SRO and Blancpain Watches have announced an extended partnership for the 2014 season. The Swiss watch maker will continue its support for the Blancpain Endurance Series and will also become the title sponsor of the FIA GT Series, which will be renamed to Blancpain Sprint.
The newly named Blancpain Sprint will be run over seven events with two races of one hour per event, as was the FIA GT Series. The (provisional) calendar for the 2014 Blancpain Sprint series is :
• April 18th – 21st : Coupes de Pâques, Nogaro, France
• May 17th – 18th : Brands Hatch, Great Britain
• July 4th – 6th : Zandvoort , the Netherlands
• August 22nd – 24th : Slovakia Ring, Slovakia
• September 5th – 7th : Algarve, Portugal
• September 27th – 28th or October 4th – 5th : Navarra , Spain
• November 1st – 2nd : Baku World Challenge, Azerbaijan
A prize fund has been set up for Blancpain Sprint with 100,000 euros available at each race. In addition 175,000 euros prize money is available for the Baku World Challenge, which will be held again in November 2014. A significant part of the prize fund will be allocated to pairs of young drivers to promote young and talented drivers in the series.
Despite sharing the Blancpain title the two series will keep separate classifications and titles. However, there will be Blancpain GT Series titles for teams and drivers competing in both series. An additional allocation of 100,000 euros, in addition to the Pirelli GT Trophy, valued at 140,000 euros in kind, will reinforce the attractiveness of the joint package. Teams entering the two series on a full-season basis will be granted a (very) significant reduction in entry fees.
SRO also confirmed a new, slightly adjusted calendar for the Blancpain Endurance Series. The Silverstone round now no longer clashing with the Le Mans Test Day, much to the delight of a number of drivers seeking to find seats to race at Le Mans and in the Blancpain Endurance Series.
• April 12th – 13th : Monza, 3 hours, Italy
• May 24th – 25th : Silverstone, 3 hours , Great Britain
• June 28th – 29th : Paul Ricard, 3 hours, France
• July 23rd – 27th : Total 24 Hours of Spa, Belgium
• September 20th – 21st : Nürburgring, 1000 km, Germany
“Bringing our exciting Sprint series, which will display its full potential at the Baku World Challenge next week, under the Blancpain banner, was a logical step forward in order to enhance the promotion of GT racing in Europe. As SRO, we are proud to be the first promoter to introduce such a level of financial rewards in GT Racing to promote talented young drivers and to increase our Series’ professionalisation,”said Stephane Ratel, founder and CEO of SRO Motorsports Group. “We hope that many young drivers will take this route and thereby follow in the footsteps of Frédéric Makowiecki, Maxime Martin, Maximilian Buhk and the most talented graduates from the Nissan GT Academy among many others, in their promising professional careers. Nevertheless, the multi-category series, allowing the full diversity ranging from true gentlemen drivers to top pros, should remain the DNA of GT racing.”
Marc A. Hayek, President and CEO of Blancpain: “After three exciting years, during which the name Blancpain has firmly established itself in GT racing, I am pleased to extend our partnership to the exciting Sprint format and thereby contribute towards creating this new Series.”
Hayek added that he and Peter Kox will be racing in Blancpain Sprint next year. “We are happy to be the first to confirm our entry in the new Blancpain Sprint. We are looking forward to the new season, where we trust we will enjoy the diversity and a fair fight on the track, in an environment which respects competition. We are convinced that this powerful combination of Sprint and Endurance, with the support of Blancpain, will soon become the absolute reference in the world of GT Racing,” commented Hayek.
Marcel ten Caat (@dsceuroeditor)
