Blancpain GT Series Asia Set for Korea Debut, Split Grids

Photo: SRO

The Blancpain GT Series Asia will hold a race at Yeongam next year, while the GT3 and GT4 grids are set to be separated.

The 2019 schedule was revealed at the SRO Motorsports Group’s annual press conference at Spa last week, ahead of the championship’s third season.

It will return to Sepang, Buriram, Suzuka, Fuji and Shanghai but the second Chinese race in Ningbo has been replaced with a round at Yeongam.

The circuit, located near Mokpo in the south-west of the country, held four Formula 1 Grands Prix in 2010-13.

SRO Founder and CEO Stephane Ratel also announced plans to have GT3 and GT4 fields run split grids with separate races.

This was also announced at the press conference last year for the 2018 season, but didn’t materialize.

GT4 grids have seen growth this year, with seven cars entered for the most recent race at Fuji, representing four manufacturers.

The series will also require at least one Asian national per car in the GT3 class while the GT4 category will be exclusively reserved  for Asian and Oceanic residents and nationals.

The current GT3 championship standings include eight European drivers, one Australian and one Chinese driver in the top ten.

2019 Blancpain GT Series Asia Schedule:
April 6-7 — Sepang
May 11-12 — Buriram
June 22-23 — Suzuka
July 6-7 — Fuji
Aug. 3-4 — Yeongam
Sept TBA — Shanghai

Jake Kilshaw

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