There will be no clash of dates next year between three of the world's top GT series. The ADAC and Stéphane Ratel's SRO Motorsport Group have aligned their calendars for 2021 to make it possible for teams and drivers to contest the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli, the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the International German GT Championship in the ADAC GT Masters. Also, the ADAC and SRO intend to go on working together and intensify cooperation in other areas.
In order to align the calendars, the ADAC GT Masters race in Zandvoort (NL) moves to 9-11 July, the season finale in Hockenheim is postponed by a week to 22-24 October. With the confirmation of the official preseason test of the ADAC GT Masters, the 2021 calendar is now complete. The official test will take place from April 19 to 21 in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
"The ADAC GT Masters and Stéphane Ratel's SRO Motorsports Group have worked together successful for many years now," said ADAC Sports President Hermann Tomczyk. "We are pleased that we are gradually intensifying our partnership. We feel that it is very important to coordinate our calendars of events so that teams and drivers can take part in the world's most important GT3 races without any clashes, and we managed it."
Stephane Ratel, Founder and CEO SRO Motorsports Group: "Through the close ties we have established over recent years our working relationship with the ADAC GT Masters continues to grow stronger. Firstly, I am pleased that they will once again use our Balance of Performance criteria for GT3 and GT4 cars next season. Aligning calendars was a natural decision and we thank the ADAC for its efforts to ensure that teams and drivers can compete in three major championships without facing any clashes. Many competitors are already familiar in both paddocks and I hope that through this initiative we can forge even greater links between our series."
In terms of Balance of Performance, the ADAC GT Masters continues to rely on the internationally recognized SRO system for both the GT3 and GT4 cars in the ADAC GT4 Germany, in which data from numerous GT series from Europe, North America and Asia are considered. Last season is an indicator of just how well it works. With 24 different drivers from twelve outfits, the race series produced more winners than ever before. The ADAC GT Masters had a particularly fine showing in qualifying at the Lausitzring, as 31 vehicles were covered by just one second. It was the closest qualifying in the 14 seasons that the championship has been contested.
Calendar for the 2021 ADAC GT Masters (subject to confirmation)
14/05/21 - 16/05/2021 Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
11/06/21 - 13/06/2021 Red Bull Ring (AUT)
09/07/21 - 11/07/2021 CM.com Circuit Zandvoort (NL)
06/08/21 - 08/08/2021 Nürburgring
10/09/21 - 12/09/2021 DEKRA Lausitzring
01/10/21 - 03/10/2021 Sachsenring
22/10/21 - 24/10/2021 Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg