Group GT1#List of FIA GT1 cars
{{Short description|Former set of regulations held for grand tourer race cars}}
File:1995 McLaren F1 GTR (20195044452).jpg, a GT1 car from the early era, which made its debut in 1995. This car is chassis #06R, also known as #29 Harrods Mach One Racing]]
Group GT1, also known simply as GT1, was a set of regulations maintained formerly by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), for Grand Tourer racing. The category was first created in 1993, as the top class of the BPR Global GT Series, and was included in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It fell under FIA regulation from 1997, after the BPR series came under the control of the FIA, becoming known as the FIA GT Championship. The category was dissolved at the end of 2011. The category may be split into four distinctive eras, from its debut in 1993–1996, 1997–1998, 2000–2009, 2010–2011.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sportscar-racing.thesaxbys.co.uk/gt.htm|title=GT Racing in the late 90s: The return of sportscars |website=www.sportscar-racing.thesaxbys.co.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://historicmotorsportcentral.com/2020/11/11/focusgt1/|title=#Focus – GT1 and {{as written|i|t's [sic]}} true loophole story.|first=Louis|last=Quiniou|date=November 11, 2020 |access-date=19 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116082527if_/https://historicmotorsportcentral.com/2020/11/11/focusgt1/ |archive-date=16 November 2022 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.gt-world-challenge-europe.com/news/2243/sro-motorsports-group-to-celebrate-30th-anniversary-with-historic-gt-race-at-totalenergies-24-hours-of-spa|title=SRO Motorsports Group to celebrate 30th anniversary with historic GT race at TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa|date=February 18, 2022|website=Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.speedhunters.com/2010/03/gallery_gt_gt_fia_gt1_world_championship_launch_2010/|title=Gallery>> Fia Gt1 World Championship Launch|date=March 5, 2010|website=Speedhunters}}
Early years (1993–1996)
File:Jaguar XJ220 GT at Goodwood 2014 003.jpg, used in the Italian GT Championship in 1993]]
The class which was to become known as "GT1" was debuted by the ACO (Automobile Club de l'Ouest) at the 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans, under the name Group GT.{{cite web|url=https://keentechracing.co.uk/2021/05/03/the-history-of-le-mans-1993/|title=The History Of Le Mans 1993|date=3 May 2021 |access-date=19 November 2022}} The class was first defined in the FIA Appendix J regulations, as Group GT, in 1993.{{cite web|url=https://historicdb.fia.com/sites/default/files/regulations/1448546991/annexe_j_1993_low.pdf|title=fédération internationale de l'automobile annuaire du sport automobile '93 year book of automobile sport 26e édition/26th edition|access-date=29 November 2022}}
In 1994, following the collapse of the FIA World Sportscar Championship in 1992, BPR Global GT series was founded by Jürgen Barth, Patrick Peter, and Stephane Ratel (with their last names forming the name of series organizer BPR), as a championship for privateers, with four hour long endurance races.{{Cite web|url=http://www.doubledeclutch.com/?tag=bpr-global-gt-series|title=BPR Global GT Series {{!}} DoubleDeClutch.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-01-06}} Barth, an ex Le Mans winner, was manager of the customer competitions department at Porsche, Peter was a well-respected race promoter, while Ratel was an executive/investor in the Venturi GT1 project. The Series had four categories, namely GT1-4, with each decreasing number signifying increased freedom in its technical regulations. By 1996 however, the championship had grown, with the grids of the championship growing due to an influx of cars from several makes in the top GT1 class, such as the McLaren F1 GTR, and the new Porsche 911 GT2 Evolution based on the new 993 chassis, which replaced the 964 platform 911 Carrera RSRs that had once dominated the series grids. In addition, professional teams had also begun to enter the championship that had once been intended for privateers, which caused costs to increase dramatically. Porsche even sent in a factory team to several rounds, with its 911 GT1, which was thought by most in the series paddock as being built against of the spirit of the rules, because it was a Porsche 962 with just the front of the chassis being shared with a Type 993 911, and it having a street variant simply for the sake of meeting its homologation requirement.{{Cite web|url=https://drivemag.com/red-calipers/this-is-the-story-of-the-porsche-911-gt1|title=This is the story of the Porsche 911 GT1|last=Limited|first=Last Gear Publishing & Mobiventura|website=Drive Mag|date=28 June 2018 |access-date=2019-01-06}} The homologation special method was not new however, with Porsche having already earlier collaborated with Dauer Sportwagen to race the Dauer 962 Le Mans in 1994 (at the time of homologation, only one road car existed) to effectively score the last Le Mans victory for the Porsche 962 series, and Toyota heavily modifying the Toyota MR2 into the SARD MC8-R for the following year's race, also joined by a more pure road derived Toyota Supra and national rivals Nissan Skyline GT-R (both of which had also competed in JGTC with identical specifications) and Honda NSX that year.
