THE CHAMPIONSHIPS
TEAM
RJN
The Championships for
Team RJN in 2025
GT World Challenge Europe
Reserved for cars conforming to GT3 regulations and using SRO Motorsports Group’s globally recognised Balance of Performance (BOP) criteria, GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS can trace its roots back to the creation of the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2011.
Staged over five rounds and with the iconic CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa as its marquee event, the long-distance championship placed equal emphasis on professional and amateur competitors while promoting high standards both on and off the circuit. It quickly attracted strong grids and was followed in 2014 by the addition of a Sprint Series for short-format races, as well as an overall title to recognise the most consistent performers across both disciplines.
In 2016 the series names were adjusted to the Endurance Cup and Sprint Cup. The championship continued to grow, with increased grids and ever-greater standards of competition coming to the fore. This was emphasised by record numbers at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, with 13 different brands contesting the 2018 event and an incredible 72-car entry list in 2019.
New partnerships were forged over the following years, with Fanatec joining as title sponsor and Amazon Web Services (AWS) becoming title presenter. The rechristened GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS holds true to its founding principles, with a 10-round championship split evenly between the Endurance Cup and Sprint Cup, while the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa remains the marquee event.
The series also joins with similar categories in Asia, America and Australia to form part of the global GT World Challenge Powered by AWS, a unique concept that allows manufacturers to measure the success of their customer racing programmes. In a further initiative that began in 2021, the Esports GT Pro Series is staged at each Endurance Cup event using Assetto Corsa Competizione. Entrants competing for overall honours and those in the Silver Cup nominate one driver to contest a 60-minute virtual race, with points up for grabs in the real-world teams' championships.
The alignment of an established on-track product with fresh ideas beyond the circuit speaks to the series' ethos. Indeed, by combining an illustrious history with a modern approach to competition, GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS stands at the forefront of international motor racing.
The 2025 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS season will launch with a six-hour race at Circuit Paul Ricard, while a deciding Endurance Cup contest at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and a return to Magny-Cours have also been confirmed.
Circuit Paul Ricard maintains its place at the head of the calendar on 11–13 April and will reprise the popular weekend format used between 2015 and 2023, with the action set to run from daylight into darkness on Saturday evening. This will mark the first time that the Fanatec GT Europe season has launched with a six-hour contest.
Thereafter the Sprint Cup will get underway with rounds at Brand Hatch (3/4 May) and Zandvoort (16–18 May), the latter returning to the calendar after a one-year absence. Monza will host the second stop on the Endurance tour (30 May–1 June), while the marquee CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa tackles its 77th edition on 26–29 June.
Misano stages its annual Sprint Cup contest on 18-20 July, followed by a return to Magny-Cours on 1–3 August. The French event will run three weeks earlier than in 2024 and is the only addition to the provisional schedule announced during Stéphane Ratel's press conference at the centenary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
The Nürburgring hosts an Endurance Cup contest on 29–31 August, while Circuit Ricardo Tormo Valencia will welcome back the Sprint Cup over the weekend of 19–21 September. The 4km track was previously part of the schedule between 2021 and 2023 and will also stage this year’s FIA Motorsport Games.
Fanatec GT Europe remains in Spain for its concluding round, which takes place at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 10–12 October. With the addition of Magny-Cours as a Sprint Cup event, the 4.7km venue will bring the curtain down on the season with a three-hour Endurance Cup contest. Barcelona has previously hosted the finale on six occasions, most recently in 2022.
As well as the competitive action, the traditional pre-season Prologue will take place at Circuit Paul Ricard on 10/11 March, while the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Prologue is set for 13/14 May.
The British GT
Championship
The British GT Championship has remained one of the UK’s premier national categories for more than 30 years. Currently overseen by the world's biggest GT racing promoter, SRO Motorsports Group, the series’ multi-class format brings together production-based, race-tuned supercars built to both GT3 and GT4 regulations – two cornerstones of customer racing the world over.
First organised by the British Racing Drivers Club in 1993, the BRDC National Sports GT Challenge (as it was then known) featured grids of wildly different machinery loosely grouped into vibrant classes comprising sportscars and saloons.
The term ‘British GT’ was first used in 1995 just as a new age of GT1 and GT2 cars was beginning to materialise. Indeed, the latter part of the 1990s would see some of the category’s most incredible and iconic cars, such as the McLaren F1 GTR, Porsche 911 GT1, Lister Storm GTL and Jaguar XJ220C contest British GT in the hands of top-line international racers and home-grown amateur talent.
