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 Total 24 Hours of Spa,

Intercontinental GT Challenge The Intercontinental GT Challenge is a sports car racing series developed by the SRO Group in 2016. It consists of international endurance races for grand tourer racing cars complying with the FIA's GT3 regulations. Format The series is aimed ...

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, 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 powered by Pirelli

Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli was launched in 2016 to bring together major events, such as the Total 24 Hours of Spa and the

Bathurst 12 Hour The Bathurst 12 Hour, currently known as the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour for sponsorship reasons, is an annual endurance race for GT and production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, in Bathurst, Australia. The race was first held in 19 ...

, 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 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

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

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and then five in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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

Suzuka 10 Hours The Suzuka Summer Endurance Race is an annual motorsport event for sports cars that has been held at the Suzuka International Racing Course, Mie Prefecture, Japan since 1966, and the oldest automobile endurance race in Japan. From 1966 to 2017, ...

. There will again be four races in 2021: the Total 24 Hours of Spa, Suzuka 10 Hour, Indianapolis 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 even ...

. The Bathurst 12 Hour will take a one-year break due to travel restrictions in Australia.

Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS

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 will join the programme in 2021 after SRO agreed to take control of the

Australian GT Championship The Australian GT Championship is a CAMS-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship up to and including the 1963 title was contested over a single race a ...

. 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 Total 24 Hours of Spa, 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 will become 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. 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 followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Cha ...

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'' and ...

and

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 ...

are some of the leading categories reserved solely for GT4 machinery, while others, 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 ...

and

GT World Challenge Asia The GT World Challenge Asia (formerly Blancpain GT Series Asia and Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia) is a GT series motor racing competition, promoted by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation and organized by Team Asia One GT Management. Champions ...

, run mixed grids of GT3 and GT4 cars.

Other GT series

Fanatec GT2 European Series

Formerly known as the GT Sports Club, the series with an emphasis on

gentleman driver A pay driver is a driver for a professional auto racing team who, instead of being paid by the owner of their car, drives for free and brings with them either personal sponsorship or personal or family funding to finance the team's operations. Th ...

s, 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 GT ...

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 ...

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 (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has hel ...

, as well as a revised class structure.

Touring Car Series

TC America Series The TC America Series is a touring car racing series based in the United States. It is managed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation and sanctioned by the United States Auto Club. History With the separation of classes from the Pirelli World Chall ...

*FFSA TC France

Other events

* FIA GT World Cup * FIA Motorsport Games * SRO E-Sport GT Series (with

Kunos Simulazioni Kunos Simulazioni s.r.l. is an Italian software development studio that specializes in creating driving simulations. The company is headquartered at the ACI Vallelunga Circuit near Rome and was established in 2005 with the goal of developing sof ...

and Ak Informatica) * Curbstone Track Events

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 SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. It featured multiple grand tou ...

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, officially known as Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for sponsorship reasons, formerly the FIA GT Series, is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) ...

* 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 GT4 European Cup in 2014) *

British Formula Three Championship British Formula Three Championship may refer to: *British Formula 3 International Series, a class of auto racing for Formula 3 open wheeled single seater racing cars, which took place from 1951 to 2014 *BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Th ...

Supercar Rally A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

(features V6, V8 or V10

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

) * Venturi Gentleman Drivers Trophy * Lamborghini Supertrophy

References

External links

SRO Motorsports Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephane Ratel Organisation Auto racing organizations Organizations established in 1995