FIA GT Championship

Bumper entry list for the FIA GT test days at Paul Ricard HTTT

© Planetlemans

With the start of the 2009 season less than a month away, the first opportunity to see the 2009 FIA GT Championship and FIA GT3 European Championship teams in action will be the Official Test Days, on April 6th and 7th, which will be held at the magnificent Paul Ricard HTTT facility. The circuit, in the South of France, will host a round of both Championships on October 4th, opening its gates to the public after many years as a testing facility.

Currently, a record 49 cars are due to take part in the two-day test session, from categories GT1, GT2, G2, GT3, GT4 and Supersport.

In GT1, 13 cars will be taking part, including two Maserati MC 12, four Corvette C6R, four Saleen S7R, two Ford GT1 and a Nissan GT-R. GT2 has ten cars testing : six Ferrari 430 GT2 cars, three Porsche 997 GT3 RSR and a Lamborghini Gallardo. A sole Porsche bi-Turbo will test in G2. All full-season entries are obliged, according to the regulations, to send a car to the test days.

GT3 has a bumper grid of 21 cars, with the Aston Martin DBRS9, Audi R8 LMS, BMW Alpina B6 GT3, Corvette Z06 GT3, Ferrari 430 Scuderia, Ford GT, Jaguar XKR-S, Lamborghini Gallardo, Morgan Aero Super Sport and Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S all due to take part in the test sessions.

For the GT4 European Cup, Maserati will be launching their Maserati Gran Turismo MC GT4 car, while three Donkervoort D8GT cars from Donkervoort Automobilien will take part in the test.

April 6th will also be the Media Day, with a press conference at 12:30 to launch the new season, including the unveiling of the first examples of the new generation of GT1 cars, the NISMO-built Nissan GT-R and the Ford GT1 from Matech Concepts.

The full-season entry list for the 2009 season of the FIA GT Championship will be issued on Monday during the press conference, including 25 entries. “Despite the difficult economic times, I am delighted with the grid we have for 2009,” Stephane Ratel, CEO of SRO Motorsports Group, Promoter of the FIA GT Championship. “This proves that the slightly reduced calendar, the generous team assistance and the new tyre regulations have played a part in reducing the costs involved.”