Prototype years (1997–1998)
File:Porsche 911 GT1-96 front-left Porsche Museum.jpg which would mark the beginning of the GT1 Prototype era]]
Following the loss of Patrick Peter from the BPR Organisation, the BPR Organisation evolved into the Stephane Ratel Organisation, with the SRO now co-organising the championship with the FIA. With this change, it saw an even larger influx of professional teams and manufacturers, with the whole grid of the GT1 class consisting of nothing but professional teams. The 1997 season saw the entry of the Mercedes-AMG Team, who would debut the CLK GTR. Similar to the 911 GT1, the CLK GTR was yet another homologation special prototype, with the car only being a racing-version of a production Grand Tourer in name. The car had no street legal version even built by the time the category collapsed in 1999, and shared only the instrumentation, front grille and the four headlamps with the normal CLK (C208). That same season, realising that the F1 GTR would not be competitive against the homologation specials, McLaren also updated the bodywork of the car, with the alterations so significant that they were forced to build a road car with the updated bodywork, effectively turning the car into a homologation special. The resulting car was known as the F1 GT, with three being built.{{Cite web|url=https://www.supercars.net/blog/1997-mclaren-f1-gt/|title=1997 McLaren F1 GT {{!}} Review|date=2016-04-18|website=Supercars.net|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-06}} In 1998, realising that with the introduction of the updated CLK LM, and the 911 GT1-98, the F1 GTR could no longer be competitive, McLaren withdrew backing from the program, following BMW which had done so the previous year, in 1997, although two cars would still be entered by Parabolica Motorsports and Davidoff Classic. In 1999, following the total domination of the Mercedes-AMG team in the Championship in the previous season, which saw them win all races in the championship, with both the CLK GTR and LM, no GT1 teams entered the category, apart from the Mercedes-AMG Team. As such, the FIA chose to run the 1999 FIA GT Championship with just the GT2 class.{{Cite web|url=http://www.speedhunters.com/2018/08/the-clk-gtr-my-hero-car/|title=The CLK GTR: My Hero Car|date=2018-08-27|website=Speedhunters|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-08}}
GTS "GT1" (1999–2009)
File:Vitaphone MC12.jpg was the dominant car in the category from its full-season debut in 2005, clinching three drivers championships and five teams championships from 2005 to 2009. It would later earn the drivers and teams title in the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship]]
File:Chevrolet Corvette C5-R - Corvette Racing - 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans.jpg, which clinched four straight teams championships and three drivers championships (2001–2004)]]
File:C6-R 2009 ALMS LBGP.JPG, which won four teams' and driver's championships in the ALMS from 2005–2008]]
File:Chrysler Viper GTS-R - Flickr - andrewbasterfield.jpg, which won two straight championships in the ALMS from 1999 to 2000]]
