Group GT1

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In the past , different Gran Turismo classes in motorsport were referred to as the GT1 group . Between 1994 and 1998 the name GT1 was chosen for the first time for the then highest GT category. At the same time, the GT2 class was announced for the first time, which between 2005 and 2011 was also called GT1 by the FIA and ACO .

Classes

In the course of history, the designation GT1 was chosen for different classes in different periods .

GT1 (1990s) / GTP

McLaren F1 GTR (GT1-1995)
Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
Porsche 911 GT1
Bentley Speed ​​8

The GT1 class was advertised for the first time in 1994 in the newly founded BPR Global GT Series and in the Le Mans 24-hour race . The end of the sports car world championship in 1992 created a gap in international sports car racing with the associated exemption from Group C , which from 1994 onwards, among other things, was filled by the GT1 group. For 1994, the new GT1 class for super sports cars such as the Bugatti EB110 , the De Tomaso Pantera or the Venturi LM600 was created in Le Mans . Modified Group C cars were also eligible to compete in the GT1 class at Le Mans in 1994. One of these street-legal prototypes, the duration 962 LM , also took overall victory.

In 1994 the BPR Global GT Series was also created. Jürgen Barth , Patrick Peter and Stéphane Ratel were co-founders of this series . In addition to the GT2, GT3 and GT4, there was also a GT1 category for the first time. The class was dominated this year with four overall victories by a Porsche 911 Turbo from Labre Compétition .

As of 1995, the FIA ​​as the highest automobile sports association also got involved in the development. The organizers Barth, Peter and Ratel announced the GT1 and GT2 classes internationally and allowed manufacturers to homologate their vehicles. The most successful GT1 in 1995 was the McLaren F1 GTR , which won ten of the twelve championship races. In 1996, Porsche also entered the GT1 class with the 911 GT1 .

From 1997 the BPR series changed to the FIA GT Championship under the organization of Stéphane Ratel. Only GT1 and GT2 vehicles were allowed to start there. In the GT1, the costs increased due to the entry of the works teams. Up until now the vehicles were mainly racing versions of street-legal sports cars, but the situation changed in the following years. Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and the young US manufacturer Panoz produced prototype-like racing cars in GT optics from which the 25 road vehicles required in the regulations were derived as homologation models. These additional costs in combination with the complex development and maintenance of the vehicles led to the fact that the remaining GT1 private teams withdrew almost completely. In the 1998 season, the manufacturers' arms race led to total Mercedes dominance in the FIA ​​GT Championship, in which Mercedes won all races. Only at the 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1998 , which was not part of the championship , the Mercedes-Benz CLK LM retired early with engine damage, so that Porsche was able to win the race with the 911 GT1. Since only Mercedes teams had registered for the FIA ​​GT championship in 1999, this class was no longer advertised and the championship took place exclusively with GT2 vehicles.

Only at the 1999 Le Mans 24-hour race , both Mercedes and Toyota, showed interest in competing with a GT1 vehicle. For example, GT1 was renamed GTP at short notice and the rule regarding the homologation model was lifted. In addition to the GTS and GT classes, the LMP was also a class for open prototypes, in which Nissan and BMW competed. Le Mans newcomer Audi decided at short notice not only to compete in the LMP class with the open roadster prototype R8R , but also to take part in the GTP class. A closed GT prototype was developed in parallel with the Audi R8C . After 1999, BMW and Toyota withdrew from sports car racing in favor of Formula 1 . After the serious accidents with the Mercedes-Benz CLR, Mercedes also did not compete in sports car racing again. Since Audi also opted for the open prototype, the GTP class remained vacant in 2000. It was not until 2001 that Bentley started using the EXP Speed ​​8 based on the Audi R8C, a closed GT prototype. The further developed Bentley Speed ​​8 won the 2003 Le Mans 24-hour race . From 2004 the ACO only announced the LMP1 class, in which both open and closed prototypes were eligible to start. Since 2014, only closed prototypes have been permitted in LMP1 and since 2016 also in LMP2.

