Driving Force to Introduce ‘GTX1’ Class Next Year

Next year’s Gulf 12 Hours will feature a new class called ‘GTX1,’ compromised of the single-make offerings of four different manufacturers, promotor Driving Force Events has revealed.

Driving Force CEO Andrea Ficarelli explained to Sportscar365 that cars from four brands (Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Porsche) will be eligible for the category, which will join the existing GT3 field that has been a staple of the event since its inception.

The new category  is set to feature single-make machinery from each of the four mentioned manufacturers in the form of the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo, Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2, McLaren Artura Trophy and Porsche 992 GT3 Cup.

Currently, only the latter of the four can take part in the event, with this year’s grid featuring entries from HRT Performance, Enrico Fulgenzi Racing and Toro Verde GT.

“You can imagine the Gulf 12 Hours next year with the GT3 cars in the front, plus this new category of cars with these four brands involved,” Ficarelli told Sportscar365.

“We believe a lot in [these] cars because I have seen this market really growing quite a lot.

“In the Italian Championship, for example, the so-called GT Cup class is growing quite a lot. The class is growing also quite well as a support race of the GT Open. They have their own class.”

The GTX1 category is set to make its competitive debut during a dedicated event at Portimao held on Feb. 16, falling on the same date as the Asian Le Mans Series finale.

“It will be three hours only for this kind of cars. So no GT3, nothing else. First experience, more than anything else, is to start working on a very good BoP.

“But if we don’t do experience on track, to start working on a very good BoP. But if we don’t do experience on track, we will not be able to develop it properly. So this is a new part basically.”