The FFSA GT Championship (''Championnat de France FFSA GT'') is a French

Grand Touring A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a ...

-style

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

series that began in 1997. It is the main event of the ''Championnat de France des Circuits'' (formerly called ''Super Série FFSA'' and ''GT Tour''). It is controlled by the

Fédération Française du Sport Automobile French Federation of Automobile Sport (french: Fédération Française du Sport Automobile, FFSA), founded in 1952, is one of the National Sports Associations affiliated to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), with the aim of orga ...

(FFSA) and organized by racing company

Oreca ORECA (Organisation Exploitation Compétition Automobiles) is a French racing team and race car constructor, founded in 1973 and run by Hugues de Chaunac, former team manager of F1 team AGS. Oreca has had success in many areas of motorsport. ...

. Since the demise of the

French Supertouring Championship The Championnat de France de Supertourisme ( en, French Supertouring Championship) was a touring car racing championship organised by the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile between 1976 and 2005. The championship was contested on several ...

after the 2005 season, the French GT has become France's major circuit racing championship.

History

Founded by Patrick Peter in 1997 as an offshoot of the international

BPR Global GT Series The BPR Global GT Series (sometimes referred to as the BPR Global GT Endurance Series or simply abbreviated as BPR.) was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997. The ...

, this national version featured a wide variety of Grand Touring-style cars in multiple classes competing at the same time on mostly French courses. In 1998 saw the

SRO Group SRO Motorsports Group (formerly the Stéphane Ratel Organisation) is an international sporting organisation best known for promoting and running a variety of racing events and series, including the Spa 24 Hours, Total 24 Hours of Spa, Intercontine ...

took over the series as the classes were reorganized to reflect the changes made in the new

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

, continuing in a similar formula today. In 2011, the series was handed over from SRO to

, a French racing team, constructor, and organiser of the Sportscar Winter Series and the former

Formula Le Mans Cup The Le Mans Prototype Challenge (shortened to LMP Challenge or LMPC) was a spec sports prototype formula created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and sports car constructor Oreca. The formula is inte ...

. The main class has used GTS car regulations from 1997 to 2004, GT1 from 2005 to 2009, and

FIA GT3 Group GT3, known technically as Cup Grand Touring Cars and commonly referred to as simply GT3, is a set of regulations maintained by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for grand tourer racing cars designed for use in various au ...

from 2010 to 2016. The championship featured classes for both professionals and amateurs. GT3 rules included extensive performance balancing and handicap weights to make cars artificially more equal. In 2016, grids depleted and Oreca cancelled the championship. For the 2017 season, the SRO Group became again the promoter and the GT4 regulations were adopted.

Circuits

Circuit d'Albi The Circuit d'Albi is a motorsport race track located in the French town of Le Sequestre near Albi, about northeast of Toulouse. Built to replace the nearby '' Les Planques'' public road circuit, Albi has 70 years of history in motor-racing, ...

(1997, 2002–2011, 2020–2022) *

Circuit Bugatti The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Ho ...

(1998–1999, 2001–2006, 2012–2015) *

Circuit de Charade The Circuit de Charade, also known as Circuit Louis Rosier and Circuit Clermont-Ferrand, is a motorsport race track in Saint-Genès-Champanelle near Clermont-Ferrand in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. The circuit, buil ...

(1998) * '' Circuit Dijon-Prenois'' (1997–1998, 2000, 2002–2012, 2017–2018, 2023) *

Circuit de Lédenon Circuit de Lédenon is a motor racing circuit located next to the town of Lédenon, Gard, France, about northeast of Nîmes. It hosts FFSA GT Championship and French F4 Championship. History In 1970, two motor sport enthusiasts, Jean-Claude an ...

(1999–2015, 2019, 2021–present) *

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some from Paris and from Lyon. It staged the Formula One French Grand Prix from 1991 (succeeding Circuit Paul Ricard ...

(1997–2015, 2017–present) *

Circuit de Pau The Pau Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Pau) is a motor race held in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwestern France. The French Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the annual Pau Grand Prix being inaugurate ...

(1999, 2001–2003, 2005, 2017–2019) *

Circuit Paul Armagnac Circuit Paul Armagnac also known as Circuit de Nogaro is a motorsport race track located in the commune of Nogaro in the Gers department in southwestern France. The track is named in honor of Nogaro-born racing driver Paul Armagnac who died in ...

(1997–2011, 2014, 2016–present) *

Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ho ...

(1997, 2009, 2011–2015, 2017–present) * ''

Circuit du Val de Vienne Circuit du Val de Vienne is a motor racing circuit located in Le Vigeant, France. Opened in 1990, the circuit is operated by Les Deux Arbes, a group under the auspices of Jack Leconte and Jacques Nicolet Jacques Nicolet (born 5 April 1956 i ...

'' (1997, 2000–2001, 2003–2015, 2023) *

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has held ...

(1998, 2008, 2013–2015, 2019, 2021–2022) *

Circuit Ricardo Tormo Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as ''Circuit de Valencia'' and officially named ''Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo'', is a motorsport race track located in Cheste (Valencian Community, Spain) and built in 1999. The track is n ...

(1999) *

Circuito de Navarra Circuito de Navarra is a motorsport race track that opened in June 2010 near Los Arcos in the Navarre region of Northern Spain. It is a permanent road course that hosted the Superleague Formula series and the FIA GT1 World Championship. Histo ...

(2012, 2015) *

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands ...

(2017–2018) *

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. Bernie Ecclestone wan ...

(2000) *

Autodromo Nazionale Monza The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after ...

(2001) *

Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, better known as Imola, is a motor racing circuit in the town of Imola, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, east of Bologna. It is one of the few major international circuits to run in an an ...

(2013)

Champions

References

External links

* Sports car racing series Group GT3 GT4 (sports car class) Auto racing series in France Recurring sporting events established in 1997 1997 establishments in France {{Motorsport-stub