2011 FIA GT1 World Championship
The 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship season was the second season of the SRO Group's FIA GT1 World Championship, an auto racing series for grand tourer cars complying with Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) GT1 regulations. The championship comprised two titles: GT1 World Champion for Drivers and GT1 World Champion for Teams.[1] Five of the six manufacturers represented in the 2010 championship returned for the second season, however Maserati was not represented and 2010 Teams World Champions Vitaphone Racing Team did not defend their title.[2]
The season commenced at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on 25–26 March and ended at the Potrero de los Funes Circuit in Argentina on 4–6 November. The ten event season included an inaugural race at the Ordos International Circuit in China. Germans Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm of the JR Motorsports team won the World Drivers' Championship after earning four race victories, while Hexis AMR won the Teams' Championship.
Calendar
A ten-event calendar was announced at the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting on 10 December 2010.[3] The Ordos International Circuit of China gave the series a fourth event outside Europe, replacing the former Czech round at Brno. Several national events were moved to new circuits; Zolder replaced Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and the Sachsenring replaced the Nürburgring in Germany.
The Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba was originally planned as a Brazilian round for the championship, but was cancelled mid-season. At the behest of the SRO Group, the FIA approved a replacement event at the Goldenport Park Circuit as a second Chinese round for the series, scheduled a week after the Ordos event.[4][5] A day after the Goldenport round, the Beijing GT1 World Supercars exhibition event was held in the Olympic Green in Beijing and featured a short street race.[6]
| Event | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
|
26 March |
| 2 |  Circuit Zolder, Belgium
|
10 April |
| 3 |  Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimão, Portugal
|
8 May |
| 4 |  Sachsenring, Saxony, Germany
|
15 May |
| 5 |  Silverstone Circuit, United Kingdom
|
5 June |
| 6 |  Circuito de Navarra, Los Arcos, Spain
|
3 July |
| 7 |  Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France
|
17 July |
| 8 |  Ordos International Circuit, Ordos City, China
|
4 September |
| 9 | Goldenport Park Circuit, Beijing, China
|
10 September |
| 10 |  Potrero de los Funes Circuit, San Luis, Argentina
|
6 November |
Entries
Manufacturers
2011 was the final season in which the Maserati MC12 GT1, Corvette C6.R, and Aston Martin DBR9 were eligible for the championship. The three were running under a two-year waiver to meet homologation requirements. In June 2010, Aurora Racing Designs announced plans to develop a GT1 car based on the BMW Alpina B6, based on the existing B6 GT3 which races under FIA GT3 regulations.[7][8] This project did not however come to fruition and no additional companies joined the six approved manufacturers. All of the Maserati teams decided to sit out for the last approved season, leaving the championship with five active manufacturers.
In February 2011 the SRO Group announced that 18 entries had been received for the 2011 season, but that the deadline for entries had been extended in order to allow possible negotiation for further teams. Aston Martin, Ford, Nissan, and Lamborghini were all confirmed as having two teams entered, while a fifth manufacturer was seeking the required second team necessary for entry.[9] In March the FIA announced an entry of 20 cars, with Corvette joining the other four manufacturers.[2]
Teams
Several of the twelve teams which competed in 2010 announced their intentions not to return for 2011. This included Matech Competition, who was moving to concentrate on development of the Ford GT for other racing series.[10] Hegersport and Phoenix Racing also announced they would not be involved in FIA GT1 in 2011,[9] while Reiter's Lamborghinis had been sold. Defending GT1 World Champions Vitaphone Racing Team had moved to the new Blancpain Endurance Series.[11]
Returning teams for 2011 included Sumo Power GT, Münnich Motorsport, Marc VDS Racing Team, Hexis AMR, and Young Driver AMR.[9] Swiss Racing Team also returned, but opted for Lamborghinis instead of their 2010 Nissans.[12] JR Motorsports, a partner of Sumo Power, took over the second Nissan squad,[13] while Marc VDS sister team Belgian Racing shared representation of Ford.[14] The Mad-Croc Racing partnership of 2010 was divided for 2011, with DKR Engineering forming their own Corvette squad, while Selleslagh Racing Team raced under the guise of Exim Bank Team China. Both teams were ineligible for the Teams Championship as neither had secured a second car for the start of the season.[15][16] No teams announced plans to campaign the Maserati MC12, ending seven straight seasons of competition in GT1.
During the season the Swiss Racing Team withdrew from three consecutive rounds following racing incidents at Sachsenring which damaged their two Lamborghinis, citing a lack of spare parts to repair their cars in time.[17] Prior to the Ordos round, Swiss Racing Team's Lamborghinis were transferred to Münnich Motorsport. At the same time, DKR Engineering merged their outfit with Exim Bank Team China, giving Team China their first two-car entries of the season. Münnich then took over DKR's former entry under the new title of DKR www-discount.de allowing the series to maintain an 18-car field.[18]
Entries
On 18 March 2011 the FIA published an entry list of teams and manufacturers for the full 2011 season.[2] All teams used Michelin tyres.
Regulation changes
Following the 2010 season, three major changes were made to the GT1 regulations. Teams would now have six sets of tyres made available to them at each event, increased from the previous limit of four. Starting with the second event of the season, two of the tyres would be previously used sets from the previous event in the season, available throughout the weekend. Two fresh sets were given to the teams at the start of the first practice session, while the final two fresh sets were available prior to the warm-up session.
