Pirelli-equipped British GT announces changes for 2017The British GT Championship has announced changes for the 2017 season to make the premier GT3 class more accessible and cost-effective.
The main changes are aimed at helping amateur and young professional drivers, including the introduction of a new ‘Silver/Am’ classification within GT3 to enable these two types of driver to pair up and compete for their own silverware. Pro/Am and Silver/Silver partnerships will also continue to be encouraged, while Am/Am pairings will now receive 1.5x championship points for finishing inside the overall top-10. Platinum-graded professional drivers will no longer have to carry 15kg of ballast, potentially tempting more factory drivers into the series.
In other changes, Am drivers’ minimum stint-length has been increased from 50 to 60 minutes in two-hour races to provide them with more track time, while both free practice sessions will now last an hour, with the second raised from 50 minutes.
British GT Championship Manager Benjamin Franassovici said: “Ultimately, these changes give amateurs and young professionals a chance to measure themselves against their gradings’ benchmark drivers, learn their craft and also have something to show for their efforts at the end of the season. I’m confident this will have a positive impact on next season’s GT3 numbers; domestically, the class looks to be in good shape.”
British drivers travel to Malaysia for Pirelli-backed GP2 and GP3The GP2 and GP3 Series head to Malaysia this weekend for the penultimate rounds of the 2016 season.
In GP2, British drivers Jordan King, Oliver Rowland and Alex Lynn are covered by only 19 points and all battling over a top-four place in the standings. King and Lynn have both stood on the top step of the podium twice this season, while Rowland is searching for his maiden victory in the series.
There’s a similar situation in GP3, with Jake Dennis, Jack Aitken, Matt Parry and Jake Hughes occupying positions five to eight and having taken one win each from the last four rounds of the series. Ahead of them in third is Anglo-Thai driver Alex Albon, looking to keep his championship hopes alive.
With fast corners, high temperatures and a newly-laid surface, the Sepang circuit will offer a challenge to the young drivers and the Pirelli tyres.
Pirelli drivers chase rally glory in YorkshireNumerous Pirelli drivers will aim to end the season on a high across two different championships on Trackrod Rally Yorkshire this weekend.
Having secured the BTRDA Rally Series crown on the Woodpecker Stages Rally, Charlie Payne will be the top seed in his Ford Fiesta and will be looking to end the year on a high. In another Pirelli-equipped Fiesta will be Stephen Petch, eyeing a second straight win after his Woodpecker triumph. The co-drivers’ title is still to be settled between the pair’s respective navigators Carl Williamson and Michael Wilkinson.
Petch is battling for second in the drivers’ standings with Ford Focus WRC driver Paul Benn. Other Pirelli drivers entered include Steve Simpson (Fiesta) and Tom Preston with the Skoda Fabia R5 he has used in the British Rally Championship. Russ Thompson leads the Production standings in his Mitsubishi, while Gavin Edwards is nearing the Silver Star title in his Escort.
The Trackrod will also be the scene of the final round of the British Historic Rally Championship, with Pirelli drivers Paul Barrett and Jason Pritchard at the head of the standings.
