GT and GT3
Key achievements
- The FIA GT World Cup returned to Macau, for the first time since 2019
- The FIA GT World Cup ran on sustainable fuels for the first time
- The FIA have supported the continued growth of GT3
FIA GT World Cup
In 2023, the FIA GT World Cup returned to the streets of Macau for the first time since 2019. This year marked the 70th Anniversary of the iconic Macau Grand Prix.
After such a long pause, there was significant interest in the event, with manufacturer-supported entries from Mercedes AMG, Porsche, Audi, BMW and Ferrari contributing to a strong 20-car grid. In his final event as a Mercedes AMG Factory Driver, Raffaele Marciello dominated the competition, qualifying on pole and winning both races to retain the title he won in 2019. Eduardo Mortara of Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute took second with Augusto Farfus for ROWE Racing BMW in third.
The FIA also secured the long-term future of the event this year. Three-year contracts were signed with organiser Automobile General Association Macao-China (AAMC) and suppliers Pirelli (Tires) and ETS (fuel). These agreements, together with the federation’s ongoing partnership with SRO (to build the grid), will give the event stability through 2024-2025.
Sustainable technology
This year’s GT World Cup was the first to be run on sustainable fuels. Building on work carried out by the FIA Technical Department in 2022 and 2023, ETS Racing Fuels provided the new sustainable fuel, manufactured from 50% renewable elements. The FIA has also initiated a testing programme for fuels made from 100% renewable elements ahead of the 2024 event – one year ahead of schedule.
In addition to the work being done for GT3, the FIA has also created an all-new set of Technical Regulations for Electric Sport Vehicles (Group eSV). These regulations will allow road going electric cars to be modified for competition use across a wide variety of disciplines, including circuit racing, rallying and hill climbs.
Other competitions
Elsewhere, GT3 racing continues to thrive with record entry lists around the world and additional series adopting the category. Following DTM’s move to GT3 in 2022, the European Le Mans Series and FIA World Endurance Championship also announced that they would adopt GT3 in 2024. Ferrari, Chevrolet and Ford are the latest to support this boom – homologating new models within the past 12 months, with further new cars and evolutions of existing models from other manufacturers expected in the years to come.
FIA Touring Car Commission
Key achievements
- The FIA and WSC agreed to make the TCR World Tour an FIA-titled Competition.
In late 2022, following the conclusion of a five-year contractual term, the promoter of the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup decided to end the competition. The licence reverted back to the TCR Rights Owners, WSC, who launched a new concept and competition, the TCR World Tour. This aimed to combine the best events from national and regional series, and give an opportunity for manufacturer-supported teams and privateers to race side-by-side at some of the world’s most iconic Touring Car circuits.
Following extensive negotiations, WSC and the FIA agreed to declare the TCR World Tour an FIA-titled series in 2024.
WSC will also promote a second, standalone FIA competition as a World Final. This will bring together the different regional and national TCR champions to compete for an FIA title.
E Touring Car World Cup
Despite significant preparations, the second season of the FIA ETCR E Touring Car World Cup was unfortunately cancelled due to insufficient manufacturer interest. As a result, the promoter forfeited their licence rights for the competition, and the FIA is now in the process of terminating its promotion contract with that party. Separate negotiations to continue the competition under a different promoter were ultimately unsuccessful and the FIA has no immediate plans to continue this competition.
Instead, the FIA now aims to develop (and fully own) a top-level Touring Car competition, utilising market-relevant technologies.
Grassroots
At the lower level, work continues on new projects to encourage greater participation in Touring Car disciplines, with a reinvigoration of the Touring Car Lite (TCL) category designed for junior drivers. A separate project is also underway to provide technical guidelines for grassroots Touring Car competitions in developing markets.
