Blancpain GT – Pro drivers limited in 2018

SRO, the organizing company of the Blancpain GT Series, has published new points of the regulations which will come into force next year, the day after the season finale in Barcelona (Spain). These changes were made “Having learned from past experiences with GT1 championships consisting only of Pro drivers… SRO Motorsports Group wishes to halt the increasing professionalization of the Blancpain GT Series, with the average number of Pro cars having increased from 11 in 2011 to 32 this season,” argues the press release.

Endurance Cup

The first measure will be to limit the number of cars entered in the Pro category in the Endurance Cup so that the category “be more attractive to non-professional pilots”. The number of entries will now be 26 cars. An exception will be made to the 24 Hours of Spa (Belgium) which is also integrated into the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

The crews entered in the Pro-Am Cup in the endurance races must be made up of two Bronze drivers and one professional driver. Exemptions for two crews will remain possible as is currently the case. The Am Cup category crews will remain made up of three Bronze drivers.

Qualifying will now be carried out by combining the times of the three drivers making up the crew, with the exception of the 24 Hours of Spa where the Intercontinental GT Challenge regulations will be applied.

The Silver Cup category reserved for crews made up solely of Silver drivers will be extended to the Endurance Cup.

Sprint Cup

The Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup will also see some changes since two qualifying sessions will now determine the grid for the two races equivalent in terms of points. The category thus abandons the principle of a qualifying race and a main race.

Discover the report of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup final produced by our special correspondent in issue 2134 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.