GT1 (2000s) / GT2, GTS

Chrysler Viper GTS-R
Ferrari 550 (GTS)
Maserati MC12 (GT1)
Ford GT (GT1)

In the BPR Global GT Series and at the 24-hour race at Le Mans , the GT2 class was also introduced below the GT1 class at the time , which was also known as the GT1 class between 2005 and 2011 . Initially, this class formed the substructure for the stronger and faster GT1 vehicles of the time. After the end of the GT1 class in 1998, the GT2 class was continued at the FIA ​​and the SRO under the name GT and at the ACO under the name GTS . However, these regulations were not exactly the same. The biggest difference was in the aerodynamics. While the ACO allowed smooth sub-floors, the FIA ​​banned them. This resulted in separate aerodynamic packages for the vehicles for both versions of the regulations in order to do justice to the massive influence of the underbody on driving behavior.

The FIA ​​opened the GT regulations for super sports cars with CFRP monocoques, which, in contrast to the previous vehicles in this class, were not based on a body or tubular frame. Maserati developed the Maserati MC12 GT1 for the 2004 season based on the Ferrari Enzo , from which the production version of the Maserati MC12 was derived for homologation . Due to the technical advantages of this concept, this model was the dominant vehicle in the series. By changing the vehicle classification, this model has become more and more similar to the other vehicles over time. The MC12 was too long and too wide for the regulations of the ACO.

In the 2005 season, the GT rules between FIA and ACO were harmonized, as a result of which this GT class was uniformly renamed Group GT1 . The less powerful N-GT class of the SRO and FIA as well as the GT class of the ACO were given the name Gruppe GT2 after the alignment .

In October 2007 the FIA ​​decided to introduce new GT rules for 2010. As a result of the realignment of the 2010 FIA GT Championship , in which the GT1 and GT2 vehicles previously competed joint long-distance races, the races were to be separated and a world championship for GT1 vehicles and a European championship for GT2 vehicles were to be announced. In order to facilitate the changeover, vehicles under the new GT1 regulations were already eligible to start in 2009 , but had no chance compared to their more powerful predecessors. First of all, two vehicles were presented to the public at the official press conference on April 7, 2009 in Paul-Ricard. On the one hand, a racing car developed by Matech Concepts based on the Ford GT , and on the other hand, a racing version of the Nissan GT-R developed by Nissan's motorsport department . In addition to the two cars presented, which had already taken part in races in the FIA ​​GT Championship during the season, Hans Reiter presented the GT1 version of the Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SV on the occasion of the 24-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps . By the end of the year, no other manufacturer had committed to the 2010 World Cup. The SRO allowed a selection of previous GT1 vehicles with modified air flow limiters , smaller rear wings and modified engine management to take part in the world championship until 2011. But also in the following period the development of new vehicles did not take place. In addition, series organizer SRO could not win enough teams for another season with GT1 vehicles, so the FIA ​​GT1 World Championship was held in the last season of the series with group GT3 vehicles.

The ACO also adopted the new technical regulations for the GT1 class in 2010 , but did not write them out in 2011. The GT1 class only had a small number of participants in the ACO endurance racing series. Since the new GT1 vehicles were tailored to the regulations of the FIA ​​GT1 World Championship for one-hour sprint races, they had to be converted for the ACO endurance races. Due to the additional costs, the number of participants dwindled. The ACO reacted to this by restructuring the GT classes. The GT2 class was renamed GTE (short for GT Endurance ) by the ACO in 2011 , which clearly emphasized the focus on long-distance races and divided them into GTE-Pro for professionals and GTE-AM for amateurs. The GT1 class was no longer advertised.

Timeline

International GT classes 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0
GTP GT1
GT1 GTP
GT1
GT1 GT2 GT GT1
GT2 GTS GT1
GT2 GT GT1
GT2 N-GT GT2 GTE
GT GT2 GTE
N-GT GT2
GT3 GT3
GTC GT3
GT3
GT4 GT4
  • FIA
  • ACO
  • SRO

    • Homologated models

    These tables list all GT1 vehicles homologated by the FIA . There were other models at the start in the ACO racing series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, these did not require FIA ​​approval there. The Maserati MC12, for example, was only allowed in FIA races because it was too wide for ACO rules. He should only have started as a Le Mans prototype at Le Mans.

