British GT Championship
Category | Gran Turismo |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Inaugural season | 1993 |
Tyre suppliers | Pirelli |
Drivers' champion |
GT3: Jonathan Adam Andrew Howard GT4: Jamie Chadwick Ross Gunn |
Teams' champion |
GT3: Barwell Motorsport GT4: Academy Motorsport |
Makes' champion |
GT3: BMW GT4: Aston Martin |
Official website | britishgt.com |
Current season |
The Avon Tyres British GT Championship (previously known as the BRDC GT Championship) is a sports car racing series based in the United Kingdom, although selected races do take place outside of the country. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports GT Challenge. The series is currently run by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, while Pirelli will begin its first season as the championship's official sole tyre supplier in 2016.
Two classes currently compete in the championship: GT3 and GT4.
A consolidation of GT regulations and significant manufacturer support saw British GT first introduce a GT3 class in 2005. The category later mirrored that of the FIA GT3 European Championship and has used near-identical regulations from 2006 onwards. GT3 rules include extensive performance balancing and handicap weights to make cars artificially more equal. Cost-saving measures saw the series' previous premier class, GT2, phased out at the end of 2006.
The FIA GT4 class was adopted in 2008 as a stepping stone towards GT3. Regulations governing GT4 ensure the cars more closely resemble their road-going counterparts than GT3 machines. This replaced the unique GTC category that was previously a part of British GT.
British GT has featured a number of other classes since its inception, including the likes of GT1.
Champions
The following drivers have previously won the British GT championships in their respective classes. An overall championship for all classes combined was also awarded until 1998, and those champions are marked with italics.