Spanish GT Championship

Infobox motorsport championship

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category = Grand tourer sportscars
country/region = flagicon|ESP Spain
flagicon|POR Portugal
inaugural = 1999
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drivers =
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champion driver = flagicon|SWE Peter Sundberg
flagicon|ESP Domingo Romero
champion team =
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website = [http://www.gtsport.es/index.asp?pagina=gt-spain Link] The Spanish GT Championship ("Campeonato de España de GT") is a Spanish auto racing series founded in 1999 and organised by the GT Sport Organización. The series runs multiple classes of grand tourer cars in events around Spain and Portugal. The series later formed the basis for the International GT Open, a European-wide series which follows a similar structure.

Format

For racing events, Spanish GT has changed very little since its inception. Each even consists of two races of equal distance, one run on Saturday and the other on Sunday. Each race has its own qualifying session to determine the grid. The races both count towards the points championship, effectively doubling the series schedule.

Initially, three classes of cars were used for the series, termed GT2, GT3, and GT4. This was soon replaced by the GTA, GTB, and GTC classes. These cars ranged from the FIA's GT2 class equivalent down to cars from one make series. The slowest class, GTC, was eliminated in 2001, only to return in 2004. A new GTS class was introduced in 2005, initially for the custom-built SEAT Toledo GT, but was adapted in 2006 to use cars from the FIA GT3 European Championship. A more radical change occurred prior to the 2007 season, in which only two main classes would remain: GTA for cars equivalent to the FIA's GT2 class, but without major restrictions on homologation, and GTB which meets the FIA'S GT3 class requirements. A near identical GTS class is retained for GT3 cars with larger powerplants, but currently doesn't have its own championship.

In the current format, the GTA class is dominated by the Ferrari F430 GT2, Porsche 911 GT3-RSR, Mosler MT900R, and the custom-built Sun Red SR21. GTB uses the GT3 variants of the F430 and 911, as well as the Marcos Mantis. GTS occasionally sees Lamborghini Gallardos and Dodge Viper Competition Coupes.

The Spanish GT Championship shares several race weekends with the Spanish Formula Three Championship, also run by the GT Sport Organización.

Champions

An overall combined drivers championship is awarded each season, which can mean a driver from a lower class of car can be crowned the series champion. Along with this, each individual class also awards their own champion.

External links

* [http://www.gtsport.es/index.asp?pagina=gt-spain Official website]