SRO Motorsports Group (formerly the Stéphane Ratel Organisation) is an international sporting organisation best known for promoting and running a variety of racing events and series, including the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa,

Intercontinental GT Challenge The Intercontinental GT Challenge is a sports car racing series developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group in 2016. It consists of international Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance races for grand tourer racing cars complying w ...

and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. The company was founded in 1995 by Stéphane Ratel and is now considered the global leader in GT racing. SRO also organises the multi-disciplinary

FIA Motorsport Games The FIA Motorsport Games is a biennial motorsport event administered by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It includes competitions from multiple motorsport disciplines and is entered by national motorsport authorities under t ...

, as well as e-sports events and touring car categories. As of 2020 it keeps offices in London, Paris, Liège and Hong Kong, while Ratel continues to act as CEO.

Current series

Intercontinental GT Challenge

was launched in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

to bring together major events, such as the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and the

Bathurst 12 Hour The Bathurst 12 Hour, currently known as the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour for sponsorship reasons, is an annual endurance race for Group GT3, GT and Production car racing, production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, in Bathurst, New South ...

, in a unified global championship. The series is aimed at manufacturers, though rather than field their own cars they are encouraged to appoint and support local teams in selected events. Four manufacturers took part in the inaugural season, while nine entered the most recent in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. The initial seasons consisted of three events before an expansion to four in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and then five in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. The same number was planned for 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the

Suzuka 10 Hours The Suzuka 1000km, also known as the Suzuka Summer Endurance Race, is an annual sports car endurance race that has been held at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan since 1966. After a five-year hiatus, the event is scheduled to return in ...

. There will be five races in 2023: the Total 24 Hours of Spa, Bathurst 12 Hour, Gulf 12 Hours,

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

8 Hour, and

Kyalami 9 Hours The Nine Hours of Kyalami is an endurance sports car race contested at Kyalami, Midrand, South Africa. The first races were held from 1958 to 1960 at a circuit at the Grand Central Airport near Midrand before moving to Kyalami in 1961. The eve ...

GT World Challenge

Fanatec GT World Challenge was launched in 2019 by uniting SRO's established continental series in Europe, Asia and America. Each remains a standalone category while also allowing manufacturers to score points towards a global championship. Mercedes has won three titles to date, finishing ahead of Ferrari in 2019, Audi in 2020, and Lamborghini in 2021. Australia joined the programme in 2021 after SRO agreed to take control of the

Australian GT Championship The GT World Challenge Australia, formerly known as the Australian GT Championship, is a Motorsport Australia-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship ...

. The regional series consist of: * Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe * Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia * Fanatec GT World Challenge America * Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe began life in 2011 as the Blancpain Endurance Series before developing into the Blancpain GT Series, a 10-round championship split equally between a Sprint Cup and Endurance Cup. This format remained in place for the change to GT World Challenge Europe in 2019. The championship's marquee event is the

24 Hours of Spa The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by CrowdStrike. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and ...

, which has run as part of SRO championships since 2011. GT World Challenge Asia was created in 2017 as Blancpain GT Series Asia. GT World Challenge America was for many years known as Pirelli World Challenge before being acquired by SRO in 2018. GT World Challenge Australia became the fourth series to join the global championship in 2021.

GT4 Series

Launched in 2006, the GT4 class sits below GT3 in terms of performance and is aimed at amateur drivers and aspiring professionals. The concept is owned by SRO, with each series either directly promoted by the company or organised through franchise agreements. A wide variety of cars are homologated for GT4 competition, many of which are considerably closer to their road-legal counterparts than those found in GT3. Some competitions are exclusive for GT4 cars, including the

GT4 European Series The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which utilizes SRO GT4 class cars, and runs alongside the GT World Challenge Europe as a support series. History ...

FFSA GT Championship The FFSA GT Championship (''Championnat de France FFSA GT'') is a French Grand Touring-style sports car racing series that began in 1997. It is the main event of the ''Championnat de France des Circuits'' (formerly called ''Super Série FFSA'' an ...

GT4 America Series The GT4 America Series is a sports car racing series based in the United States. In 2019, the series was relaunched with the explicit GT4 title, following the alignment in 2017 of the Pirelli World Challenge series "GTS" class with SRO GT4, and t ...

GT4 Australia GT4 Australia (known commercially as Monochrome GT4 Australia for 2024–2025) is a motor racing series for SRO GT4-class grand touring cars. The series is promoted by the SRO Motorsports Group, who are the global owner of the category, and also pr ...

and SRO GT Cup, while others run mixed grids of GT3 and GT4 cars, such as the

British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports G ...

and

SRO Japan Cup The SRO Japan Cup is a racing series operated by SRO Motorsports Group and Team Asia One GT Management's GT World Challenge Asia, an auto racing series for grand tourer cars in Japan. The races are contested with GT3-spec and GT4-spec cars. The ...

Other series

GT2 European Series The GT2 European Series (formerly the GT Sports Club and Blancpain GT Sports Club), organized by Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Motorsports Group, is an auto racing series for the SRO GT2 class of grand tourer cars, designed for amateur pay dr ...

Formerly known as the GT Sports Club, the series with an emphasis on gentleman drivers, GT2 European Series is a championship for Bronze, Titanium and Iron drivers only. The Titanium categorisation is within the Bronze category, for drivers between the age of 50 and 59. The Iron categorisation is within the Bronze category, for drivers over the age of 60. Originally the GT Sports Club are contested with GT3-spec, RACB G3, GTE-spec and Trophy cars but during the COVID-19 induced hiatus it was re-organised for the new GT2 regulations and changed the name to GT2 European Series. It supports the

GT World Challenge Europe GT World Challenge Europe (known as the Blancpain GT Series between 2014 and 2019) is a sports car racing series organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It features grand tourer racing cars modified from production road cars complying with the FIA's ...

in various circuits along its calendar.

British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports G ...

Originally created by the BRDC in 1993, the British GT Championship has been overseen by SRO Motorsports Group since 2004. Races feature both GT3 and GT4 cars on-track at the same time, while Pro/Am driver line-ups are the bedrock of the series. The 2021 season is set to consist of seven domestic events and an overseas rounds at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...

, as well as a revised class structure.

GT America Series

Toyota GR Cup

Touring Car Series

* TC America Series * TC France Series

Other events

* FIA GT World Cup *

* SRO E-Sport GT Series (with Kunos Simulazioni and Ak Informatica) * Curbstone Track Events * SpeedSeries

Former series

BPR Global GT Series The BPR Global GT Series (sometimes referred to as the BPR Global GT Endurance Series or simply abbreviated as BPR) was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997. The ...

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

FIA GT1 World Championship The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. I ...

FIA GT3 European Championship The FIA GT3 European Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a championship derived from the international FIA ...

FIA GT Series The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) with the approval of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Born as the FIA GT Series in 2013, it was spon ...

* Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship * Renault Clio Cup UK Series * Blancpain Revival Series (GT90's Revival Series) *

Dutch GT4 Championship The HDI-Gerling Dutch GT Championship was an auto racing championship based in the Netherlands. The series, founded in 2009 by the SRO Group as the Dutch GT4 Championship, uses grand tourer cars conforming to the Fédération Internationale de l' ...

(It merged with

in 2014) * British Formula Three Championship * Supercar Rally (features V6, V8 or V10

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

) * Venturi Gentleman Drivers Trophy * Lamborghini Supertrophy * GT4 Scandinavia

References

External links

SRO Motorsports Group
{{FIA GT Championship Seasons Auto racing organizations Organizations established in 1995