News
Exciting new era for Australian GT racing
Motorsport Australia is delighted to confirm SRO Motorsports Group and the Australian Racing Group will jointly manage the Motorsport Australia GT Championship and Motorsport Australia Endurance Championship in 2021 and beyond.
SRO and ARG have significant plans to take the two Championships to new heights in Australia.
SRO’s portfolio of highly regarded series includes continental GT World Challenge categories in Europe, America and Asia, which are combined to determine a global manufacturers’ champion, while the flagship Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli features events on five different continents.
ARG’s other categories include the TCR Australia Series, S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship, Touring Car Masters, V8 Touring Car Series and National Trans Am Series. ARG also manage the Bathurst 6 Hour and Bathurst International events.
Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca said the decision to work with the two organisations would allow the category to take major steps in the coming years and provide significant opportunities for GT racing for those in Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
“Both SRO Motorsports Group and the Australian Racing Group have extensive experience in managing world class categories and we are absolutely thrilled to announce them as joint Commercial Rights Agreement holders for GT racing in Australia,” Arocca said.
“SRO’s experience with GT racing around the world, coupled with ARG’s intimate knowledge of Australian motorsport, provides an exciting prospect for both the Motorsport Australia GT Championship and Motorsport Australia Endurance Championship events in 2021 and beyond.
“There is certainly a passionate competitor base and many teams who are keen to get racing in 2021 and we can’t wait to be part of that.
“We’d also like to thank all those who expressed their interest as part of this process, including previous category managers, Trofeo Motorsport.”
SRO founder and CEO Stephane Ratel said the opportunity to build GT racing in Australia was one they were eager to take on.
“We are honoured that Motorsport Australia has given us the opportunity to bring our experience of GT racing to its shores in 2021,” Ratel said.
“SRO already has strong ties to the Australian GT scene through our partnership with the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, which has been part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli since its formation.
“We are excited to join forces with Matt Braid and the Australian Racing Group to grow the Motorsport Australia GT Championship further, providing a global audience and BOP management at the same level as the series directly managed by SRO. The 2021 season promises to be very exciting indeed and we will release more news concerning our plans shortly.”
ARG CEO Matt Braid was equally excited about the news, and further enhancing the categories racing under the ARG banner.
“The Australian Racing Group is thrilled to welcome the Australian GT and Endurance Championships into our suite of racing categories,” Braid said.
“We are pleased to be continuing our partnership with Motorsport Australia and also excited to be working closely with Stephane and his team at SRO Motorsports Group. The success of GT racing worldwide is a testament to SRO’s amazing vision and execution, and we already have some bold plans to reinvigorate the domestic scene.
“Australia has an incredible array of eligible GT race cars in the country as well as a passionate competitor base, and we feel with SRO’s stable rule set and high-quality events, including live and free broadcasting on the Seven Network, the recipe for success is right.”