The FIA’s Driver Ranking system was introduced in order to formalise a structure designed to encourage mixed class racing and to allow drivers of different levels of experience and achievement to compete head to head in Pro, Pro-Am and full Am classes and sub-classes.
Whilst the system has seen levels of participation boom over the past decade, it would be fair to say that it has also become a talking and debating point, and, to no small degree, a significant issue for Championship organisers and teams as the big brains on both sides of the racing equation tussle to either regulate, or find a loophole, or a system-busting talent.
Whilst SRO have not been shy in wielding their option to determine whether a driver, or a crew, will be accepted in their Series the point has now been reached where the organisation has determined that further action is required to reset the system, a matter where this writer finds himself in complete agreement.
Here’s what SRO founder Stephane Ratel had to say on the matter in his annual press conference, ha=eld yesterday at Barcelona:
We have seen the Am Cup disappear from Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS over the past two years. Is this an area that you are working on for 2022?
Absolutely, it has been a priority. In fact, we are awaiting feedback from the teams about a rethink of the driver categorisation, which we believe needs a complete overhaul. We have two categories – Platinum and Gold – covering the same drivers. Then there is a huge Silver class that runs from young professionals through to accomplished amateurs. They are two different kinds of driver, so that does not make sense. We propose the Gold class being for young drivers with a full single-seater career behind them while Silver should be for the best amateurs and some older competitors who have been downgraded. That was the aim from the beginning, but it drifted over time.
Would this require any changes to the class structure?
Yes, there would need to be some changes. We want to avoid the downgrading of Silver drivers to fit the Pro-Am class, which must remain for two Bronze drivers and a professional, by introducing a new class for a Gold or Platinum, a Silver, and a Bronze. This will be named the Gold Cup, bringing us back to the four categories we had before the Am class faded away. We are also considering mandating that each Pro car in the Sprint Cup runs at least one Gold or Silver driver, knowing that most current Gold drivers will be upgraded to Platinum in the SRO classification. This is already the case for most teams, so it would just be a case of making it official.
Effectively then SRO are serving notice that they intend to use the FIA system only as a guide, implementing their own system as an overlay to that to suit their vision for sustainability and growth of their customer base.
It’s a matter which many have been calling for action over on in recent years – And we’ll soon find out whether SRO’s chosen solutions have the desired outcomes.
