenge - seems on par with Weathertech, less interesting due to lack of LMP, but dig the ST class. Blancpain - is this pretty much the same as Pirelli world challenge with different sponsor? Seems like big deal Pirelli world challenge - see above. Same cars??? Again seems like a major player WEC - the grand daddy of gt car racing???? We all know le mans is a triple crown race...i get the feeling this is the most prestigious GT series. ADAC...does this still exist? And any others i dont have listed.. I would just like to continue this discussion to gain more knowledge. Which are your favorites? Which are most prestigious as a series? Anyone in europe follow IMSA weathertech? And so on....
I'd put WEC to the top of the list. It's an official FIA world championship with works teams and professional drivers. The IMSA SCC is the American equivalent, with a similarly strong field and prestigious events like the Daytona 24h or Petit Le Mans. The Blancpain GT Series is the successor of the FIA GT series. Unfortunately the top GT1 category died a few years ago (it was also a world championship at the time, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_FIA_GT1_World_Championship ) and it was replaced by the Blancpain series for less expensive, production-based GT3 cars. In my opinion, the Blancpain GT series is the strongest series based on GT3 regulations, you can consider it as a 'world cup' or something, with many professional drivers from all around the world. And then there are many national GT3 championships, like British GT, Australian GT, ADAC GT Masters (Germany), International GT Open (Spain), etc... Finally, I think the likes of Continental Tire challenge and Pirelli World Challenge are for amateur and/or semi-professional drivers, but I might be wrong here...
I watch the Blancpain Sprint and Endurance Cup, as well as the Blancpain Sports Club featuring gentlemen drivers. ADAC GT Masters is another one I watch, but after Bentley left it is missing some spice. About Pirelli World Challenge - I only know they exist, because I had to google in which series the Project Cars Chevrolet GT3 actually races WEC, only LeMans. The GT3 field in Blancpain is more exciting for me than the GTE field in WEC IMSA... phew... is that Daytona 24h? That's the only race I read a magazine article about
Something unique is the VLN at Nürburgring in different layouts, different race lengths and a great variety of participating classes (German overview) among them also GT3s and GT4s Highlight is 24 h-race next weekend.
Blancpain is the one for me as I prefer single class racing. This series always attracts large grids of GT3 machinery, has a varied sprint and endurance format and usually visits decent circuits. ADAC is pretty cool too.
Oh and I would definitely recommend watching the Bathurst 12 hours, usually the Mount Panorama produces great racing and it's a perfect start of the year beside the Daytona 24h.
Ok whats VLN? Is that a separate league or special race? Believe ive only seen highlights of that nurburgring race on web. Doubt we can watch on TV here. I have to subscribe to an extensive sports package just to watch formula 1! But fortunately get alot of the other series i listed with it too. I like DTM too, but thats closer to formula 1 silhouette racing than touring cars
And just to confuse more, let's not forget there's also GT racing in: European Le Mans series Asian Le Mans series Intercontinental GT Challenge, which includes the race at Bathurst Japan's Super GT, which has a GT3/2 division and is a very prestigious series. American Trans Am series, which I believe are back to using GTs and not silhouettes Hankook 24 hours One race events like the FIA GT World Cup in Macau etc, etc...
^^^^ thanks for that i was wondering about the Macau race, good to know its a one off. Ive caught the Trans Am racing over here once or twice, it was actually really good racing! @Balrog thanks for the informative post, i will be checking out the drivers moreso next time i watch the Blancpain and Pirelli series, hadn't noticed that outside the inclusion of pro-am class...good to know the Daytona 24h carries some decent clout as it's part of the weathertech series which i can usually make it to a race at VIR, just saw PWC raced there too recently.
The VLN is an endurance cup at the Nürburgring Nordschleife with nine 4h races and one 6h race with a mixed starting grid of several classes. The properly highlight at the Nordschleife, the ADAC Zurich 24h race, is no more part of this championship, organisers cooperate though. Streams of the races should be available for free.
for me right after wec, which has everything,is imsa ussc(Im european).It has a magnificent set of tracks,great cars some of the best works teams and so much talent not afraid to stretch elbows.After that blancpain,it has best variety of cars nice collection of tracks and good talent but not close to the other 2 favourite races:12 hours bathurst(intercontinental gt challenge),petit le mans(ussc),sachsenring(adac gt),donington(british gt),suzuka 1000km(super gt),nordschleife 24h(adac)
I like Tran-Am too. It's probably the least professional of the American road racing series mentioned here, but that's part of the charm. Its a classic series, very American, and the cars are all Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs, etc. And the Champion of the last two seasons in the top tier is a woman, which is nice.
Yeah, DTM is nothing like touring car racing any more. It's worlds apart from a series like the BTCC.
Hi you can watch the race on internet for free where you want. I'm french and I watch on VLN.de. Sorry for my bad english
I found this article from red bull which really gives a nice history of GT racing and some class info... http://www.redbull.com/en/motorsports/stories/1331842830468/gt-racing-101-a-guide-for-the-perplexed As costs escalated, GT2 was ignored and GT1 cars weren’t suitable for the likes of a 24-hour race at Spa, so GT3 cars joined the fray and that was where the idea of Blancpain came from,” affirms Addison. “GT3 became so popular, interest in the GT1 series dissipated – GT3 was cheaper – the FIA GT Championship then became the Blancpain GTSprint series, jettisoned the FIA tag and all associated expenses.” So, today, strictly speaking, GT racing spans the Blancpain Sprint and Endurance Cup (awarded since 2011) the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship in the US and includes the European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. In the flagship World Endurance Championship, home of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, alongside the LMP1, LMP2 and GTE Pro and LMGT Am you'll find the stunning Ford GT40 – a le Mans winner and a direct link back to the earliest days of GT racing