Having learned from the past experiences of full Pro championships in GT1, in the late nineties and again some ten years later, the SRO Motorsports Group wishes to stop the increasing professionalisation of the Blancpain GT Series, where the average number of Pro cars has gone from 11 in 2011 to 32 this season.
In order to do so, the following measures have been taken for the 2018 season:
To make the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup more appealing for non-professional drivers the maximum number of cars with a full Pro line-up will be limited to 26. Exceptions will be made for the Total 24 Hours of Spa, not only a round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup but also of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
Driver pairings in the Pro-Am Cup of the endurance races will be solely made out of two Bronze and one professional driver, with possible derogations for two-driver line-ups as is currently allowed. The pairing rules for the Am Cup will remain identical, with three Bronze drivers.
In order for each driver to be guaranteed to play a role in qualifying for the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup races, the starting grid will be determined by a combination of the times of all three drivers, except for Spa where the Intercontinental GT Challenge rules will apply.
In the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, a more traditional GT3 format will be adopted, with two qualifying sessions, each setting the grid for a race, both scoring equal points.
The Silver Cup, reserved for cars with a full Silver driver line-ups, will be extended to Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.
2018 Blancpain GT Series calendar
13-14 March: France – Circuit Paul Ricard – Test Days
06-08 April: Belgium – Zolder (Sprint Cup)
21-22 April: Italy – Monza (Endurance Cup)
05-06 May: Great Britain – Brands Hatch (Sprint Cup)
19-20 May: Great Britain – Silverstone (Endurance Cup)
01-02 June: France – Paul Ricard 1000 km (Endurance Cup)
22-24 June: Italy – Misano (Sprint Cup)
03 July: Belgium – Spa-Francorchamps – Test Day
26-29 July: Belgium – Total 24 Hours of Spa (Endurance Cup)
31. August – 02 September: Hungary – Hungaroring (Sprint Cup)
14-16 September: Germany – Nuerburgring (Sprint Cup)
29-30 September: Spain – Barcelona (Endurance Cup)
