MOTOR

102 march 2015 motormag.com.au

make-up. Like the late ’90s epoch

of international GT racing that

saw dominant homologation

specials like the McLaren F1

GTR, Porsche 911 GT1 and

Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR,

the sport might become a

victim of its own excess.

Customers will gravitate to

whatever car is fastest.

Manufacturer participation,

meanwhile, would dissolve into

a contest of resource to create the

winning car. Such a car would become

unbeatable, and expensive, and the gap

between affordable one-make series and

big-stage GT racing would be a bridge

too far for aspiring competitors.

Nobody would want that for the GT3

category, at least not for the racing. It

simply takes one YouTube search of

last year’s Bathurst 12 Hour finish to

confirm why. An epic duel between an

Aussie touring car hero and European

counterpart in two different supercars

to the last lap? Riveting in anyone’s

language – and, some say, so

popular, V8 Supercars itself

feels threatened. This year’s

Bathurst epic, with two-factory

supported Bentleys in the fray,

should be even better.

Bentley doesn’t want to

just take in our scenery here

in Australia, either. It wants

to win. Impressive when Gush

admits there’s an omnipresent

advantage enjoyed by cars like the

Ferrari 458 GT3 that won last year. “A

mid-engine sports car ... will always

be at an advantage over a front-engine

four-seater.”

However, after such a strong 2014

season in the Blancpain Endurance

Series, Bentley’s proved GT3 doesn’t

discriminate. Everyone’s equal should

they apply the right ethic. Picture a

Bentley, a McLaren, a Ferrari, perhaps

even a kangaroo, charging down Forest

Elbow...M

IN THE BEGINNING
GT3 racing owes a lot to one man:
Stephane Ratel. Following the demise of
Group C it was Ratel, along with Patrick
Peter and German engineer Jürgen Barth,
who created the BPR GT Series to revive
global GT racing. It didn’t last long.
As popularity grew, the top-fl ight GT1
category became a fi ghting ground for
marques. By 1997, amateur categories, like
GT3, disappeared.
In 2005, after GT1 had died, Ratel
decided to instil global GT racing with the
accessibility that once defi ned it. For that
to happen a new category had to be fair
and cheap.
To address costs Ratel and the FIA
considered infusing a fi eld with cars from
various one-make series, but each car’s
speed would have wildly varied. However,
the FIA had created the balance of
performance system for its 2005 FIA GT
Championship, it proved such a success it
was adopted for GT3 in 2006 and remains
a cornerstone of the series today.

AUDI R8

LMS ULTRA

Active years:

2009-present

Biggest 2014 win:

Spa 24 Hour

Engine:

5.2-litre V10

Power:

365kW-412kW

Chassis: Aluminium

Weight: 1250kg

Cost: €350,000

AUDI

BENTLEY PROVED GT3 DOESN’T DISCRIMINATE

BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT3

Active years: 2014 - present

Biggest 2014 win: Silverstone Pro

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo

Power: 373kW

Chassis: Steel

Weight: 1300kg

Price: ¤368,000