Category Grand tourer Inaugural season 2013 | Country International Tyre suppliers Pirelli | |
Drivers' champion Vincent Abril
Maximilian Buhk Teams' champion Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | ||
The Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, formerly the FIA GT Series in 2013 and the Blancpain Sprint Series in 2014 and 2015, is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) with the approval of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship is mostly concentrated in Europe, but will visit other continents including Asia. The series continues the sprint format for GT-cars carried out by the defunct FIA GT1 World Championship.
Contents
Regulations
The Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup is contested with GT3-spec cars. Each event consists of two races over a weekend with two drivers per car and a mandatory pit stop.
Races
The schedule of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup consists of races in Europe and Asia. The majority of the races is held on mid-size European circuits.
History
In 2013, the FIA GT Series was created after the demise of the FIA GT1 World Championship and the FIA GT3 European Championship. The series was supposed to form the FIA GT World Series in conjunction with the Blancpain Endurance Series. This plan was abandoned before the start of the 2013 season.
The name of the FIA GT Series resembles the FIA GT Championship (1997-2009) that was known for its endurance races all over the world. Except for the mandatory driver changes the two championships differ highly in sporting and technical regulations.
In 2014, the competition changed the name for Blancpain Sprint Series.
After developing their partnership, Blancpain and the SRO have decided that 2016 will see both the Sprint and Endurance Series further integrated into the Blancpain GT Series, putting the emphasis on the prestigious overall drivers' and manufacturers' titles causing the Sprint Series name to change from Blancpain Sprint Series to Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup.