Johannesburg - South Africa's new premier racing series, the Global Touring Car championship, will now be called the Sasol GTC championship.
The oil-from-coal producer has come on board as series sponsor, official fuel supplier and TV broadcast sponsor for the series of seven rounds, with each race day featuring two 50km races. Each race will be shown on SuperSport in a 52-minute broadcast.
GTC combines elements from the British Touring Car series, Australian V8 Supercars and the German DTM, adapted to appeal to manufacturers in the South African market, and has already attracted entries from BMW, Audi and Volkswagen, with more manufacturers expected join the series in 2017.
Common Specification
@gtcautoracing BMW M2 livery for Gennaro Bonafede and Hennie Groenewald. @SasolSA #sasolgtc pic.twitter.com/EQn0P04LLu
— Poor Boy (@PoorBoyLtd) June 9, 2016
@gtcautoracing VW Jetta Livery for Graeme Nathan and Gugu Zulu. @SasolSA #sasolgtc pic.twitter.com/ThiyAX6V3N
— Poor Boy (@PoorBoyLtd) June 9, 2016
@gtcautoracing Audi S3 livery for Simon Moss and Michael Stephen. @SasolSA #sasolgtc pic.twitter.com/tvo05z3Iz4
— Poor Boy (@PoorBoyLtd) June 9, 2016
@gtcautoracing BMW M2 livery for Johan Fourie. @sasol #sasolgtc pic.twitter.com/yfpdkEywzL
— Poor Boy (@PoorBoyLtd) June 9, 2016
@gtcautoracing BMW M2 livery for Michael van Rooyen. @sasol #sasolgtc pic.twitter.com/BvpVwkAdmE
— Poor Boy (@PoorBoyLtd) June 9, 2016
Each car has a two-litre turbopetrol four developing 325kW and 600N, driving the rear wheels via common-specification running gear. Regulated components include the six-speed, paddle-shift Albin sequential gearbox, brakes, shock absorbers, suspension and Dunlop slick tyres.
GTC expects the cars to reach 280km/h at fast tracks such as East London, with spectacular visual and sound effects as their turbos Crackle, pop and spit flame on the overrun.
The class regulations have been frozen for five years, with development banned to prevent 'cheque-book racing' - where the car that has had the most money spent on it consistently wins. This should place the emphasis on driver skill, allowing privateers to compete with the manufacturer's teams on an equal footing.
GTC Production
Also on the grid will be the first five GTC Production cars. This is an entry-level class open to standard, front-wheel drive cars with two-litre turbopetrol engines, limited to a little more than 200kW.
The class is intended to act as a feeder series for Global Touring Cars, by attracting young drivers from the junior racing categories.
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