Sportscar rule changes for 2001

Both the FIA GT Championship and the SRWC - which has been renamed as the FIA Sportscar Championship - are to undergo major changes to regulations for the 2001 season in order to raise the competition within the series while keeping costs down.

FIA GT qualifying is to adopt a novel method to shake up the order of the front-runners at the top of the grid. The six quickest drivers in each class (GT and N-GT) will take part in a Super Pole qualifying session where each driver will get one flying lap to determine grid position. The Super Pole session will decide the top 12 places, but the remaining cars will follow the usual qualifying procedure.

The number of cars competing in the championship is also to be reduced to 30 with two further places available to teams from the country in which a race is being held. The car models entered will not be allowed to be run exclusively by just one team and a minimum of six cars must be sold to different teams for a specific car type to be allowed in the series.

Technical changes are the order of the day for the FIA Sportscar Championship series, with rear diffusers and carbon fibre brake discs being legalised for next year. A second more lightweight category is also to be introduced, known as the Sports Racing Cars Light Class. The minimum weight will be 720kg and the cars will use six-cylinder, normally-aspirated engines derived from a volume production unit.



April 8 SPAIN Barcelona
April 22 ITALY Monza
May 13 BELGIUM Spa-Francorchamps
July 1 CZECH-REPUBLIC Brno
July 15 ITALY Imola
July 29 FRANCE Magny-Cours
August 26 GREAT BRITAIN Donington
September 16 GERMANY Nurburgring
November 25 SOUTH AFRICA Kyalami