The 2011 Avon Tyres British GT season was the 19th season of 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 GT ...
. The season began on 25 April at
Oulton Park
Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection a ...
and finished on 8 October at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
, after ten races at seven meetings.
On 22 November 2010, the
SRO Motorsports Group announced changes to the structure of the 2011 season including a reduced calendar, however still with the inclusion of an overseas event. TV coverage continued to be broadcast on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
with the option to view again on
4oD
All 4 is a video on demand service from the Channel Four Television Corporation, free of charge for most content and funded by advertising. The service is available in the UK and Ireland; viewers are not required to have a TV licence—required ...
and also on
Motors TV
Motorsport.tv was a pan-European digital television channel dedicated to motorsport. It ceased broadcasting in late September 2018 to concentrate on web-streaming only.
Launched in 2000 as Motors TV, it broadcast an extensive range of nationa ...
.
Rule changes
Class restructure and new homologations
For the 2011 season, the GT3 class was brought right up to date with the inclusion of new FIA homologated cars. This gave teams the options to run the new
Ferrari 458 Italia
The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is a mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The F458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turismo Berl ...
or the
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (C197 / R197) is a front mid-engine, 2-seater, limited production grand tourer developed by the Mercedes-AMG division of German automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, with the assistance of David Coulthard. The car is ...
GT3 as well as the currently homologated cars. New to 2011 season was the introduction of the GT3B class catering for older, GT3 spec cars which do not conform to the latest FIA homologations. This should allow the running of cars such as the
Dodge Viper
The Dodge Viper is a sports car that was manufactured by Dodge (by SRT for 2013 and 2014), a division of American car manufacturer FCA US LLC from 1992 until 2017, having taken a brief hiatus in 2007 and from 2010 to 2012. Production of the two ...
Competition Coupe or
Ferrari F430
The Ferrari F430 (Type F131) is a sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 2004 until 2009 as a successor to the Ferrari 360. The car is an update to the 360 with exterior and performance changes. It was unveiled a ...
.
For the second year in a row, the GT4 class was a merger of Supersport-spec cars and GT4 homologated cars. Despite an unsuccessful return the previous year, the Cup class is to be continued. The cars eligible are the cars currently used in the
Porsche Supercup
The Porsche Supercup (officially known as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007) is an international one-make sports car racing series supporting the FIA Formula One World Championship organized by Porsche ...
and
Ferrari Challenge
The Ferrari Challenge is a single-marque motorsport championship that was created in 1993 for owners of the 348 Berlinetta who wanted to become involved in racing. The series was proposed by Ferrari Club Nederland founder and President Hans ...
series, based on the
Porsche 997
Porsche 997 is the internal designation for the Porsche 911 sports car manufactured and sold by the German automobile manufacturer Porsche between 2004 (as Model Year 2005) and 2013. Production of the Carrera and Carrera S coupés began in early ...
and
Ferrari F430
The Ferrari F430 (Type F131) is a sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 2004 until 2009 as a successor to the Ferrari 360. The car is an update to the 360 with exterior and performance changes. It was unveiled a ...
road cars. It is hoped that the
Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
The Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain is a multi-event one-make motor racing series that takes place in the United Kingdom for the Porsche 911 GT3. Being the fastest and most successful single marque GT championship in the UK, the Carrera Cup ...
's using updated cars will increase entries.
The ballast penalty system has been dropped in favour of a pit-stop time penalty formula where more successful driver pairings will be held during pit-stops for a longer time in order to level the competition. There are also plans for the development of a "Gentleman's Trophy", new logo and rebranding of the championship.
Entry list
A list of expected entries was released on 8 March 2011 after the championship's Media Day at Silverstone.
Calendar
A provisional 12-race calendar was announced on 22 November 2010.
This was then refined on 16 February 2011.
All races except Belgian round at Spa, were held in the United Kingdom.
Championship standings
*Points were awarded as follows:
GT3/GT3B/GTC
† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.
GT4
References
External links
British GT website
{{British GT Championship years
GT
British GT Championship seasons