Interest Check: New Series, GT3 for GT4

  • Thread starter m.piedgros
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m.piedgros

m.piedgros

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Aloha fellas,

With the success of the new semi-amateur FIA GT3 series in Europe, and my love for GT3 racing, I thought I'd try to put past you GTPlanet OLRers the idea of going GT racing, FIA style. If anyone has seen any clips of the action from FIA GT3 you'd be quick to realize the closeness of cars ranging from Lotus Exige GT3 to Chevrolet Corvette "Z06-R," yeah Corvette, the already strong GT1 competitor. I too would be as strict as can be trying to allow for very few advantages on cars and making sure the field balances nicely. The following is taken from fiagt3.com just to give you an idea of the size of fields run and range of cars competing.

2006 full season entry listEntry List
No Team Nat. Driver 1 Nat. Driver 2 Nat. Driver 3 Nat. Car Cat.
1 Larbre Competition Car 1 FRA Roland Berville FRA Raymond Narac FRA Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
2 Larbre Competition Car 2 FRA Guillaume Semioli FRA Gerard Tonelli FRA Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
3 Larbre Competition Car 3 FRA Jean-Luc Chéreau FRA TBC Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
4 SOFREV - Auto Sport Promotion Car 1 FRA Gabriel Balthazard FRA Mike Savary SUI Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
5 SOFREV - Auto Sport Promotion Car 2 FRA Jean-Luc Beaubelique FRA Gilles Chatelain FRA Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
6 SOFREV - Auto Sport Promotion Car 3 FRA Marc Cattaneo FRA Morgan Moullin Traffort FRA Maurice Ricci FRA Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
7 Tech 9 Motorsport Car 1 GBR Oliver Bryant GBR Maxime Dumarey BEL Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
8 Tech 9 Motorsport Car 2 GBR James Murphy IRL Paul Van Splunteren NED Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
9 Tech 9 Motorsport Car 3 GBR Dimitri Deverikos GRE Sean Edwards GBR Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
10 Racing Logistic Car 1 FRA Jean-Luc Blanchemain FRA Patrick Bornhauser FRA Dodge Viper Competition C
11 Racing Logistic Car 2 FRA Olivier Dupard FRA Steve Zacchia FRA Dodge Viper Competition C
12 Racing Logistic Car 3 FRA Jean-Yves Adam FRA Frederic Makowiechi FRA Dodge Viper Competition C
13 Reiter Engineering Car 1 GER Albert von Thurn & Taxis GER Vittorio Zoboli ITA Berhnard Muller GER Lamborghini Gallardo GT3
14 Reiter Engineering Car 2 GER Marius Ritskes TBC Juergen von Gartzen GER Michael Trunk GER Lamborghini Gallardo GT3
15 Reiter Engineering Car 3 GER TBC TBC TBC TBC Lamborghini Gallardo GT3
16 Carsport Callaway Car 1 NED Uli Berberich-Martini GER Klaus Ludwig GER Corvette Z06 GT3
17 Carsport Callaway Car 2 NED Marco Panzavuota ITA Paulo Bonifacio BRA Corvette Z06 GT3
18 Carsport Callaway Car 3 NED TBC TBC TBC TBC Corvette Z06 GT3
19 Riverside Car 1 FRA Francois Xavier Terny FRA James Ruffier FRA Corvette Z06 GT3
20 Riverside Car 2 FRA Benjamin Dessange FRA Marc Sourd FRA Corvette Z06 GT3
21 Riverside Car 3 FRA Philippe Charriol FRA Christopher Campbell FRA/ Corvette Z06 GT3
22 Barwell Motorsport GBR Tom Alexander GBR Tiff Needell GBR Michael Brentwood GB Aston Martin DBRS9
23 BMS Scuderia Italia Car 1 ITA Massimiliano Mugelli ITA Marcello Zani ITA Aston Martin DBRS9
24 BMS Scuderia Italia Car 2 ITA Franco Groppi ITA Toni Seiler SUI Aston Martin DBRS9
25 BMS Scuderia Italia Car 3 ITA Enzo Calderari SUI Lilian Bryner SUI Aston Martin DBRS9
26 Racing Box Car 1 ITA Stefano Zonca ITA Marco Cioci ITA Dodge Viper Competition C
27 Racing Box Car 2 ITA Andrea Ceccato ITA Stefano Livio ITA Dodge Viper Competition C
28 Racing Box Car 3 ITA Adriano Baso ITA Bruno Corradi ITA Dodge Viper Competition C
29 Pouchelon Racing Car 1 FRA Gilles Duqueine FRA Anthony Reid GBR Dodge Viper Competition C
30 Pouchelon Racing Car 2 FRA Rachel Green GBR TBC Dodge Viper Competition C
31 Pouchelon Racing Car 3 FRA Luc de Winter FRA TBC Dodge Viper Competition C
32 JMB Racing Ferrari Car 1 MON Steve Earle USA Ian Khan GBR Ferrari 430 Challenge GT3
33 JMB Racing Ferrari Car 2 MON Nicolas Comar FRA Philippe Rambeaud FRA Ferrari 430 Challenge GT3
34 JMB Racing Ferrari Car 3 MON Allan Simonsen DEN Hector Lester GBR Ferrari 430 Challenge GT3
35 S-Berg Racing Car 1 AUT Andreas Mairzedt TBC Florian Scholze GER Lamborghini Gallardo GT3
36 S-Berg Racing Car 2 AUT Jaromir Jirik CZE Dennis Retera NED Lamborghini Gallardo GT3
37 S-Berg Racing Car 3 AUT TBC GBR TBC Lamborghini Gallardo GT3
38 GPC Sport Car 1 ITA TBC TBC Maserati Gransport Light
39 GPC Sport Car 2 ITA TBC TBC Maserati Gransport Light
40 GPC Sport Car 3 ITA TBC TBC Maserati Gransport Light
41 JMB Racing Venturi Car 1 MON TBC TBC Venturi Heritage
42 JMB Racing Venturi Car 2 MON TBC TBC Venturi Heritage
43 JMB Racing Venturi Car 3 MON TBC TBC Venturi Heritage
44 Barwell Motorsport Car 2 GBR Leo Machitsky GBR/ Jonathan Cocker GBR Aston Martin DBRS9
45 Damax Car 1 GBR Ben Collins GBR Aaron Scott GBR Acari KZ1R
46 Damax Car 2 GBR Nick Adams GBR Luca Pirri ITA Acari KZ1R
47 Damax Car 3 GBR Richard Stanton GBR TBC Acari KZ1R
66 Barwell Motorsport Car 3 GBR Martin Rich GBR Piers Johnson GBR Aston Martin DBRS9
76 AF Corse Car 1 ITA Roberto Sperati ITA Andrea Palma ITA Maserati Gransport Light
77 AF Corse Car 2 ITA Alberto Cerrai ITA Diego Alessi ITA Maserati Gransport Light
78 AF Corse Car 3 ITA Lorenzo Casè ITA Christian Passuti ITA Maserati Gransport Light


