Bernd Schneider won the inaugural FIA GT Championship for the GT1 category The 1997 FIA GT Championship was the inaugural season of FIA GT Championship , an auto racing series endorsed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO). The FIA GT Championship replaced the BPR Global GT Series which had been held races and championships from 1994 to 1996 after the series was promoted by the FIA, while Stéphane Ratel took over as promoter and organizer of the new championship, replaced the former BPR Organisation after the departure of partners Jürgen Barth and Patrick Peter. The races featured grand touring cars conforming to two categories of regulations, GT1 and GT2, and awarded driver and team championships in each category. The season began on 13 April 1997 and ended on 26 October 1997 after 11 rounds, visiting Europe, Japan, and the United States.
Bernd Schneider and his AMG Mercedes team won the GT1 Drivers' and Teams' Championships, while Justin Bell and Viper Team Oreca secured the GT2 titles.
Schedule [ edit ] For the new international championship, much of the calendar was new. The Nürburgring , Spa , Silverstone , and Suzuka's endurance event were all retained, but much of the European calendar was new to the series. Donington Park replaced Brands Hatch as the second British round, while Hockenheimring was added as a second German event. Mugello took over from Monza in Italy, and A1-Ring also brought the series to Austria for the first time. A street circuit in Helsinki was unique to the calendar, and served as the first race of a shorter three-hour duration. Two American events of a three-hour duration replaced the former season-ending fly-away race in China, visiting Sebring and Laguna Seca .
Rnd Race Circuit Date 1 Hockenheim 4 Hours Hockenheimring , Hockenheim , Germany 13 April 2 British Empire Trophy Silverstone Circuit , Silverstone , United Kingdom 11 May 3 Helsinki 3 Hours Helsinki Thunder , Helsinki , Finland 25 May 4 Nürburgring 4 Hours Nürburgring , Nürburg , Germany 29 June 5 Spa 4 Hours Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps , Spa , Belgium 20 July 6 Zeltweg 4 Hours A1-Ring , Spielberg , Austria 3 August 7 POKKA Suzuka 1000 km Suzuka Circuit , Suzuka , Japan 24 August 8 Donington 4 Hours Donington Park , Leicestershire , United Kingdom 14 September 9 Mugello 4 Hours Mugello Circuit , Scarperia e San Piero , Italy 28 September 10 Sebring 3 Hours Sebring International Raceway , Sebring , United States 18 October 11 Laguna Seca 3 Hours Laguna Seca Raceway , Monterey , United States 26 October Source:[1]
Entries [ edit ] Entrant Car Engine Tyre Drivers Rounds Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren F1 GTR BMW S70/2 6.0 L V12 M 1 Andrew Gilbert-Scott 1–7 Ray Bellm 1–2 Pierre-Henri Raphanel 2–3 Jean-Marc Gounon 3 Anders Olofsson 4–5, 8–11 Geoff Lees 6–11 John Nielsen 7 2 Thomas Bscher 1–7, 9–11 John Nielsen 1–7, 9–11 3 Pierre-Henri Raphanel 1–2, 4–11 Jean-Marc Gounon 1–2, 4–5, 7–11 Anders Olofsson 6–7 David Price Racing Panoz GTR-1 Ford -Roush 6.0 L V8 G 4 Andy Wallace 1–2, 4–10 James Weaver 1–2, 4–8 Butch Leitzinger 7 Olivier Grouillard 9–11 Perry McCarthy 11 5 David Brabham 1–2, 4–11 Perry McCarthy 1–2, 4–10 Olivier Grouillard 7 Andy Wallace 11 Porsche AG Porsche 911 GT1 Porsche 911 GT1 Evo Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6 M 6 Thierry Boutsen 1–2, 4–11 Hans-Joachim Stuck 1–2, 4–5, 7–8, 10–11 Bob Wollek 6–7 Ralf Kelleners 9 7 Yannick Dalmas 4–11 Bob Wollek 4–5, 8–11 Thierry Boutsen 5 Allan McNish 6–7 Pedro Lamy 7 47 Ralf Kelleners 11 Allan McNish 11 Team BMW Motorsport McLaren F1 GTR BMW S70/2 6.0 L V12 M 8 Steve Soper All JJ Lehto 1–10 Roberto Ravaglia 11 9 Peter Kox All Roberto Ravaglia 1–10 JJ Lehto 11 AMG-Mercedes Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Mercedes-Benz GT112 6.0 L V12 B 10 Alessandro Nannini All Marcel Tiemann 1–2, 4–11 Klaus Ludwig 3 Bernd Schneider 7 11 Bernd Schneider All Alexander Wurz 1–3, 5–9 Klaus Ludwig 4, 10–11 Aguri Suzuki 7 12 Bernd Mayländer 4, 6–9 Klaus Ludwig 4–9 Ralf Schumacher 5 Bernd Schneider 6 Alexander Wurz 10–11 Greg Moore 10–11 