Challenging battles at high profile circuits with equally balanced cars for a tight budget. That’s a short summary of what the GT4 European Series offered their teams and drivers during its 2014 season. Offering value for money to PRO and AM drivers is one of the series’ key values. Its proven concept earned its place in the international motorsport scene and will remain the same in 2015.
Last year’s participants classified the 2014 season as ‘exciting’. Most of them were able to step onto podium as the equally balanced cars provided close racing. A good example is Jörg Viebahn. He managed to take overall victory in a Ginetta G50, Porsche 997 GT4 and a BMW M3 GT4. It was an extraordinary result for the German race driver. It does also prove the excellent way of balancing the performance of the different makes.
Vehicles equally balanced
The GT4 European Series has an exclusive cooperation with the SRO (Stéphane Ratel Organisation), which conducts not only the Balance of Performance (BoP) of the GT4 European Series, but it also ensures an equal BoP for the always-exciting Blancpain GT Series. Technical partner SRO can count on 20 years of experience, including more than seven years with GT4 cars, to ensure fair championship battles.
Besides the earlier mentioned Ginetta, Porsche and BMW, other cars are able to participate like the Aston Martin Vantage. The Swedish Alfab Racing team succeeded in taking victory in their shiny silver livery at Monza. The Chevrolet Camaro was the make of choice by V8 Racing and its drivers were always on the hunt to take the championship lead. Powerful vehicles like the Lotus Evora and Nissan 370Z are also allowed. In addition, Reiter Engineering is currently developing a new KTM GT4 racer, while one of last year’s teams is working on a new GT4 model for next season as well.
Value for money
The running costs for a GT4 car in the GT4 European Series is much lower in comparison with its GT3 sister. To keep racing during leading international events accessible, the GT4 philosophy remains the same: keeping the costs down to ensure value for money.
Thanks to the organisation’s extensive knowledge and network in motorsports, it can count on the exclusive cooperation with SRO and is approved by the FIA as an International Series. As a result, six high profile circuits in six different countries are listed on the 2015 calendar, supporting racing series like the ADAC GT Masters, Blancpain Sprint Series and British GT. Who doesn’t want to race at legendary tracks like the Nürburgring, Red Bull Ring and Spa-Francorchamps?
Last year, races of the GT4 European Series were broadcasted live on YouTube, Motors TV and Dutch channel RTL7. The organization is currently working on a promising media campaign for 2015. It will include extensive video coverage, social media interaction and online visibility. Details will follow shortly.
‘We can already count on 15 cars’
Series coordinator Max Braams: “It’s our intention to create an even more successful season. We are racing on beautiful tracks across Europe during leading GT events. We are excited to go to new tracks like Nogaro in France and the Red Bull Ring in Austria this year. We can already count on the participation of 15 cars from dedicated teams. A further extension of the grid is anticipated as a number of interested teams and drivers are willing to join us too. Furthermore, several constructors are working on new and promising GT4 models. More updates on this exciting developments will follow in the coming weeks.”