Calendars aligned for cost-effective logisticsTeams and drivers encouraged to compete in both seriesFree Total 24 Hours of Spa entry up for grabs
Blancpain GT Series Asia and one of the region’s premier one-make sportscar championships - the Audi R8 LMS Cup - will collaborate next season in pursuit of more cost-effective GT racing.
Series organiser SRO has worked hard to create an attractive package for the inaugural Blancpain GT Series Asia campaign by introducing elements such as substantial prize money, live television and online streaming, subsidised travel and world-renowned BoP. However, its strategy also extends to helping teams and drivers currently competing in other championships progress from one category to another.
To achieve this, SRO has focused on the often difficult logistics teams face when competing at venues across the vast continent and has taken steps to make the Blancpain GT Series Asia package more affordable.
This starts with its choice of race dates, which closely mirror those of the Asia-based Audi R8 LMS Cup’s. With its GT3 cars also eligible for Blancpain GT Series Asia, teams and drivers have an opportunity to race at the same venue just a few weekends apart without incurring the substantial freight costs of two trips. Instead, cars can be stored for a short period at a nearby workshop while teams and drivers re-apply their recent experience of racing at the same circuit.
The partnership goes even further, though, with the winner of Audi R8 LMS Cup’s amateur class receiving a free entry into 2018’s edition of GT racing’s blue riband event: the Total 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium.
Benjamin Franassovici, Blancpain GT Series Asia General Manager: “We have worked very hard to make Blancpain GT Series Asia as attractive a package as possible, and our partnership with the Audi R8 LMS Cup certainly adds even more value. It’s not often that championships work together for the good of both series, but we understand that what is good for one of us also benefits the other. The more cost-effective we can make both the better. Equally, offering a free entry into the 2018 Total 24 Hours of Spa for the championship’s top amateur provides an Asian driver with a fantastic opportunity to test themselves beyond the continent in a world-class event.”
Bernd Goeres, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia: “Our 2017 calendar provides teams with the flexibility to fully utilise their Audi R8 LMS race car by entering additional racing series. Audi continues to play its leading role for the accelerating motorsport development in Asia.”
The inaugural Blancpain GT Series Asia campaign begins at Sepang in Malaysia on April 8/9.
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2017 Blancpain GT Series Asia Schedule
April 8/9 - Sepang, MalaysiaMay 20/21 - Chang International Circuit, ThailandJune 24/25 - Suzuka, JapanAugust 19/20 - Fuji Speedway, JapanSeptember 23/24 - Shanghai, ChinaOctober 21/22 - Zhejiang, China
