SRO MOTORSPORTS GROUP TO CELEBRATE 30th ANNIVERSARY WITH HISTORIC GT RACE AT THE 24 HOURS OF SPA

SRO Motorsports Group will celebrate its 30th anniversary in style at this year’s TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa (28-31 July) with a historic GT event organised by Peter Auto raising the curtain ahead of season’s marquee race.

GT Anniversary 2022 will give spectators a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the most iconic machinery of the past three decades competing at Spa-Francorchamps. A pair of 60-minute contests are scheduled to run, with the second representing the final track action before the Belgian endurance classic begins its 74th edition. 

What’s more, fans can also see the cars up close as part of the traditional parade to Spa town centre. They will join the full 2022 grid in the parade, which makes a welcome comeback in 2022 as part of this year’s off-track entertainment.

A brief history

Stephane Ratel organised his first race in June 1992 at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit. In doing so he launched the Gentleman Drivers Trophy, a one-make series using production models from French manufacturer Venturi, while also beginning an involvement with GT racing that continues to this day. 

By this time Patrick Peter had been running the Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or in Montlhéry for several years and had recently revived the Tour Auto. In August 1993 the two men joined forces to stage a GT race at Circuit Paul Ricard, which led to an even greater adventure in 1994 when they added Jürgen Barth to their group and founded the BPR Global GT Series. 

The new championship was a smash hit and instigated a worldwide renaissance in GT racing that has since taken the discipline back to the forefront of international motorsport. While Peter subsequently returned to his first love, historic racing, Ratel continued to focus his efforts on modern competition. 

The success of the BPR concept led Ratel to organise the FIA ​​GT Championship, while SRO Motorsports Group began its involvement with the TotalEnergies of Spa in 2001, ushering in a new era of GT racing. Today it is among the most prestigious events in the sport and represents the marquee round for Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS and Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli. 
 

GT Anniversary 2022

The annual trip to Spa-Francorchamps remains an essential aspect of SRO Motorsports Group’s activities, with Stephane Ratel describing the event as “the cornerstone of everything we have done.” As such, it is the ideal place to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary. To ensure something truly special, Stephane Ratel turned to his long-time friend Patrick Peter. 

A field of historic machinery will be assembled for GT Anniversary 2022, with the eligible cars ranging from the Venturi 400 that began it all to recent GT3 favourites such as the Audi R8 LMS, Mercedes SLS AMG and Bentley Continental. In between, the list also features the Ferrari F40, McLaren F1-GTR, Porsche 911 GT1, Chrysler Viper GTS-R, Ferrari F550 Prodrive, Maserati MC12 GT1, Aston Martin DBR9, Lamborghini Murcielago GT1, Nissan GTR GT1, and many more.

GT Anniversary 2022 will join a busy programme of support action and off-track entertainment at this year’s TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa, including contemporary GT and single-seater series, the parade, and the return of the Saturday night music concert. The official test days are scheduled for 21-22 June, while the main event runs from 28-31 July.

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Open to GT cars having participated in the following events

12 Hours of Sebring (1994-2010)
24 Hours of Daytona (1994-2010)
24 Hours of Le Mans (1994-2010)
American Le Mans Series (1999-2010)
BPR Global GT Series (1994-1996)
FIA GT (1997-2009)
FIA GT3 European Championship (2006-2010)
Le Mans Series (2006-2010)
LMES (2001, 2003-2005)

Cars classified as follows

GT1A Class              
GT1/GTS (FIA/ACO) 1994 to 1998
GTS-1 (IMSA) 1994 to 1998

GT1B Class            
GTS/GT1 (ACO) 1999 to 2010
GT/GT1 (FIA) 1999 to 2010

GT2A Class           
GT2/GT (ACO/FIA) 1994 to 1998
GTS-2 (IMSA) 1994 to 1998

GT2B Class          
GT/GT2 (ACO) 1999 to 2005
N-GT/GT2/G2 (FIA) 1999 to 2005

GT2C Class         
GT/GT2 (ACO) 2006 to 2010
GT2/G2 (FIA) 2006 to 2010

GT3 Class              
GT3 FIA 2006 to 2010

Source. SRO Motorsports Group/Photo. The Editor