The 2021 calendar of the GT World Challenge Europe still had a gap to be filled and questions to answer, and between the venues left aside in 2020 and the alternatives used, none of them were chosen, with SRO opting to bring a new circuit, being it the Circuito Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain.
The Spanish venue is mostly known for the Valencian Community MotoGP race, but it has its fair share of GT and touring car racing, with SRO even having a visit with the FIA GT Championship for a 500 kilometer race, which even had some current names of GT racing like Stéphane Ortelli and Chris Goodwin and a certain Toto Wolff still in the cockpit.
The 4 kilometer long circuit located around 400kilometers southwest of another GT World Challenge Europe venue, the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, and SRO’s idea was not only to see Valencia close the Sprint Cup calendar, but also to have a Spanish back to back trip to end the season, like it was done in previous occasions in Italy, with Monza and Misano, and in the United Kingdom, from Brands Hatch to Silverstone, with the goal of reducing the logistical burden and costs, as well to reduce environmental impact from the operations.
The inclusion of Valencia ends with the possibility of a return for Silverstone, which was scrapped this year as the UK went into lockdown right at the Endurance Cup event date along with Brands Hatch, but the Kent based venue found its way back for a Sprint Cup event in May. The other circuit that said goodbye to the GT World Challenge Europe schedule was Hungaroring, which gave place to Magny-Cours, which turned from a late alternative in 2020 into a permanent visit in 2021.
The Valencia round of the GT World Challenge Europe will be held on 25th and 26th September with the usual two races of one hour of length, with the whole calendar returning to 10 events spread evenly between Sprint and Endurance Cup.
PHOTOS: Circuito Ricardo Tormo
Comments
Post a Comment
Do you have an opinion? Feel free to comment.