Photo: SRO
GT2 machinery will be eligible in Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS next year as part of SRO Motorsports Group’s continued global rollout of the platform.
Confirmed at last weekend’s SRO America ‘State of the Sport’ address at Road America, the SRO-homologated class could feature in the GT3-based championship in North America alongside continued eligibility in GT America powered by AWS.
It would mark the second time GT2 cars would race in Fanatec GT in the U.S. following the 2020 season that incorporated the GT Sports Club America into the flagship championship for the first 40 minutes of each 90-minute race.
Back then, the nascent class consisted entirely of Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsports, mixed with previous-generation GT3 machinery.
“Let’s see first of all,” SRO founder and CEO Stephane Ratel told Sportscar365. “It’s good to say that it is eligible. Then let’s see what interest we get and then we will [move forward].
“Like I said that GT2 is eligible at Spa. Nobody has come yet. Next year, I don’t know. We’re never going to [just] take one car.
“We’ll see if we have a little group of cars.”
While serving as a standalone championship in the Fanatec GT2 European Series, Ratel said he has no such plans for North America or Asia, where he envisions GT2 cars will also be eligible beginning next year.
Porsche and Manthey’s Evo package for the Porsche GT2 car has allowed the platform to run at a higher performance window this year.
“In terms of performance, we think they can be there,” Ratel said in terms of GT2’s performance to GT3 machinery.
“When we [ran] GT2 before, we ran it restricted, which meant there was no chance to get with GT3.
“When you run these cars at a very high level of performance, then it gets closer.
“We have to see with Bronze drivers where it will be. The only example we did was in Sports Club years ago when James Sofronas came in an Audi.
“It was close. He finished second in one race. It could become interesting. We’ll have to see.”
Ratel said increasing costs in GT3 could sway teams and drivers to take a more serious look at GT2, which has recently seen cars launched by both Maserati and Mercedes-AMG.
“If you look at the price of GT2 compared to GT3 some years ago, I remember clients telling me why they should buy a GT2 at 340,000 Euro when a GT3 is at 390,000 Euro,” he said.
“Now you look at the price of a new GT3, it’s almost half [the price]. You look at the cost of the [most recent] cars being presented in the Ford and Corvette vs. Maserati GT2, the price difference is huge.
“So now, GT2 makes sense and could find its place on the market. I don’t know how fast it’s going to find it.
“But all I know is that Mercedes is selling cars with the new GT2s. They’ve stopped [building] GT4s and they produce GT2s now. It recalibrates [the class ethos] and it will also make our BoP work easier.
“The new [GT4] cars coming like the Nissan, the Toyota [EVO], the Lotus or the Mustang, they’re all the original concept of GT4.
“Therefore the big cars come to GT2 and I think it should work.”
Ratel: GT2 Serves as Good Fallback Option
The Frenchman also feels GT2 serves as a good fallback option in case GT3 costs continue to spiral out of control, particularly with more series now adopting the platform and with increased manufacturer involvement in some series.
“I sleep better thinking that if you’re DTM and you only have Class One and you don’t prepare your back for when the category collapses, you have nothing,” he said.
“It can’t happen with GT3 because GT3 is so big but it could slow down and then you suddenly have some teams saying they can’t afford GT3 because it’s too expensive and they can now run in GT2.
“That could be an evolution. But as long as we have full GT3 grids, we don’t need to change.”
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