SRO releases GTWC Asia 2023 calendar

Venue replacements and calendar will mark a considerably changed 2023 calendar for FANATEC GT World Challenge Asia, with SRO having released the first sketch last week.

The format with 12 races at 6 circuits, with four of them being part of the recently created FANATEC Japan Cup will be kept for the next season, but the list of venues and its order will suffer sensible changes in comparison to 2022.

Also, GTWC Asia will be still the only of SRO's flagship series to not have an Intercontinental GT Challenge round in the schedule, as the Suzuka 10 Hours gives its place to the Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi.

Out of the most noticeable changes is that the Mandalika Street Course in Indonesia is set to not return next year, as SRO decided to cancel the proposed 2022 finale due to changes in the circuit to receive car racing not being completed in time. In its place, the Chang International Circuit at Buriram is returning to be the series opener, having been kept off due to the COVID problems that Thailand was facing.

The travel restrictions to Thailand weren't stopping the activities at Buriram, as the Thailand Super Series made it the competition's home venue, hosting most of the series schedule since 2020.

The Japan Cup will start at Fuji, with the mountain based circuit having its date brought back, which eliminates the consecutive weekends in the series. Suzuka and Motegi are the July rounds, with the latter replacing Sportsland SUGO, while Okayama keeps its position as the Japan Cup finale in August. SUGO still has an opportunity to return to GTWC Asia in the future, so it isn't completely discarded.

Having been moved from its opening spot for the first time ever, Sepang now closes the season at an unconfirmed date in September. Being a regular stop for most Asian competitions, the Malaysian circuit is expected to see an improved grid from the 8 cars seen this year with the series gaining traction again. The exact date of the finale depends on the general Asian calendar to see SRO finally make a decision.

The race format of two races of one hour and the class structure that has GT3 Pro-Am, Silver and Am Cups and GT4 Silver and Am Cups will be kept unchanged, though SRO is making an extra push to see GT2 machinery competing in the series.

Provisional 2023 GTWC Asia calendar:

13-14 May - Buriram

17-18 June - Fuji (Japan Cup round)

1-2 July - Suzuka (Japan Cup round)

22-23 July - Motegi (Japan Cup round)

19-20 August - Okayama (Japan Cup round)

TBC September - Sepang

PHOTO: SRO