The momentum and anticipation continue to rise ahead of the inaugural 2017 GT4 European Series Southern Cup campaign, as championship promoters SRO Motorsports Group confirm three new prominent partners.
With Nogaro’s famous Easter Cups set to kick off the season on April 15-17, these new major supports bring along a wealth of trust and experience to ensure the successful return of France’s FFSA GT Championship as an international FIA-sanctioned GT4 series.
BMW
The GT4 European Series Southern Cup is proud to welcome BMW as its manufacturer partner. Involvement in racing has always been etched in the German luxury car manufacturer’s DNA, whether it is in planes, bikes, and cars. The launch of BMW M in the early 1970s already embodied that philosophy. Drawing upon BMW’s experience and featuring field-proven components, the BMW M models have shown great performance both on track and on the road thanks to an architecture developed in-house at BMW’s Motorsport department.
In order to ensure security for everyone on track, BMW will provide two models from the BMW M models that will serve as the GT4 European Series Southern Cup Safety Car and Leading Car. The latter will take position at the helm of the field on the formation lap before setting the competitors free just before the race gets under way.
Based around the iconic BMW M4, the Ekris M4 GT4 features among the 14 cars already homologated for GT4.
Reacting upon the announcement, Romain Brandela, Event and Dealer Marketing Manager BMW France looks forward to being involved in the GT4 European Series Southern Cup: “With this partnership, BMW furthers its commitment to motor racing as we supply the official vehicles to the series, which are crucial in terms of safety. BMW just celebrated its 100th birthday and is cementing its position in the world of sports with the pleasure of driving always as the core of its action. GT4 cars competing in France’s FFSA GT Championship are very close to their road-going counterparts and thus reflects the philosophy of the BMW M models.”
Total ACS
SRO is delighted to announce that Total ACS – for Additives and Special Fuels – will be the official fuel supplier for the GT4 European Series Southern Cup over the 2017-2019 period.
For over 50 years, Total ACS has been designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing bespoke high-performance fuels on a worldwide basis. Total ACS is already supplying SRO’s blue riband Blancpain GT Series, while also sponsoring the world’s biggest GT race in the Total 24 Hours of Spa. The French fuel giant will now bring its renowned expertise to all competitors in the GT4 European Series Southern Cup, while continuing to supply the sister Northern Cup.
From 2017 to 2019, Total ACS’ factory in Givors near Lyon will thus provide:
A field-proven fuel, compliant with FIA standards and tailored for both turbocharged and normally aspirated engines: the ELF LM®S fuel has been successfully used across a variety of racing series for several seasons.
A very careful quality of manufacturing: over the next three years, Total ACS will continue to do its utmost in supplying fuels with rigorously consistent characteristics, thus ensuring maximum comfort for engine manufacturers all the while taking into account the powertrain component in the Balance of Performance.
A customer-oriented service from a support team trackside that is well-versed in the GT environment, as well as a shared passion and dedication to the sporting excellence conveyed by all SRO championships.
Last but not least, 2017 will be all the more special for SRO and Total ACS as they celebrate a 20-year partnership across several categories.
Nicolas Mandra, Total ACS OEM Fuel Manager: “2017 will undoubtedly mark a special year for Total Additives and Special Fuels, which characterises Total Group’s expertise in additive and special fuel formulations. The GT4 European Series Southern Cup presents similar technical and logistical demands to that of other categories where Total Additives and Special Fuels is involved. Still, the championship opens a promising era in circuit racing, as it combines cost control, sporting fairness, and healthy grids, all of which are values dear to Total Additives and Special Fuels. We are delighted to be fostering the development of the GT4 European Series Southern Cup, as part of our strengthened support and commitment to international and domestic motorsport.”
Car Life Magazine
SRO is pleased to welcome Car Life Magazine to its pool of media partners. The successful magazine was launched in 2013 by former SRO-affiliated drivers Paul Belmondo and Thierry Soave, who believed there was a different way to treat cars and the automotive industry in the media. Both also agreed that the decrease in print sales was not a foregone conclusion.
Thus Car Life was born, the first lifestyle magazine devoted to cars, where vehicles provide great excuses to talk about road trips, gastronomy, fashion, and watchmaking, along with expert contributions in fields as diverse as sailing, bikes, historic cars, and planes. In a nutshell, Car Life caters to men with a passion for the finer goods and art de vivre.
Throughout the 2017 GT4 European Series Southern Cup season, Car Life will have several features on the championship, including a very special test with French philosopher Luc Ferry driving the Maserati GranTurismo GT4. The former Minister for Youth, National Education and Research is indeed a contributor to Car Life and he has proved to be quite handy at the wheel too!
In joining French TV channel la chaine L’Équipe and leading GT racing website Endurance-Info as media partner of the GT4 European Series Southern Cup, Car Life contributes towards ensuring optimum coverage for the championship.
Thierry Soave, Car Life Magazine editor: “Being a competitor in SRO Motorsports Group-organised series myself, I am in a good spot to appreciate the high quality of Stéphane Ratel’s work and his teams’. We are the only lifestyle magazine devoted to cars on the market so it is natural for us to support the only promoter that considers the art of living as a core value in its endeavours. In a way, SRO is a role model for Car Life. We both share the same passion for fine cars, but also and above all, the lifestyle associated with these. Instead of griping over speed radars for instance, Car Life would rather focus on the automotive way of life. And if you want to go fast, then there is no better place than a race track and a SRO-organised championship for you to indulge in your need for speed!”