As for how we could run these cars in GT4 I've been working for a little more than a week on finding a suitable field, filling most of the wholes that have been made by absense of certain cars etc.

If you have the May issue of Racecar Engineering, you will be able to find the article that finally conjured up enough courage in me to get the series up and running on GTPlanet. (You will also see a "sub-article" on the Lotus Exige GT3 and an article about Formula Vee, completely unrelated yes, but a series dear to my heart.) From reading reviews on all sorts of motorsports forums I have gathered that many people seem to feel the same way I do about GT3. I hope the passion here at GTP is the same and we can get this series off the ground. If you are interested post, I will post a list of Tracks and Cars for use in the series. Most likely I will try to set-up each round to be similar to the way FIA runs their series (i.e. same length and style tracks etc.)

m.piedgros
 
Tentative Schedule
(I will give race distances and other event specific information when a confirmed schedule is released.)

Round 1 - Suzuka Circuit

Round 2 - Twin Rings Moteigi (East Short Course)

ALL STAR EVENT - Nurburgring Nordschliefe (Optional, NO POINTS SCORED.)
Endurance race to allow for GT3 Teams to get back to Europe from Asian "road trip."

Round 3 - Grand Valley Speedway

ALL STAR EVENT - Circuit de la Sarthe I (Optional, NO POINTS SCORED.)
Endurance Race - Take off on 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Round 4 - High Speed Ring

Round 5 - Deep Forest Raceway
Possible endurance race to emulate 24 Hours of Spa.

Round 6 - Mid-Field Raceway

Round 7 - Trial Mountain


m.piedgros
 
Cars:

FIA GT3 / GT4 Homologation

Porsche 997 GT3 Cup / Ruf RGT
Mods: Oil Change, Weight Reduction Stage 3, Roll Cage (Increase Rigidity), Exhaust and Air Filter Racing, Racing Brakes, N/A Tune Stage 2, Racing Chip, Engine Balance, Port Polish, Full Custom Transmission, Triple Plate Clutch, Racing Flywheel, 1.5 way LSD, Full Custom Suspension, R5 (racing super soft) Tire.


Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 / Pagani Zonda C12
Mods: Oil Change, Exhaust and Air Filter Racing, Racing Brakes, N/A Tune Stage 1, Port Polish, Engine Balance, Racing Chip, Full Custom Transmission, Triple Plate Clutch, Racing Flywheel, 1.5 way LSD, Full Custom Suspension, R5 (racing super soft) Tire.


Venturi Heritage / Lotus Esprite V8
Mods: Oil Change, Weight Reduction Stage 3, Roll Cage, Exhaust and Air Filter Racing, Racing Brakes, Port Polish, Engine Balance, Racing Chip, Full Custom Transmission, Triple Plate Clutch, Racing Flywheel, 1.5 way LSD, Racing Intercooler, Stage 2 Turbo, Full Custom Suspension, R4 (racing soft) Tires, 3D Type C Wing.