But a GT racing revolution was about to take place, and Britain would be at the forefront. With GT1 becoming an increasingly distant memory and GT2 proving too costly the championship sought a fresh direction. New, balanced GT3 regulations had proven popular in Europe under SRO’s guidance and when the organisation was appointed British GT promoter in 2004 the same cars made their way across the Channel. GT4 followed soon after.
British GT remains the oldest championship in SRO’s current portfolio, which includes regional championships on four continents, professional sim racing series, the FIA Motorsport Games and world’s biggest GT3 race: the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
ABOUT THE BRITISH GT CHAMPIONSHIP
CLASSES
• GT3 and GT4
• Cars not homologated as either GT3 or GT4 can run as Invitational entries at British GT’s discretion
• GTC remains a legal but currently unused specification
• Rules include performance balancing and handicap weights
DRIVER GRADING
• Pro/Am driver crews are the bedrock of British GT. These consist of professional drivers graded as Silver (or higher) and amateur/gentleman drivers graded as Bronze.
• Driver line-ups comprising two FIA Silver-graded drivers are no longer be permitted to race in British GT3. Instead, a Silver-Am class – first trialled in 2016 – was added to the existing Pro-Am and Am-Am classifications in 2021.
Variables within the FIA’s grading criteria mean not all Silver drivers automatically qualify for British GT’s Silver-Am classification. Instead, the Silver element will typically comprise promising but less experienced young drivers, GT4 graduates or those likely to contribute some budget when paired with a Bronze-graded amateur.
• Silver and Gold/Platinum driver pairings are not permitted.
POINTS
Races lasting two hours or more are worth an additional 50% points
• 1 hour races: 1st 25, 2nd 18, 3rd 15, 4th 12, 5th 10, 6th 8, 7th 6 8th 4, 9th 2, 10th 1
• 2-3 hour races: 1st 37.5, 2nd 27, 3rd 22.5, 4th 18, 5th 15, 6th 12, 7th 9, 8th 6, 9th 3, 10th 1.5
AWARDS
Sunoco Fastest Race Lap of the Weekend Award
Awarded to both the GT3 and GT4 driver who sets their class’ fastest race lap. Weekends comprising two races will still only reward the overall fastest time in both classes. The driver with most fastest laps at the end of the year will be crowned.
TYPICAL RACE WEEKEND FORMAT
British GT race weekends typically run Saturday-Sunday.
Day 1
60mins Free Practice 1
60mins Free Practice 2
10mins GT3 Qualifying 1 (Am drivers must contest this session)
10mins GT3 Qualifying 2
10mins GT4 Qualifying 1 (Am drivers must contest this session)
10mins GT4 Qualifying 2
Day 2
15mins Warm-up
60/120/180mins Race 1
60mins Race 2 (Oulton Park and Snetterton only)
PITSTOP AND DRIVE-TIME REGULATIONS
In races lasting one hour the top three finishers in each class from the previous round must respectively serve an additional 10, 7 and 5-second Pitstop Success Penalty during their mandatory pitstop. During races lasting two hours or longer the top three finishers in each class from the previous round must respectively serve an additional 20, 15 and 10-second Pitstop Success Penalty during their mandatory pitstop.
Competitors must make at least one pitstop during all British GT races. During three-hour races, competitors must make three mandatory pitstops.
All cars are subject to a minimum pitstop time. This starts as the car crosses the pit-in line and ends as it triggers the timing beam at pit-out. Anyone found to be under this time must serve a stop/go penalty to the same value as they were under time (eg 10secs too fast in the pits equals a 10secs stop/go penalty).
Minimum drive-time regulations vary per event. One-hour races tend to have separate windows for GT3 (typically minutes 22-32) and GT4 (typically minutes 28-38), whereas two-hour races rely on minimum stint lengths rather than windows. These can be adjusted but typically GT3's starting driver must complete at least 62 minutes, whereas GT4's starting driver must complete at least 58 minutes.
Failure to adhere to these time scales will result in a stop/go penalty or additional time added post-race.
QUALIFYING
There are always four qualifying segments determined by driver grading and class…
1x GT3 Qualifying 1 (Am drivers must contest this session)
1x GT3 Qualifying 2
1x GT4 Qualifying 1 (Am drivers must contest this session)
1x GT4 Qualifying 2
…but their significance depends on the number of races being held that weekend.
2x one-hour races: each car’s Am and Pro driver’s best individual time will determine the grid for Race 1 and Race 2, respectively.
1x 2 or 3-hour races: each of the Am and Pro’s fastest lap times are combined to determine the starting order. The lowest combined time takes pole for each class. The Am will start the Race.
Each of the four sessions last 10 minutes.
Classes are split, meaning GT3 and GT4 cars do not run at the same time.
Drivers must complete two timed laps (not including in and out laps).
