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GT World Challenge Asia

Japan Cup Retained on Six-Round 2023 Schedule

SRO announces 2023 GTWC Asia schedule including four Japan Cup events and Buriram return…

Photo: SRO

The Japan Cup will continue to form part of next year’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS schedule, which was revealed by series organizer SRO Motorsports Group on Friday.

Four events in Japan, featuring the Japan Cup class for domestic entries, and single visits to Thailand and Malaysia make up the provisional six-round 2023 calendar.

The Japan Cup was introduced for this year as GTWC Asia sought to establish a healthy grid of entries as part of its rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the cancelation of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

The ‘series within a series’ concept, which is reserved for Japanese motorsport federation license holders, has attracted several new entries to the competition including 10 additional GT3 cars at the inaugural Japan Cup round earlier this year.

Thailand’s Chang International Circuit in Buriram, which GTWC Asia last visited in 2019, is set to return to the championship as the site of next year’s season-opener, while Sepang has been moved to the final round slot after opening the current campaign.

The fixture at Buriram is set for May 13-14 and brings the series back to six events after this year’s planned visit to Mandalika in Indonesia was canceled due to circuit modifications required for car racing not being completed in time for the event.

Buriram will be followed by the first meeting with the Japan Cup class at Fuji Speedway on June 17-18.

Suzuka, which ran before Fuji this year on back-to-back weekends, is set to host the third round of the season in early July, followed by a trip to Motegi which is new to the GTWC Asia schedule.

The MotoGP venue replaces Sportsland Sugo, while the other Japanese circuits are carried over from the current season.

The Japan Cup will conclude at Okayama in August, while the GTWC Asia season finale is set to take place at Sepang on an unconfirmed September date.

None of the proposed Japan Cup events clash with next year’s Super GT calendar.

In addition to announcing next season’s schedule, GTWC Asia has indicated a “renewed focus” on getting GT2 cars on the grid. SRO’s GT2 formula was eligible this year, along with GT3 and GT4 machinery, but no entries have materialized so far.

As usual, each round will consist of two 60-minute races. The current class structure of Pro-Am, Silver Cup and Am Cup is “unlikely to alter” for when the series joins other GTWC competitions in adopting SRO’s new FIA-ratified driver ratings criteria.

2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS Schedule (Provisional):
May 13-14 – Buriram
June 17-18 – Fuji Speedway*
July 1-2 – Suzuka*
July 22-23 – Motegi*
Aug. 19-20 – Okayama*
September TBA – Sepang

*includes Japan Cup

Daniel Lloyd is a UK-based reporter for Sportscar365, covering the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, among other series.

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