Maserati Gransport Light / Mercedes-Benz SL500 R230
Mods: Oil Change, Weight Reduction Stage 3, Roll Cage, Racing Brakes, N/A Tune Stage 3, Port Polish, Engine Balance, Racing Chip, Full Custom Transmission, Triple Plate Clutch, Racing Flywheel, 1.5 way LSD, Carbon Driveshaft, Full Custom Suspension, R4 (racing soft) Tires, 3D Type C Wing.


Aston Martin DBRS9 / Aston Martin DB9
Mods: Oil Change, Weight Reduction Stage 3, Roll Cage, Exhaust and Air Filter Racing, Racing Brakes, Port Polish, Engine Balance, Racing Chip, Full Custom Transmission, Triple Plate Clutch, Racing Flywheel, 1.5 way LSD, Carbon Driveshaft, Full Custom Suspension, R4 (racing soft) Tires, 3D Type C Wing.


Chevrolet Corvette Z06R / Callaway C12
Mods: Oil Change, Weight Reduction Stage 3, Roll Cage, Racing Brakes, N/A Tune Stage 1, Full Custom Transmission, Triple Plate Clutch, Racing Flywheel, 1.5 way LSD, Carbon Driveshaft, Full Custom Suspension, R4 (racing soft) Tire, 3D Type C Wing.


Dodge Viper Competition Coupe / Dodge Viper SRT-10
Mods: Oil Change, Weight Reduction Stage 3, Roll Cage, Racing Brakes, Full Custom Transmission, Triple Plate Clutch, Racing Flywheel, 1.5 way LSD, Carbon Driveshaft, Full Custom Suspension, R4 (racing soft) Tires, 3D Type C Wing.


Ascari KZ1R / Spyker C8 Laviolette
Mods: Oil Change, Roll Cage, Racing Brakes, Full Custom Transmission, Triple Plate Clutch, Racing Flywheel, 1.5 way LSD, Full Custom Suspension, R4 (racing soft) Tires, 3D Type C Wing.


Ferrari F430 / Proto Motors Spirra 4.6 V8
Mods: Oil Change, Weight Reduction Stage 3, Roll Cage, Racing Brakes, N/A Tune Stage 3, Racing Chip, Full Custom Transmission, Triple Plate Clutch, Racing Flywheel, 1.5 way LSD, Full Custom Suspension, R5 (racing super soft) Tires, 3D Type C Wing.

m.piedgros
 
Idea sounds good, but I would like to know how are you going to keep it so
no car is faster than the other's. But the cars and tracks do look good:tup:.
 
Well, first of all, the cars will be able to be tuned properly as the championship will be run in GT Mode. I have been working for a long time on developing a GT3/Speed World Challenge GT grid. The article in Racecar Engineering just put me over the top. I decided I'd try to emulate the European series. I expect to have all the cars within a second of one-another at the four tracks I've been developing/testing them at (Laguna Seca, Circuit de la Sarthe I, Suzuka Circuit, and Seattle.) Currently there are clear favorites, mainly, in my opinion, due to driving style. I've actually employed the help of three other friends of mine to develop the cars (make sure we get similar results.) Its been a very slow, careful, common-sensical process, not wanting to stray to far from the idea of avoiding engine restriction or ballast weight etc. There will most likely be all sorts of tire, downforce and SOME ballast weight rules in place to start the season to fit test results. As the season progresses changes may take place not only to a specific make and model but a specific driver's car, if deemed necessary. We will run the series as closely to FIA/SRO standards as possible. MPR (m.piedgros racing) will be the sanctioning body. I will be careful not to over do modifications on cars and avoid having to make irreversable mods to cars. Within a day of getting cars/mods finalized, I will open up a free time trial (no rules, just use an MPR legal car) to see how close these cars really are in the hands of different drivers.

m.piedgros
 
Update: Car homologation.

The Spyker C8 Laviolette and Mercedes-Benz SL500 R230 have been confirmed (Ascari KZ1R, Maserati Gransport Light.) The Lotus Motorsport Elise and Honda NSX are on the bubble, looks like they will not enter (Lotus Exige GT3, Ferrari F430.) I'm more disapointed in the loss of the NSX, because the F430 won the first round of the real GT3 championship at Silverstone. I'd appreciate it if anyone had a tip on what car would make a better replacement for the 430.

Thanks,

m.piedgros
 
Thanks for the reply,

I'll go and give each a try. Proto Motors 4.6 was actually a car that one of my buds had suggested.

m.piedgros
 
Homologation Update:

The Proto Motors Spirra 4.6 V8 has been confirmed the replacement for the Ferrari F430. Also, expect full tuning lists, and a set of rules for all the cars (and the series) soon.

m.piedgros
 
Homologation list is complete. All mods are final for the start of the season. One notable no-show unfortunately. The Lotus Exige GT3 could not be homologated. If anyone knows of a car that could replace the already failed Motorsport Elise, your help would be greatly appreciated.

m.piedgros
 
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