Ratel on SRO America: “You Need Consistency and Stability”

Photo: SRO

Stephane Ratel said he’s been pleased with the state of SRO America, stressing that ‘consistency and stability’ have been keys to its continued success and growth.

Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS, Pirelli GT America and TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School kick off its seasons this weekend at Sonoma Raceway, alongside the third and fourth rounds of GT America powered by AWS and the debut of the new SRO-sanctioned Toyota GR Cup.

It has resulted in a bumper paddock filled with more than 140 cars, with several series such as GT4 America and GT America seeing increased car counts compared to last year’s season opener.

Speaking with Sportscar365, Ratel, the founder and CEO of SRO Motorsports Group, said he’s mixed lessons learned from SRO’s vastly successful European series along with taking an American approach in key areas that had initially been lacking following its majority acquisition of the organization in 2018.

“You need consistency and stability,” Ratel said. “Clients need to believe in what you offer and you need to improve in every area, which we’re trying to do.

“We have come quite a way since we acquired the majority of this series. Initially we Europeanized it a little bit too much and that didn’t work.

“Now we have a full American management and we have Claude [Surmont, SRO technical director] working on the BoP and a bit of coordination on a global level with media and communication.

“When you start getting to the critical mass, particularly in GT4, you start having these big grids.

“I always say, racing is a dance floor. The more dancers on the dance floor, more people want to come even if they step on each others’ toes they are happy to be there.

“GT4 is booming. GT America is the perfect reminder that this, once upon a time, was a single driver series, and the end goal of course is the Fanatec GT World Challenge America [and] that needs to continue.

“It’s stable; it hasn’t grown much but you also have to see the number of [GT3] cars that race also in GT America. The overall number of GT3 cars in this paddock is quite good but they are a bit divided between the two series.

“But I think [GT America] is the perfect way to attract new teams and drivers stepping up to Fanatec GT World Challenge.”

With race formats, technical and sporting regulations all remaining largely unchanged for this year, Ratel said the short-term focus will be on building up the GTWC America grid, which has remained in the high-teens in car count for the start of this season.

It comes despite numerous new additions to the grid, which have essentially taken the places of several teams that are no longer in the series, such as K-PAX Racing and Turner Motorsport.

“We had a brief [on Wednesday] and I said, ‘Now we have the cars and now we need the stars,'” Ratel said. “I think we have a good foundation.

“If you ask me what we can dream of is adding ten more cars in Fanatec GT World Challenge, then you have 28-30 cars in your main series.

“It’s not like an unachievable target.”

SRO America Still Pushing for GT2 Integration

Ratel said he’s hopeful of seeing GT2 class machinery on the grid in GT America this year, in what has so far been a slow rollout for the platform in North America.

Several GT2 cars have raced in SRO America competition in past years, with CJ Moses’ Audi R8 LMS GT2 having been the most recent example.

“I believe in the progressive introduction with GT2,” Ratel said. “We have potentially a good platform to welcome GT2 cars in GT America, which remains one of my key objectives.

“I think with the new Mercedes, the Maserati, with the Porsche… It’s a perfect platform to introduce GT2 without going through the hard way of creating a new series like we did in Europe.”

Ratel said that a concerted effort will be made to have GT2 cars racing in North America later this season.

“We’re going to try,” he said. “I think if the GT2 manufacturers want to sell cars, they’re going to have to show them.

“We’re really encouraging them to try to come to do at least one event with cars to show them to the American drivers. I still believe that it’s a very good compromise.

“The evolution of GT4, if you see all of the new GT4 [cars] coming, the latest one being the Nissan Z, they are back in the smaller GT models and the powerful ones for GT2.

“GT2 is GT4 with powerful cars. That’s what it is. It’s the same concept and technical concept. I think that will develop over time.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John