Reviewing 2020 - Intercontinental GT Challenge

The last season of the Intercontinental GT Challenge started as normal, but then followed the other motorsport competitions in terms of turning to the worse, but still saved the year in some way. Here is a review of what happened in the four rounds and how BMW and Porsche lifted the titles, as well talking about some other points.

-Bathurst, and the stellar show from Bentley

The start of 2020 had Bentley starting to shift its focus towards its customer teams, in a way better picture than how the Crewe manufacturer ended the year, and M-SPORT was still taking care of the IGTC entries in between the customer support duties, and Bathurst was their best show.

It wasn’t just frontrunner pace all around, as 12 hours in a treacherous circuit like Mount Panorama can show disaster in many forms for any entry on track, like mechanical problems, violent crashes, punctures, you name it. FFF Racing, Absolute, R-Motorsport, Honda, GruppeM, MPC and even M-SPORT had bad moments, but in a game survival, M-SPORT beat GruppeM with the No. 7 Bentley avoiding major trouble aside a late puncture to conquer the mountain.

-Intermission - No visit to Asia for you

After Bathurst came the situation the entire World got itself into, throwing every single motorsport competition into a long pause, and when everything returned, three main points were the problems to face, being them travel restrictions, logistical constraints and health protocols. Japan was and still is on the strict side of the third one, which affected the first one, meaning that no international races would be viable in Japan, Suzuka 10 Hours included. GT World Challenge Asia still had a calendar in place, and when the Japanese races got cancelled, the outcome of the Japanese IGTC round was predicted. China was seen as an alternative, but time going fast and no plans materializing, the Asian round was scrapped for good.

The idea is that the Suzuka 10 Hours will return in 2021, but Japan needs to be in a better situation regarding the COVID-19 outbreak control for it to be a reality.

-Indianapolis was the BMW land

Acura and Bentley really tried hard at the temple of speed, but basically the first Indianapolis 8 Hour could be resumed into “If you’re not Bavarian, you’re wrong” or something alike. It’s true that Walkenhorst Motorsport only had total control at the halfway mark, and that rain, punctures and mechanical failures took care of wiping out the competition, but once in the top for real, the pair of BMWs just managed their good pace, especially because the rain was out of the factors to consider, proving that in the right hands the quite aged BMW M6 GT3 still had performance. If you still couldn’t consider this a BMW day, the commanding win for Bimmerworld in the GT4 class may serve as another proof.

-Porsches like the wet Ardennes

You rarely see an event at Spa-Francorchamps getting criticism, but with staff limitations on track, race control couldn’t enforce the racing lines in all corners, so practice and qualifying were done with barely no track limits, with basically every driver going all out and wide were asphalt was alongside the white lines. The amount of complains was in the paddock too, so the normal limits were enforced again in the race.

The race itself was looking to be a Mercedes show with AKKA-ASP commanding from the green while the factory-blessed Porsches, Audis, Lamborghinis and a thriving Honda were exchanging blows for the top positions. The battle royale kept going, but the No. 88 AKKA-ASP Mercedes not due to damage caused by a detached wheel. Being a race leader looked like some sort of curse, as Dennis Lind discovered in the early morning when the No. 63 FFF Lamborghini found the Radillion barriers due to a slippery track.

It was and Audi show under tricky weather for some good hours, but then the No. 98 ROWE Porsche came with an excellent run under moderate rain, and not even gearbox problems and oil leak took the victory away from the Porsche.

-BMW stole Honda’s candy at Kyalami

The season ended with the smallest grid seen, but out of the 12 entries in South Africa, 10 were in the Pro Cup, meaning that quality would prevail over quantity, and this was proven during most of the nine hours. Honda had it in control while it was dry, leaving the clashes to the Audis, Porsches, BMWs and Bentleys behind, but as a repeat of the 2019 edition, the rain couldn’t leave the competitors and all water possible was brought to Kyalami.

With the track neutralized by full course yellows due to the rain, pit strategy played an important part in the game, and basically took out the chances of the leading Honda, handing the top spot near the end to the No. 34 Walkenhorst BMW thanks to other changes, which turned eventually into the race win and title for Augusto Farfus and Nicky Catsburg, while Porsche was the champion manufacturer.

The conclusion is that the 2020 season was up for grabs for anybody, especially as the rain played an important in all races except Bathurst, so dealing with the unexpected is in fact a skill to be successful. Farfus and Catsburg scored points in half of the races, being literally win it or bin it as the 50 points were enough to lift the trophy. Porsche on the other hand, relied in the consistency of its representative teams to be champion, with the win at Spa being pivotal in their bid.

Bathurst will certainly be missing in 2021, but all the other races will likely occur as scheduled, and IGTC never disappoints in terms of thrill.

PHOTOS: SRO/Kevin Pecks, Brian Cleary, Patrick Hecq, Dirk Bogaerts