EDITORIAL: A wise decision from the SRO

I wondered and wondered, pondering long and hard, about how to make the Intercontinental GT Challenge more feasible, and now, my wondering has produced answers.  SRO and boss of the series Stephane Ratel have indeed begun the process to consider condensing the Intercontinental GT Challenge to a triple crown of events, much like we see in American horse racing.  I think what they are trying to do is a wise decision and if I were in their shoes, if I were the chap who was organizing the championship, here is how I would go about it.  

First of all, have teams sign up, regionally, who have cars and drivers, and want to compete.  This is a simple task because SRO has championships for GT3 cars already established.  GT World Challenge Europe, GT World Challenge America, and GT World Challenge Australia.  If there are other international drivers say from Asia who also wish to compete, or from South America, or Africa (specifically South Africa), bring them into the frame, too.  The race at Kyalami, as wonderful as the 9 Hours is, and as fabulous a circuit as Kyalami is, that one is very logistically difficult to get to and we see very small grids.  There are some international drivers and some South African talent.  

We have seen drivers from South Africa like Jordan Pepper, Mikael Pitamber, and others, in that event before.  It would be nice to see if they could compete internationally as part of the championship as well considering the logistical hurdles, and the same is true for the Gulf 12 Hours in the Middle East.  There's lots of GT racing in the Middle East now with the Dubai Autodrome and the Yas Marina circuit in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  However, again, to do endurance races there unless it is the 24 Hours of Dubai sanctioned by a different championship, it is very difficult.

So, I am saying that if international drivers have the wherewithal and means to come and compete, they should.  But, also include to the best of your ability, the European and North American drivers, especially at races like Spa and Indianapolis.  The manufacturer involvement is still there.  That is not an issue.  I think it is just a question of how the logistics for the globe trotting, intercontinental endurance races and how those are going to work out.  If you iron out those challenges, you are going to have a mega championship including great teams, great cars, and great drivers alike.  SRO, I wish you all the very best of luck on this endeavor.