SRO America Showcases Opportunities at 2018 PRI Show

SRO America Showcases Opportunities at 2018 PRI Show

SRO Motorsports America recently completed its championship review and a reveal of the upcoming season at the Performance Racing Industry trade show in Indianapolis, Indiana. The North American division of the Stephane Ratel Organization, formerly operating as WC Vision, LLC and the producers of the also-renamed World Challenge series in North America awarded its 2018 season winners and honorees in addition to highlighting the changes for the upcoming season and beyond.

Pirelli World Challenge Awards Banquet
The Pirelli World Challenge Awards Banquet, again consolidated to a single event this year, saw partners and competitors from all classes recognized and rewarded for achievements in the 2018 season.

Awardees came together at the Indiana Rooftop Ballroom to celebrate season accomplishments and recognize special honorees that exemplified the World Challenge spirit.

Crew of the Year Awards
TCA – Ian Lacy Racing
TC – Rooster Hall Racing
TCR – FCP Euro by HRD
GTS – KPR Klenin Performance Racing
GT – K-PAX Racing

Rookie of the Year Awards
TCA – Jenny Gannett
TCR – Nate Vincent
GTS – Alan Brynjolfsson

Touring Car Awards
TCA Driver Champion – Tom O’Gorman
TCA Team Champion – TechSport Racing
TCA Manufacturer Champion – Subaru
TC Driver Champion – Vesko Kozarov
TC Team Champion – Classic BMW / FastTrack Racing
TC Manufacturer Champion – BMW
TCR Driver Champion – Ryan Eversley
TCR Team Champion – Bryan Herta Autosport
TCR Manufacturer Champion – Hyundai

GTS Awards
GTSA Sprint Driver Champion – Jeff Courtney
GTS Sprint Driver Champion – James Sofronas
GTS Sprint Team Champion – Blackdog Speed Shop
GTS SprintX Am Driver Champion – Drew Staveley
GTS SprintX Driver Pro-Am Champion and Sportsman Cup – James Sofronas / Alex Welch (Sportsman Cup)
GTS SprintX Team Sportsman Cup – GMG Motorsport
GTS Overall Driver Champion – James Sofronas
GTS Manufacturer Champion – Panoz

GT Awards
GT Cup SprintX Driver Champion – Ryan Hardwick
GT Cup SprintX Team Champion – Dream Racing
GTA Sprint Driver Champion – Martin Fuentes
GT Sprint Driver Champion – Scott Hargrove
GT Sprint Team Champion – K-PAX Racing
GT SprintX Am Driver Champions – Caeser Bacarella / Martin Fuentes
GT SprintX Pro-Am Champion and Sportsman Cup – Ryan Dalziel / Parker Chase (Sportsman Cup)
GT SprintX Pro Driver Champions – Toni Vilander / Miguel Molina
GT SprintX Team Sportsman Cup – R. Ferri Motorsport
GT Overall Driver Champion – Toni Vilander
GT Manufacturer Champion – Ferrari

VP Racing Hard Charger Award
Michael Cooper and Tony Gaples

Jim Cook Award
Darren Law

Jerome Zimmerman Award
Yuki Tsutsumi, Classic BMW / FastTrack Racing

PRI Show
In partnership with USAC, SRO America also presented on the show floor of this year’s Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show.

The booth featured the 2018 GT championship winning R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3 as the centerpiece, drawing large crowds eyeing the high-tech machinery. In the wings, the SRO America staff discussed all things 2019 with potential participants and partners.

Some of the 2019 partners were on-hand to meet with series stakeholders and to begin their respective activations within the series.

A large thanks to everyone that stopped by the booth and got an advance preview into the 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America properties.

State of the Series Announcements
Part of the week’s presentation included the 2018-2019 State of the Series announcement, updating the the series packages for 2019.

One of the highlights of the SOTS announcements includes the Enhanced Television Package, featuring 100 hours of Live or Same-Day GT3 broadcasts on CBS Sports Network. On GT double-header race weekends, the programming will consist of highlights of the first race followed by live, flag-to-flag coverage of the second race. GT4 and TC class programs will air the week following the race weekend.

Returning partners from last year include CrowdStrike, Forgeline Wheels, Optima Batteries, and Security National Mortgage. Coming back to the series in updated, expanded, or revised roles are Pirelli Tires and VP Racing Fuels/Lubricants. Finally, new partners formally welcomed into the series include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Opti-Coast, Purple Monkey Garage, Skip Barber Racing School, and new GT3 World Challenge America title sponsor Blancpain.

More showcased points for the upcoming season includes enhanced live-streaming featuring “truly free” no-paywall streaming, no geo-blocking of broadcasts, and live-streaming of qualifying sessions. Expanded event activations, including the launch of the new regular car-show series, were also presented, as was the soon-to-be-implemented GT Paddock Club.

The 2018-2019 State of the Series presentation can be downloaded from the following link:
https://files.world-challenge.com/marketing/2018-2019-SRO-StateSeries.pdf


SRO Motorsports Group, the architect of modern GT racing
Over the past 25 years SRO has specialised in the promotion and organisation of motorsport series around the world. Inextricably linked with GT racing’s revival in the early 1990s, currently SRO predominantly promotes series that adhere to the successful GT3 and GT4 regulations. Indeed, these rules – a common framework allowing manufacturers, teams and drivers to compete equally with one another – have helped to establish SRO as the global leader in customer GT racing.

Today, SRO’s influence and organisation can be seen around the world. Its flagship continues to be 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.

SRO Motorsports Group is chaired by company founder and CEO Stephane Ratel and has offices in London, Paris, Liège, Austin, 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.