SRO Motorsports Group given Honorary Award at RACB Awards

The Royal Automobile Club of Belgium has given its annual Honorary Award to the SRO Motorsports Group, for its successful organisation and promotion of GT racing across the globe.

The traditional RACB Awards took place at the Auditorium 2000 in Brussels on Thursday night. Throughout the evening, Belgium’s motorsports champions were in the spotlight, but the RACB also used the occasion to hand out its annual Honorary Award, to an organisation or person that has made a considerable contribution to motorsports.

With the lasting success of the Blancpain GT Series and its blue riband event the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the recent creation of the Intercontinental GT Challenge – the only global series for GT3 cars – a successful first season of the Blancpain GT Series Asia and the ever growing popularity of GT4 championships, the SRO Motorsports Group has proven time and again to be the global reference when it comes to organising and promoting GT races and championships.

It was Stephane Ratel, founder and CEO of the SRO Motorsports Group, who received the applause and the cheers from the guests in the Auditorium 2000 when collecting the RACB Honorary Award.

Stephane Ratel (Founder and CEO SRO Motorsports Group): “On behalf of the SRO Motorsports Group, we are very honoured to have been given this award. It is a reward for several decades of hard work from everyone at the organisation. At times it has not been easy, but this award shows that we are on the right path. This does not mean we will sit on our laurels, we will keep on pushing to increase the popularity of GT racing across the globe. That is why we are very much looking forward to the new GT4 Belgium Cup, which will be introduced next year. I would also like to take this occasion to thank the RACB for an excellent collaboration in organising our events, especially at the Total 24 Hours of Spa.”

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SRO Motorsports Group – The architect of modern GT racing

Over the last 25 years SRO has specialised in the promotion and organisation of motorsport series around the world. Inextricably linked with GT racing’s revival, SRO predominantly promotes categories that adhere to its successful GT3 and GT4 regulations. Indeed, these rules – a common framework allowing manufacturers, teams and drivers to compete equally with one another – has helped establish SRO as the global leader in customer GT racing.

Today, SRO’s influence and organisation can be seen around the world. Its flagship remains the European-based Blancpain GT Series, which features both the Sprint and Endurance Cups. Its annual highlight remains the iconic Total 24 Hours of Spa.

The same Pirelli tyres and Balance of Performance parameters governing the Blancpain GT Series have also been adopted in the United States by the Pirelli World Challenge (of which SRO is also a major shareholder), while SRO expanded its successful platform East in 2017 by establishing Blancpain GT Series Asia.

In addition, the world’s best GT races from all four corners of the globe are brought together under the Intercontinental GT Challenge. 2018’s edition features three events personally overseen by SRO – the Total 24 Hours of Spa, inaugural Suzuka 10 Hours, and Mazda Raceway California 8 Hours – as well as the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

SRO is also strong domestically. The multi-class British GT Championship, which it has presided over since 2005, pairs GT3 with GT4 machinery, while France’s national series – now known as the FFSA GT4 European Series Southern Cup – was added to its existing Northern Cup counterpart in 2017.

But that’s not all. SRO’s world-renowned Balance of Performance regulations are licensed by other series running GT3 and/or GT4 machinery, such as Super GT in Japan, the Australian GT Championship and China GT. This global influence has not gone unnoticed by motorsport’s world governing body, the FIA, who work closely with SRO when organising its prestigious Macau FIA GT World Cup race.

While Macau caters solely for professional teams and drivers, SRO also understands the important role amateurs play in GT racing’s global success and sustainability. That’s why it operates the SRO Race Centre by MMC – a high-level technical centre at Paul Ricard Circuit in southern France – and Curbstone Track Events, which provide ultimate track driving opportunities on world-renowned circuits. Many of its clients have subsequently graduated to the Blancpain GT Sports Club, a first competitive step towards gaining the confidence and racecraft required to compete in a Pro/Am environment.

Likewise, select European race weekends feature the GT1 Ultracar Sports Club where the world’s fastest and most technologically advanced limited-production road and track-only cars gather to demonstrate their awesome capabilities. This very exclusive series also includes the finest racers to have ever graced the world GT championships’ premier category from 1994 to 2011.

SRO Motorsports Group is chaired by company founder and CEO Stephane Ratel and has offices in London, Paris, Liège and Hong Kong. Its dedicated team of full-time and freelance staff work with the support of numerous national sporting authorities and sanctioning bodies to offer teams, drivers and manufacturers the world’s best professional, Pro/Am and amateur GT racing platforms.

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Photocredit George Decoster