April 4th 2015 will be the day when the teams and drivers of the Blancpain Sprint Series start the 2015 season on the French track of Nogaro. With twelve race weekends – seven in the Blancpain Sprint Series and five in the Blancpain Endurance Series – there will plenty of great racing this season. Even though the full season entries only close at the end of February, it is already clear that some new features for the Series mean that the grids will be well filled this year.
Increased prize money
With prize money being introduced in the five rounds of the Blancpain Endurance Series, in addition to the Blancpain Sprint Series allocation, plenty of teams are considering to race in all twelve races in 2015. Only teams entered in both Sprint and Endurance Series are eligible for the full prize money, and a prize fund of up to 100.000 euro to be distributed at the end of each of the European race weekends has proven to be quite some incentive. Teams entered in only one of the two Series will still receive 50% of the prize money. Add to that the 100.000 euro awarded to the 2015 winner of the Sean Edwards Trophy (reserved for young Bronze drivers pairing up with a Gold or Platinum driver in the Blancpain Sprint Series) plus the total prize money of 175.000 euro for the Baku World Challenge and the Blancpain GT Series becomes even more attractive.
Unequalled Total 24 Hours of Spa
The 2014 edition of the Total 24 Hours of Spa proved that even the longest of endurance races can be exciting until the final corner of the final lap. The fight between Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS will continue in this year’s edition, with previous winners and outsiders – such as Bentley Team HTP Motorsport, to name but one - determined to be among the frontrunners as well. Be sure you keep the last weekend of July open in your brand new agendas, because the blue-ribbon event of the Blancpain GT Series promises to be a scorcher.
Great coverage to the advantage of the teams
With live coverage of every single one of the twelve rounds of the Blancpain GT Series, the teams and their sponsors get a great return on their investments. With the social media coverage of the Series ever increasing, a wider audience is reached, an audience that is quickly convinced by the quality of the biggest GT Series in the world.
Stephane Ratel (CEO and founder of the SRO Motorsports Group): “With a prize fund of 1,375 million euro, which comes in addition to the event support starting fees of 1,425 million euro for the Moscow and Baku events, it is clear that the Blancpain GT Series is an attractive offer to all GT teams. By putting the Blancpain Sprint and Blancpain Endurance Series under a common banner we were able to increase our worldwide coverage, be it on television, on social media or in the written press. I am pleased to say that a great number of teams have shown interest to be part of our Series, a Series which in 2014 has shown to be among the most competitive motorsport competitions on the planet. I am very much looking forward to 2015, which promises to be even more exciting than last year’s inaugural season of the Blancpain GT Series.”
2015 Blancpain GT Series Calendar
11th -12th March: Official Blancpain Endurance Series Test Days Paul Ricard
17th -18th March: Official Blancpain Sprint Series Test Days Misano
4th -6th April: Nogaro (Fra) – Sprint
11th -12th April: Monza (Ita) – Endurance 3 hours
9th -10th May: Brands Hatch (UK) – Sprint
23rd -24th May: Silverstone (UK) – Endurance 3 hours
5th -7th June: Zolder (Bel) - Sprint
19th -20th June: Paul Ricard 1000 (Fra) – Endurance 1000 kms
24th June: Official Test Day Total 24 Hours of Spa (Bel) – Endurance
3rd -5th July: Moscow City (Rus) - Sprint
23rd -26th July: Total 24 Hours of Spa (Bel) – Endurance 24h hours
4th -6th September: Algarve (Por) – Sprint
19th -20th September: Nürburgring (Deu) – Endurance 3 hours
2nd -4th October: Misano (Ita) – Sprint
24th -25th October: Baku World Challenge (Aze) - Sprint
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Blancpain - Innovation is our Tradition
Founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, the watch brand bearing his name is the oldest in the world. Blancpain is currently engaged to the renewal of mechanical watchmaking and to passing on exceptional expertise from one generation to the next through constant investment in human resources, production facilities and research. This approach is its strength and the expression of our long-term vision, even though it goes against the tide of a certain tendency to seek immediate profit. From the creation of components through to watch design, Blancpain is distinguished by its ability to develop exceptional movements. Over the past nine years, the Manufacture has indeed developed no less than 33 new calibres.
Through its various models, Blancpain preserves its heritage of precision and elegance, while also displaying an innovative and occasionally provocative spirit. Its range encompasses the sportive L-evolution line, the legendary Fifty Fathoms diver’s watch, as well as the classic Villeret collection, the high complication from Le Brassus collection and the Women models.
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Pirelli – Official Tyre Supplier
Pirelli is a tyre manufacturer and world leader in the automotive industry. It has an exclusive relationship with over 50 racing series worldwide, including Formula One.
Pirelli has a long and illustrious history in endurance racing, and has also claimed a huge variety of class wins in GT racing all over the world. The design of the new Pirelli GT tyres meets the needs of GT racing while maintaining the performance characteristics that endurance drivers have appreciated in the past.The slick tyres used for GT racing are branded Zero: just like the slicks that have become a central feature of Formula One. The name P Zero is used in the highest categories of motorsport such as GT racing.
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SRO Motorsports Group
SRO Motorsports Group was founded by Stephane Ratel and has specialised in the promotion, support and organisation of many national and international motorsport series since 1995.
In 2015, SRO promotes several championships and series, such as the Blancpain GT Series (with the Blancpain Sprint Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series, including the iconic Total 24 hours of Spa), the Avon Tyres British GT Championship and the newly-created GT Sports Club and Ultracar Sports Club. SRO Motorsports Group has various franchise agreements, including the GT4 European Series.
SRO Motorsports Group runs also the SRO Race Centre by MMC, a high-level technical centre at the Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France.
SRO has offices in London, Paris and Liège.
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