GT World Challenge America

The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America . It has been managed by the SRO Motorsports Group since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club since 2017.

The series consists of four driver classifications and five classes of vehicles: GT3 , GT4 (Sprint, SprintX, East and West), and Touring Car, consisting of TCR homologated cars , as well as separate TC and TCA classes featuring modified production vehicles, such as the BMW M235iR and the Mazda MX-5 Cup car.

The Sports Car Club of America created a "showroom stock" class for amateur club racing in 1972. [ 1 ] In 1984, following the success of the Longest Day of Nelson [ 2 ] and another 24-hour race at Mid-Ohio , the SCCA combined existing races into a manufacturer's championship. For 1985, the series became a 6-race professional championship with sponsorship from Playboy magazine. Escort radar detectors sponsored the series from 1986 until 1991. [ 1 ]

In 1990, the series was officially named World Challenge and was restructured to adopt rules similar to the European Group A for homologated production cars. The higher-cost "sports" classes were dropped after 1996, leaving the class format as it would stand until 2010. Speed TV network began sponsoring the series in 1999. With fields growing, the series began separate races for the GT and Touring classes in 2000, which would remain until 2010. In 2010, the series moved away from the partnership...

In July 2008, the World Challenge series was purchased by WC Vision, a group of investors. The Sports Car Club of America remained the sanctioning partner of the series.

Starting with the 2011 season, the series signed a partnership with Pirelli and the leading tire manufacturer became the official tire supplier and title sponsor of the series.

In 2014, the Pirelli World Challenge established a GT-A classification similar to the FIA 's bronze category.

On May 25, 2018, it was announced that the Stéphane Ratel Organisation had become majority shareholder of WC Vision LLC, and thus majority owner of Pirelli World Challenge. [ 4 ]

On September 29, 2018, it was announced the series acquired a new title sponsor as part of the overhaul of the Ratel series. The GT Sprint Cup in Europe and GT Series Asia will now be known as the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe and Asia, respectively. The current World Challenge will become World Challenge America.

Each season consists of upwards of 11 event weekends and between 5 and 16 rounds or races. Some rounds or races use a standing start, as opposed to the all rolling starts seen in other sports car racing series. Blancpain GT World Challenge races consist of two-driver, 90-minute SprintX format races with two races per weekend. GT4 America is divided into two race formats, single driver, 50-minute Sprint races and two-driver 60-minute Sprintx races. The Touring Car America championship involve sep...

The allowed body styles within this class are coupe, sedan and convertible. The cars permitted in GT are typically sold in the market as "sports" cars, "sport-touring" cars, or performance versions of "luxury" cars. Forced induction is permitted on cars that come equipped with forced induction stock, or on cars that the series has determined need help reaching the target horsepower range. Power output ranges from 500 hp to 600 hp. Weight varies depending on power output and tire size. All of the...

The allowed body styles within this class are coupe, sedan and convertible. The cars permitted in GTS are typically marketed as "sports cars", "sport-touring cars" or performance versions of "luxury" cars but at a lower permissible preparation level than GT. Forced induction is permitted on cars that come equipped with forced induction stock. Power output ranges from 300 to 400 hp. Weight varies depending on power output and tire size. Front-wheel, rear-wheel, and all-wheel drive configurations ...

GT4 East & GT4 West

The allowed body styles in this class are coupes, hatchbacks, wagons, sedans. Power output ranges from approximately 300 hp. Weight varies depending on the power output of the individual drivetrain configurations. Front-wheel, rear-wheel, and all-wheel drive configurations are permitted. Forced induction may be allowed on cars that have forced induction systems available from the manufacturer which do not void the factory warranties.

Established in 2014, this class is an evolution of the current TC class with an emphasis on maintaining cost effectiveness while providing an easy avenue to entry into professional racing. Performance modifications will be limited to mainly chassis tuning. Front wheel and rear wheel drive configurations are permitted. Target power output is 220 crank hp from non-modified stock engines. Forced induction maybe allowed on cars that have forced induction systems available from the manufacturer as a ...

The TCR class is based on the international TCR Touring Car class employed by a multitude of series worldwide. All TCR cars are based on 4 or 5 door production vehicles, and are powered by 2.0 litre turbocharged engines. While the bodyshell and suspension layout of the production vehicle is retained in a TCR car, and many models use a production gearbox, certain accommodations are made for the stresses of the racetrack including upgraded brakes and aerodynamics. Competition vehicles are subject ...

This spec class debuted in 2015 featuring Porsche 991 Cup Cars that ran as part of the overall GT Class races, with a separate victory circle presentation alongside that of the GT/GT-A class winners. In 2017 the class was expanded to include Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo and Ferrari 488 Challenge cars.

Based on the Sports Car Club of America class of the same name, these were smaller cars with small, efficient, naturally aspirated motors (target HP is 125). Modifications were limited to manufacturer specified performance spring and shocks to keep overall cost down. Cars competing in TCB were prepared to the SCCA Club Racing B Spec rules. Cars that were eligible included the Fiat 500 , Ford Fiesta , Mazda 2 , Mini Cooper , Chevrolet Sonic , Honda Fit , Kia Rio , and Nissan Versa . [ 7 ] The cla...

Speed TV network televised the World Challenge starting in 1996, with the series being called the SPEED World Challenge until 2010.

Near the end of the broadcast partnership with SPEED, the World Challenge had been broadcast on weekdays as opposed to the traditional weekends. For 2009, the races were combined into an hour-long block. [ 11 ]

On January 4, 2010, Versus (now NBC Sports Network ) announced they would televise 90-minute broadcasts beginning in the 2010 season. [ 12 ] Each broadcast featured all the races from each round. The entire 2010 season was shown on the channel. The series later returned to weekend telecasts. [ 13 ]

The series has also established a section on its official site where fans can watch archived race and in-car video, as well as an increasing amount of archived television broadcasts of events prior to the 2016 season. [ 14 ] The website currently has coverage from as far back as 2008.

Oswaldo Negri Jr.