GT3, GT4 Classes Split for 2018 Blancpain GT Series Asia

Photo: Blancpain GT Series Asia

GT3 and GT4 cars will run separate races at most circuits on the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Asia schedule, which was released on Friday.

Sepang will again host the season-opener on April 14-15, followed by races at Buriram, Fuji, Suzuka, Shanghai and a possible return to the new Zhejiang circuit. 

The GT4 class, which has only had a handful of Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MRs competing this season, is set to contest separate races for most of the season.

The two classes will combine at the Fuji and Suzuka circuits, which have a larger track capacity.

According to SRO Motorsports Group CEO Stephane Ratel, the decision to split the classes has been largely down to traffic management.

“We want to make [GT4 in Asia] purely Am,” he told Sportscar365. “At the moment, you’ve got 24 GT3 cars that pass you right, left and center.

“It’s good to give these people some room so they can have their own series. But it’s a challenge. Everything that I announce takes an element of risk.”

Ratel expects an influx of GT4 entries for next year, with the hope of manufacturers offering demonstration events, similar to Porsche during last year’s Motul Sepang 12 Hours when it invited numerous prospective clients to the track.

“What Porsche did last year in Sepang [to showcase the car] is perfect,” Ratel said.

“If McLaren, Mercedes, Audi and BMW does the same… If we don’t have 20 cars, I don’t understand anything.”

2018 Blancpain GT Series Asia Schedule:

April 14-15 – Sepang (Malaysia)
May 19-20 – Buriram (Thailand)
June/July – Fuji (Japan)
June 30-July 1 – Suzuka (Japan)
September – Shanghai (China)
October – TBC (China)

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.