Pirelli tyre supplier for GT1 World Championship successor

Next year a new Sprint Series is set to replace the FIA GT1 World Championship, which is currently exclusively supplied by Pirelli along with the FIA GT3 European Championship. The new championship will be combined with the current Blancpain Endurance Series, with an overall title for both. The cars, calendars and tyre regulations will ensure that competitors can take part in both series, with a GT world title awarded to the overall winners. Pirelli reports it will supply tyres to the new championship next year on an exclusive basis.

“Although Formula One is the pinnacle of world motorsport, GT racing remains very important to us, because as world leaders in the ultra high performance segment, sports cars represent our core business,” commented Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery. “In fact, our motorsport history on four wheels started in endurance racing, with victory on the Peking-Paris road race in 1907. There’s obviously a huge amount of synergy between a high-profile GT racing campaign and the high performance tyres that we make for the world’s most prestigious sports cars, so we’re delighted to support Stephane Ratel in this exciting new venture, which looks set to be both competitive and cost-effective.”
 
Series founder Stephane Ratel commented: “We are delighted to benefit from the continuing partnership with Pirelli. With this new series we want teams to be able to consolidate costs between the two series: all they will have to change between races is the stickers on the cars.”