Following the omission of the original GT1 category in the 1999 season, the FIA GT Championship was restructured, such that original GT2 class would be elevated to the top class of the championship, and become known as GT while a new class, N-GT would be the lower class in the championship. The equivalent of this in ACO sanctioned Championships would be the GTS class, and the GT class. In 2005, both classes would become renamed as "GT1" and "GT2" respectively. The Maserati MC12 would be the dominant car of this era, with it earning five consecutive teams titles from 2006 to 2009 for the Vitaphone Racing Team in the FIA GT Championship.{{Cite web|url=https://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/05/report-nissan-gt-r-maserati-mc12-heading-to-le-mans/|title=REPORT: Nissan GT-R, Maserati MC12 heading to Le Mans|website=Autoblog|language=en|access-date=2019-01-06}}
List of FIA GT1 cars
| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size=90%, border=1px" |
| + 1995–1998 Group GT1 |
| Homologation
! Manufacturer ! Model ! Date ! Notes |
|---|
| GT1-001
| McLaren | F1 GTR | January 1995 | Includes 1996 and 1997 upgrades. Originally homologated as GT-1 before renumbered as GT1-1. |
| GT1-002
| Jaguar | XJ220 GT | January 1996 | |
| GT1-003
| Porsche | 911 GT1 | March 1997 | Includes 911 GT1 Evolution variant. |
| GT1-004
| Panoz | GTR-1 | April 1997 | |
| GT1-005
| CLK GTR | April 1997 | |
| GT1-006
| Lotus | April 1997 | |
| GT1-007
| Lotus |April 1997 | |
| GT1-008
| April 1998 | |
| GT1-009
| Porsche | April 1998 | |
| GT1-010
| Bitter | GT1 |April 1998 | |
| GT1-011
| CLK LM | July 1998 | |
| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size=90%, border=1px" |
| + 1995–1999 Group GT2{{cite web|url=https://historicdb.fia.com/cars/list/field_group/gt2-296|title=Group GT2 - FIA Historic Database|access-date=26 March 2023}} 2000–2004 Group GT |
| Homologation
! Manufacturer ! Model ! Date ! Notes |
|---|
| GT2-001
| Jaguar | XJ220 | April 1995 | |
| GT2-002
| Porsche | August 1995 | 964-generation 911 |
| GT2-003
| Porsche | January 1996 | 993-generation 911 |
| GT2-004
| Porsche | April 1996 | 993-generation 911 |
| GT2-005
| Chrysler | April 1996 | |
| GT2-006
| Saleen | April 1997 | |
| GT2-007
| Spider | May 1997 | |
| GT-008
| Lister | Storm GT | April 1999 | Originally homologated as GT2-8 before being renumbered as GT-008. |
| GT-009
| Porsche | April 1999 | Originally homologated as GT2-9 before being renumbered as GT-009. 996-generation 911. |
| GT-010
| Marcos | June 1999 | Originally homologated as GT2-10 before being renumbered as GT-010. |
| GT-011
| Ferrari | F50 | August 1999 | Originally homologated as GT2-11 before being renumbered as GT-011. |
| GT-012
| Maserati | 3200 GT | April 2002 | |
| GT-013
| Saleen | S7R | April 2003 | |
| GT-014
| Ferrari | October 2003 | |
| GT-015
| April 2004 | |
| GT-016
| DBR9 | June 2004 | |
| GT-017
| Maserati | MC12 GT1 | November 2004 | |
| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size=90%, border=1px" |
| + 2005–2011 Group GT1 |
| Homologation
! Manufacturer ! Model ! Date ! Notes |
|---|
| GT1-001
| Saleen | S7R | May 2006 | Redesigned variant of the S7R based on S7 Twin Turbo. |
| GT1-002
| May 2006 | |
| GT1-003
| Nissan | GT-R GT1 | May 2009 | |
| GT1-101
| Nissan | GT-R GT1 | April 2010 | Redesigned variant of the GT-R GT1. |
| GT1-102
| April 2010 | |
| GT1-103
| Ford | GT1 | April 2010 | |