Two of the regulation changes involved the alloaction of championship points in the qualifying race, with points now awarded to the top six finishers instead of only the top three. Further, the winner of the qualifying race would earn 10 kg (22 lb) of success ballast for the next event in the championship, while second place was given 5 kg (11 lb). The ninth place finisher in the qualifying race would lose 5 kg of success ballast, while any car finishing tenth or lower had 10 kg removed. Finally, the success ballast for the winner of the championship race was lowered from 40 kg (88 lb) to 30 kg (66 lb).[11]
Results and standings
Race results
Championships
Championship points were awarded for the first six positions in each qualifying race and for the first ten positions in each championship race. Entries were required to complete 75% of the winning car's race distance in order to be classified and earn points. Individual drivers were required to participate for a minimum of 25 minutes in order to earn championship points in any race.
| Points system[11] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race type | Position | |||||||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | |
| Qualifying race | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Championship race | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Drivers' Championship
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Teams' Championship
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The Exim Bank Team China and DKR Engineering teams were deemed ineligible for the Teams' Championship after failing to provide two cars each for the full season as required by series regulations.[52][53]
References
- ^ "2011 FIA GT1 World Championship Sporting Regulations" (PDF). argent.fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ a b c "FIA Official Entry List Unveils 10 Teams, 20 cars and 5 Manufacturers for 2011". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-03-18. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "China on the 2011 calendar". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 10 December 2010. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Revamped 2012 season plans take shape". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-07-30. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
- ^ "World Motor Sport Council 31/08/2011". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
- ^ "GT1 cars to star in demo street race at Beijing Olympic Park". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
- ^ "Aurora Racing working on BMW Alpina B6 GT1". planetlemans.com. Planet Le Mans. 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
- ^ "Q&A: Stephane Ratel, CEO and Founder, SRO". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2010-08-08. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Matt Beer (2011-02-11). "World GT1 secures 18-car entry". Autosport.com. Haymarket Press. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ Laurent Mercier (2010-12-11). "Matech Competition à vendre, mais "Matech Concepts SA" poursuit !". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ a b c "Launch of GT Motorsport Season – Paris 09–03–11" (PDF). SRO Group. 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ Matt Beer (2011-02-28). "Swiss team in Lamborghini switch". Autosport.com. Haymarket Press. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ "Nissan announces new GT1 line-up". Autosport.com. Haymarket Press. 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ Matt Beer (2011-03-02). "Belgian Racing to run GT1 Fords". Autosport.com. Haymarket Press. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ Laurent Mercier (2011-03-23). "Patrick Selleslagh : "De l'espoir et de la motivation !"". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
- ^ Laurent Mercier (2011-03-23). "Un timing très serré pour Kendy Janclaes et DKR Engineering". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
- ^ "Swiss Racing Team Pulling the Emergency Brake". Swiss Racing Team. 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
- ^ "Q&A: Rene Munnich, Team Principal, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
- ^ a b c d "Hexis AMR confirms 2011 driver line-up". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-01-27. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "Wendlinger signs for Swiss Racing Lamborghini". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-02-28. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "Kox to join Wendlinger in Abu Dhabi". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "Nilsson remains at Swiss Racing Team". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-03-04. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "Janak completes Swiss Racing line-up". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-03-20. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ a b c d "Young Driver AMR completes driver line-up". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "Leclerc joins Belgian Racing". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ Laurent Mercier (2011-03-25). "Abu Dhabi : Vanina Ickx remplacée par Fabien Giroix". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
- ^ "Female racer Ickx teams up with Belgian Racing". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-03-18. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "Zolder entry list". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
- ^ a b "Icky secures Belgian Racing drive". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-04-30. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "FIA Entry List Ordos (CHN) – 4 September 2011" (PDF). fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
- ^ "Matzke joins Belgian Racing". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-03-15. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ a b c "Abu Dhabi : Les infos du mardi..." endurance=info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. 2011-03-22. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
- ^ Laurent Mercier (2011-05-12). "Sachsenring : Yann Clairay trouve refuge chez Belgian Racing". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ^ Laurent Mercier (2011-05-28). "Silverstone : Markus Palttala retrouve la Ford GT (Belgian Racing)". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- ^ a b "FIA Entry List Abu Dhabi (ARE) – 26 March 2011" (PDF). fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2011-03-21. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
- ^ "Q&A: Andreas Zuber, Exim Bank Corvette". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ Laurent Mercier (2011-06-29). "Navarra : Nico Verdonck fait son come-back dans la série". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
- ^ a b c "FIA Entry List San Luis (ARG) – 6 November 2011" (PDF). fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2011-11-01. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ "Pékin : Nico Verdonck retrouve Exim Bank Team China". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
- ^ a b c d e f "Star names in Nissan four-car line-up". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ Laurent Mercier (2011-05-11). "Sachsenring : Warren Hughes revient chez Sumo Power GT". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2011-05-11.
- ^ "Sumo Power GT ready to fight back at Navarra". planetlemans.com. Planet Le Mans. 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ a b "Brabham links with Sumo Power GT". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ a b c d "Winkelhock to drive All-Inkl Lamborghini". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ a b c d "Testing times for Makowiecki and Hennerici". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-02-16. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "Marc VDS looking for a strong finish at season finale". marcvds.com. Marc VDS Racing Team. 2011-11-02. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
- ^ "Deux piges pour Yann Clairay chez Marc VDS Racing Team". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
- ^ O'Leary, Jamie (27 June 2011). "Bertrand Baguette to make GT1 World Championship debut with Marc VDS at Navarra". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ Laurent Mercier (2011-05-03). "Matteo Bobbi remplace Jaime Camara chez DKR Engineering". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- ^ Laurent Mercier (2011-05-31). "Silverstone : Dimitri Enjalbert rejoint DKR Engineering". endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- ^ a b c d e f Points Chart:2011, media.gt1world.com Retrieved on 13 March 2012
- ^ "Stewards Decision no.6" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2011-03-25. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
- ^ "Stewards Decision no.7" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2011-03-25. Retrieved 2011-03-26.