There is an interesting report in this week's Autosport about the creation of a new GT racing series, called "City Challenge", which will take place entirely on street circuits. Organised by Hartmut Beyer, the promoter of the Bucharest street circuit, the series's inaugural race is scheduled to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, this October, to be followed by up to five invitational races next year, and then a full championship of 10-12 events in 2014.
Aside from Baku, the series will incorporate races in the Middle East, the Caribbean and Africa (no specific locations as yet). It will be a winter series, with the first half of the season taking place in the early spring and the remainder in the autumn, so that the participating teams can concentrate on their main sportscar programmes in Europe during the traditional racing season.
The Baku circuit, which is only 1.3 miles long and decidedly Mickey-Mouse, will be laid out around the government buildings. Beyer is aiming for a grid of 24 cars, and has already signed up the Vita4One and Reiter teams. He believes that the series will be successful because racing on street circuits in big cities will be more profitable for the entrants. He aims to create a series in which all of the drivers receive a salary, and perhaps to receive an FIA title in several years' time.
So is this just a pipe dream, or is there any chance of it actually happening? It's the first I've heard of it.
New GT racing series - "City Challenge"
Started by
midgrid
, Aug 02 2012 14:32
2 replies to this topic
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#2
THE "driverider"
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Posted 02 August 2012 - 17:15
Sounds exciting, not sure if it will happen. Be good to get motorsport in countries such as Azerbaijan, maybe a race in Africa (apart from South Africa) and the Caribbean.
