SRO Motorsports Group founder and CEO Stéphane Ratel announced the 2018 GT4 European Series calendar at the annual Spa-Francorchamps press conference.
The GT4 European Series returns to its roots with a calendar that consists of six pan-European events, including a round at the brand-new Spa Speed Week.
All rounds will take place on high-profile F1 circuits across Europe during Blancpain GT Series events, allowing teams to run both GT3 and GT4 cars. At three of the events the GT4 European Series teams will be joined by those racing in regional GT4 series.
The GT4 European Series will kick off at Monza in April, before heading to Silverstone and Paul Ricard. At the end of July, the series will join the Spa Speed Week at Spa-Francorchamps. This event will take place one week before the 70th Total 24 Hours of Spa in July. A race in Budapest is planned for August, with the season finale set to take place in September.
Besides the GT4 European Series, next year will see regional series in Britain and Central Europe being launched, while the FFSA GT remains largely unchanged. Plans for a GT4 championship in Spain and Portugal are being considered.
The GT4 European Series will retain its Silver Cup class for Silver-Silver lineups in 2018, while the regional series will be Pro-AM only.
A GT4 European Final is planned for the end of the season at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, Portugal. More details about this event will follow at a later date.
Series Manager Max Braams: “Looking at the 2018 calendar, I think that once again SRO Motorsports Group has found a perfect selection of circuits to host the GT4 European Series. All six circuits are considered as one of the best in Europe, which is very much appreciated by our teams. Being a permanent support series of the Blancpain GT Series allows us to offer more to our teams in the future. GT3 teams could run satellite teams in GT4 and share logistics for example, while it also guarantees live television coverage of every event. By allowing Silver-Silver pairings we open up a new market for young drivers, who are new to GT racing, to show their skills and gain experience in working in a professional environment. We have a lot of new, interesting ideas which we will work out in the months to come.”
2018 GT4 European Series Calendar
April 21/22 – Monza (Italy)
May 12/13 – Silverstone (Great Britain)*
June 2/3 – Paul Ricard (France)
July 21/22 – Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
August – Budapest (Hungary)*
September 15/16 – Nürburgring (Germany)
* = to be confirmed
