GT4 European Series


The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation. It is an amateur championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes. The GT4 class cars are the least powerful of the four classes, yet are equalised in order to allow driving skill to become key.

History

Following the successful introduction of the FIA GT3 European Championship in 2006, the formula was expanded to include usage by other nationally based professional championships such as the British GT Championship, Belcar, Australian GT Championship and German ADAC GT Masters. While the FIA GT3 European Championship continues, the SRO felt that a true amateur championship was needed in order to complement GT3 which allowed a certain level of professional driver to compete. Many national series also adopted the GT4 regulations as a lower class, and the European Cup eventually lacked the competitors needed to continue. During the 2016 24 Hours of Spa, the Stéphane Ratel Organisation announced that the European Cup would be divided in 2 different series for 2017. They are called the GT4 European Series Northern Cup and the GT4 European Series Southern Cup. The Northern Cup will be the same as the European Cup, while the Southern Cup will collect forces with the FFSA GT Championship. Since Stéphane Ratel spoke out about his firm belief in this class, many championships and constructors have followed. In 2018 the Southern Cup was renamed FFSA GT - GT4 France, while the Northern Cup became the sole GT4 European Series again.

Vehicles

GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.
The following cars are currently homologated for GT4:
Nr.ManufacturerModelSinceExpirationDeveloper
RACB GT4-001Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plcAston Martin V8 Vantage N24Aston Martin
RACB GT4-002BMW AGBMW E85 Z4 M Coupe GT4G & A Racing
RACB GT4-003Ford Motor CompanyFord Mustang FR500 CMultimatic Motorsports
RACB GT4-004Lotus CarsLotus Exige
RACB GT4-005Maserati S.p.A.Maserati Trofeo LightScuderia Giudici
RACB GT4-006Nissan Motor Co.,LtdNissan 350ZRJN Motorsports
RACB GT4-007Porsche AGPorsche Cayman SGPR Racing
RACB GT4-008Ginetta CarsGinetta G50 GT4Ginetta Cars
RACB GT4-009ChevroletChevrolet Corvette C6 GT4Callaway Cars
RACB GT4-010Audi AGAudi TT GT4Jorg Van Ommen Autosprot
RACB GT4-011Porsche AGPorsche 997 GT3 Cup GT4Equipe Verschuur
RACB GT4-012Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plcAston Martin V8 Vantage GT401-04-200931-12-2018Aston Martin
RACB GT4-013BMW AGBMW M3 E92 GT4BMW Motorsport
RACB GT4-MCMaserati S.p.A.Maserati Granturismo MCMaserati
RACB GT4-015Lotus CarsLotus Evora Cup/GT425-07-201131-12-2018Lotus Cars
RACB GT4-016ChevroletChevrolet Camaro SS GT4Riley Technologies
RACB GT4-017Nissan Motor Co.,LtdNissan NISMO 370Z GT4RJN Motorsports
RACB GT4-018Mazda Motor CorporationMazda Miata MX-5 GT4Jota Sport
RACB GT4-019Ginetta CarsGinetta G55 GT401-04-201431-12-2021Ginetta Cars
RACB GT4-020Toyota Motor CorporationToyota GT86 GT4GPRM
RACB GT4-021KTM AGKTM X-Bow GTR02-12-201631-12-2023Reiter Engineering
RACB GT4-022BMW AGBMW Ekris M4 GT4Ekris Motorsport
RACB GT4-023Porsche AGPorsche Cayman 981 SPPROsport Performance
RACB GT4-024Porsche AGPorsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport
RACB GT4-024Porsche AGPorsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Manthey-RacingManthey-Racing
RACB GT4-027Ford Motor CompanyFord Mustang GT401-03-201731-12-2024Multimatic Motorsports
RACB GT4-028SIN CarsSIN R1 GT401-01-201531-12-2019Matech Concepts
RACB GT4-029BMW AGBMW M4 GT4
RACB GT4-030McLaren AutomotiveMcLaren 570S GT401-01-201731-12-2024
RACB GT4-031ChevroletChevrolet Camaro GT4.R01-03-201731-12-2024Pratt & Miller
RACB GT4-033Mercedes-AMG GmbHMercedes-AMG GT4
RACB GT4-034Société des Automobiles Alpine SASAlpine A110 GT4
RACB GT4-038Audi AGAudi R8 LMS GT4Audi Sport
RACB GT4-MCGT4Maserati S.p.A.Maserati Granturismo MC GT401-04-201631-12-2019Maserati
RACB GT4-xxxAston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plcAston Martin Vantage AMR GT4Aston Martin
RACB GT4-xxxBuforiBufori BMS R1
RACB GT4-xxxChevron Racing Cars Ltd.Chevron GR8 GT4Chevron
RACB GT4-xxxDonkervoort Automobielen BVDonkervoort D8 GT
RACB GT4-xxxJaguarJaguar F-Type SVR GT4Invictus Games Racing
RACB GT4-xxxKTM AGKTM X-Bow GT4
RACB GT4-xxxLotus CarsLotus 2-Eleven GT4 SupersportLotus Cars
RACB GT4-xxxPanoz, LLCPanoz Avezzano GT4Élan Motorsport Technologies
RACB GT4-xxxPeugeotPeugeot Spider THPPeugeot Sport
RACB GT4-xxxRadical SportscarsRadical RXC GT4
RACB GT4-xxxPorsche AGPorsche Cayman Pro4 GT431-12-2018PROsport Performance
RACB GT4-xxx:de:Roding Automobile|Roding AutomobileRoding R1
RACB GT4-xxxYES! Beteiligungs und Besitzgesellschaft mbHYES! Clubsport
RACB GT4-xxxToyota Motor CorporationToyota GR Supra GT4

Drivers

Like GT3, GT4 drivers have a set of criteria which would automatically eliminate them from competition based on their level of experience. Since GT4 class drivers are meant to be true amateurs, these criteria are tighter than that seen in GT3.
Drivers under the age of 30 are not allowed to have had a top-ten finish in any national or international single-seater championship, nor to have had a distinguishable career in a national or international GT championship. These drivers are known as Silver drivers. Drivers over the age of 30 who did not receive their racing licenses until after turning 30 and having no single-seater experience at all are also allowed in the series, under the term Bronze drivers.

Races

Just as in GT3, each event would consist of two races of equal distance, usually held on different days. Teams were not required to have two drivers and could use the same driver for each race.

Championship

The championship used the standard FIA point scheme for the top ten finishers: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. If a team used different drivers for each race in a single event, both drivers would receive points. A driver and team championship were both held.
If at least five cars of the same make participate in a race, then a manufacturer cup would also be awarded, similar to the style used in GT3.

Champions

Drivers

Teams

Similar series

Since the introduction of the GT4 European Cup, the GT4 class of cars have been expanded to various national series. The British GT Championship and Belgian GT Championship allow GT4 and Super Sport class cars to compete alongside the GT3 class, while the stand-alone Dutch GT4 Championship ran its first season of competition 2009. The Spanish GT Cup Open Europe series also allows GT4 cars to compete with one-make cars. A GT4 championship plans to be run in Brazil in 2010. Norway introduced a national championship called GTF in 2014 featuring GT4 regulated cars. The Super Taikyu Series in Japan also includes a GT4 class called ST-Z.