Busy season for Canadian Mikaël Grenier as GT World Challenge Europe confirms its 2020 calendar
MIKAËL GRENIER WILL BE COMPETING WITH EMIL FREY RACING, WHO IS RETURNING TO GT WORLD CHALLENGE EUROPE, DRIVING THE LAMBORGHINII HURACAN GT3 EVO
Formerly known as the Blancpain GT Series, the watch manufacturer Blancpain and SRO parting ways after ten years of collaboration, the GT World Challenge Europe begins a new decade while retaining its commitment to world class GT racing.
The championship will again feature 10 rounds in 2020 with an even split between the Endurance Cup and Sprint Cup. Individual and combined GT World Challenge Europe title will be awarded at the conclusion of the season.
- Pre-season test: Circuit Paul-Ricard, France, March 11-12
- Round 1: Monza, Italy, April 17-19 April (Endurance Cup)
- Round 2: Brands Hatch, Great Britain, 2-3 May (Sprint Cup)
- Round 3: Silverstone, Great Britain, 9-10 May (Endurance Cup)
- Round 4: Circuit Paul-Ricard, France, 29-30 May (Endurance Cup)
- Total 24 Hours of Spa – Test day, Belgium, 16-17 June
- Round 5: Zandvoort, Netherlands, 26-28 June (Sprint Cup)
- Round 6: Misano, Italy, 3-5 July (Sprint Cup)
- Round 7: Total 24 Hours of Spa, Belgium, 23-26 July (Endurance Cup)
- Round 8: Nürburgring, Germany, 4-5 September (Endurance Cup)
- Round 9: Hungaroring, Hungary, 25-27 September (Sprint Cup)
- Round 10: Barcelona, Spain, 9-11 October (Sprint Cup)
The official pre-season and Total 24 Hours of Spa tests also remain unaltered, with both running over two days at Circuit Paul Ricard (12-13 March) and Spa-Francorchamps (16-17 June) respectively.
The Nurburgring round(Sept. 4-5) will return as an Endurance Cup event that will be set for an early evening start(6:45pm) and with a three hours race will start in daylight to finish in darkness.
The conclusion of the Championship will be held at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on October 9-11, taking the Nurburgring’s place as a Sprint Cup event.
The five-round Sprint Cup championship will continue to feature a pair of one-hour races per weekend in 2020, with each paying equal points. At four of those events the competitive action will begin at 2pm local time on both Saturday and Sunday, enhancing the fan experience and ensuring that each race becomes appointment viewing.
A further tweak will see qualifying for the weekend’s opening contest take place on Saturday morning, with one driver per crew taking part in a 20-minute session. This will set the grid for race one, where the qualifying driver will tackle the first stint before handing over to their teammate.
On Sunday the same format will be repeated, with each crew’s second driver tackling qualifying and the start. The exception to these changes will be the opening Sprint Cup round at Brands Hatch (2-3 May), which is staged over two days and therefore requires a condensed schedule.
In the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup a minimum refuelling time must be adhered to, but the time taken to change the tyres – which can only take place after refuelling has finished – will not be restricted. This will decrease the time that cars are stationary while also creating new opportunities for strategy.
At the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the mandatory technical pit stop will be reduced in length from five minutes to four. What’s more, the stop may now take place any time between the start of the 12th hour and the end of the 22nd hour, including under full-course yellow or safety car conditions.
Partial content and Image: GT World Challenge Europe