    GT1 (1990s) / GTP

    No. Valid from Manufacturer model
    GT1 1 01/01/1995 McLaren F1 GTR
    GT1 2 01/01/1996 jaguar XJ-220
    GT1 3 03/01/1997 Porsche 911 GT1
    GT1 4 04/01/1997 Panoz GTR
    GT1 5 04/01/1997 Mercedes Benz CLK-GTR
    GT1 6 04/01/1997 lotus GT1 Turbo
    GT1 8 04/01/1998 Lamborghini 132 GT1
    GT1 9 04/01/1998 Porsche 911 GT1 / 98
    GT1 10 04/01/1998 Bitter GT1
    GT1 11 07/01/1998 Mercedes Benz CLK-LM

    List of LM-GT1 / GTP vehicles:

    GT1 (2000s) / GT2, GTS

    No. Valid from Manufacturer model
    GT2 2 08/01/1995 Porsche 964 Carrera RS 3.8
    GT2 3 01/01/1996 Porsche 911 Turbo GT2
    GT2 4 04/01/1996 Porsche 993 Carrera RS 3.8
    GT2 5 04/01/1996 Chrysler Viper GTS
    GT2 6 04/01/1997 Saleen Mustang SR
    GT2 7 05/01/1997 Renault Spider Type EFOH
    GT2 8 04/01/1999 Lister Storm
    GT2 10 06/01/1999 Marcos Mantara LM 600
    GT2 11 08/01/1999 Ferrari F50
    GT 012 04/01/2002 Maserati 3200 GT
    GT 013 04/01/2003 Saleen S7
    GT 014 10/01/2003 Ferrari 575M Maranello
    GT 015 04/01/2004 Lamborghini Murciélago
    GT 016 06/01/2004 Aston Martin DB9 Coupe
    GT 017 11/01/2004 Maserati MC12
    GT1 001 05/01/2006 Saleen S7 twin turbo
    GT1 002 05/01/2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
    GT1 003 05/01/2009 Nissan GT-R (R35)
    GT1-101 04/01/2010 Nissan GT-R (R35) 2010-06-22
    GT1-102 04/01/2010 Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670 R-SV
    GT1-103 04/01/2010 ford GT Matech

    List of LM-GTS vehicles:

    Web links

    Commons : GT1 cars (1993–1998)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
    Commons : GTS / GT1 cars (1999–2010)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

    Individual evidence

    1. ^ Roman Wittemeier: Regulations 2014: Chassis and aerodynamics. Motorsport-Total.com, December 1, 2012, accessed March 15, 2020 .
    2. ↑ Maserati sharpens the trident. racing1.de, January 15, 2004, archived from the original on January 17, 2006 ; accessed on March 15, 2020 .
    3. ↑ Maximilian Graf: Classification: GT1, GT2, GT3, GT4 - or is it GT5? sportscar-info.de, August 9, 2016, accessed on January 17, 2020 .
    4. ↑ FIA GT championship in transition. racing1.de, February 7, 2005, archived from the original on January 18, 2006 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .
    5. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from February 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
    6. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20090801162504/http://www.fiagt.com/newsitem.php?key=2117
    7. ↑ Markus Berns: Full starting fields for the GT1 World Championship 2010. speedweek.com, September 2, 2009, accessed on March 15, 2020 .
    8. ^ Roman Wittemeier: FIA confirms: GT1 World Championship with GT3 cars. Motorsport-Total.com, December 7, 2011, accessed March 15, 2020 .
    9. ↑ Oliver Runschke: ACO with 2010 GT1 class! speedweek.com, October 6, 2009, accessed March 15, 2020 .
    10. ↑ Guido Quirmbach: Le Mans from 2011 without GT1. speedweek.com, June 10, 2010, accessed March 15, 2020 .
    11. ↑ Stefan Ziegler: Le Mans: Some new features for 2011. Motorsport-Total.com, June 10, 2010, accessed on February 9, 2020 .
    12. ^ Roman Wittemeier: GT class in Le Mans: Hopes and dangers. Motorsport-Total.com, June 17, 2010, accessed February 9, 2020 .
    13. ↑ Maximilian Graf: Classification: GT1, GT2, GT3, GT4 - or is it GT5? sportscar-info.de, August 9, 2016, accessed on January 17, 2020 .