GT1 Lotus Racing Franck Muller Lotus GT1 Chevrolet LT5 6.0 L V8 M 13 Fabien Giroix 1–2, 4–6, 8, 10–11 Jean-Denis Délétraz 1–2, 4–6, 8, 10–11 14 Jan Lammers 1–2, 4–6, 8–11 Mike Hezemans 1–2, 4–6, 8–11 Max Angelelli 10–11 GT1 Lotus Racing Franck Muller First Racing Project [N 1] P 15 Maurizio Sandro Sala 1–2 Jérôme Policand 1, 5, 7 Ratanakul Prutirat 2–5, 7 Fabien Giroix 3, 7 Jean-Denis Délétraz 3 Alexander Grau 4 Roock Racing Porsche 911 GT1 Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6 M 16 Ralf Kelleners 1–7 Yannick Dalmas 1–2 Stéphane Ortelli 3–5 Pedro Chaves 4–6 Christophe Bouchut 7 Carl Rosenblad 7 JB Racing Porsche 911 GT1 Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6 M 17 Emmanuel Collard 1–2, 4–7, 9–11 Jürgen von Gartzen 1–2, 4–5 Mauro Baldi 6–7, 9–11 Alain Ferté 7 Schübel Rennsport Porsche 911 GT1 Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6 M 18 Pedro Lamy 1–2 Bob Wollek 1–2 Martin Veyhle Racing McLaren F1 GTR Lotus GT1 [N 2] BMW S70/2 6.1 L V12Lotus Type-918 3.5 L Turbo V8 G 19 Alexander Grau 1–2, 5–6, 8–9 Gerd Ruch 1–2 Alexander Burgstaller 1 Kurt Thiim 5–6 Marco Werner 8–9 DAMS Panoz Panoz GTR-1 Ford -Roush 6.0 L V8 M 20 Éric Bernard 1–2, 4–11 Franck Lagorce 1–2, 4–11 Kremer Racing Porsche 911 GT1 Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6 G 21 Christophe Bouchut 1, 4–5, 8–9 Carl Rosenblad 1, 4–5, 8–9 Klaus Ludwig 1 BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 911 GT1 Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6 P 22 Pierluigi Martini 1–6, 8–9 Christian Pescatori 1–6, 8–9 GBF UK Ltd. Lotus GT1 Lotus Type-918 3.5 L Turbo V8 M 23 Mimmo Schiattarella 1–4, 6, 8–9 Luca Badoer 1–4, 6, 8–9 Mauro Martini 1 24 Andrea Boldrini 2–4, 6 Mauro Martini 2–3 Martin Stretton 4 Ralf Kalaschek 6, 8–9 Max Angelelli 8–9 Jason Yeomans 8 Davide Campana 9 BBA Compétition McLaren F1 GTR BMW S70/2 6.1 L V12 D 25 Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière 1, 4–5, 7 Olivier Thévenin 1 David Velay 4–5 Bernard Chauvin 5 Jun Harada 7 Tomiko Yoshikawa 7 Konrad Motorsport Porsche 911 GT1 Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6 P 26 Mauro Baldi 2–5 Franz Konrad 2–3 Max Angelelli 3, 5 Gerd Ruch 4 Ivan Capelli 4 Parabolica Motorsport McLaren F1 GTR BMW S70/2 6.0 L V12 M 27 Chris Goodwin 2, 4–9, 11 Gary Ayles 2, 4–9, 11 Stefan Johansson 7 Newcastle United Lister Lister Storm GTL Jaguar 7.0 L V12 D 29 Eric van de Poele 10–11 Julian Bailey 10–11 G-Force Strandell Porsche 911 GT1 Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6 D 30 Geoff Lister 8, 10–11 John Greasley 8, 10–11 Magnus Wallinder 8, 10–11 Karl Augustin Porsche 911 GT2 Evo Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 G 31 Steffano Buttiero 1–6, 8–9 Horst Felbermayr 1–3, 5–6, 8–9 Karl Augustin 1–3 Hans-Jörg Hofer 4–5, 9 Stefan Roitmayer 4 Horst Felbermayr Jr. 6, 8 Graham Racing Venturi 600LM Renault PRV 3.0 L Turbo V6 32 Éric Graham 1 David Velay 1 IDC Ootsukakagu SARD SARD MC8-R Toyota 1UZ-FE 4.0 L Turbo V8 Y 39 Tatsuya Tanigawa 7 Yuji Tachikawa 7 Yasutaki Hinoi 7 Team Menicon SARD 46 Masami Kageyama 7 Tetsuya Tanaka 7 Team Lark McLaren McLaren F1 GTR BMW S70/2 6.0 L V12 M 44 Keiichi Tsuchiya 7 Masanori Sekiya 7 Akihiko Nakaya 7 Sources:[2] [3]
^ Lotus No. 15 was entered by GT1 Lotus Racing Franck Muller for the first event of the season before switching to First Racing Project for the rest of the season. ^ Martin Veyhle Racing entered the first two rounds of the season with a McLaren before switching to a Lotus from round five onwards. Entrant Car Engine Tyre Drivers Rounds Agusta Racing Team Callaway Corvette GT2 LM Porsche 911 GT2 [N 1] Chevrolet 6.0 L V8Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 D 50 Rocky Agusta 1–2, 4–5 Almo Coppelli 1–2, 4 Michel Neugarten 5, 8 Bernard de Dryver 5 Michel Ligonnet 7 Luca Drudi 7 Masahiro Kimoto 7 Patrice Goueslard 8 Luigino Pagotto 8 Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 M 51 Olivier Beretta 1–2, 4–11 Philippe Gache 1–2, 4–11 52 Justin Bell 1–2, 4–11 Tommy Archer 1–2, 7, 10–11 Marc Duez 4–5 Dieter Quester 6 Hideshi Matsuda 7 Luca Drudi 8–9 Chamberlain Engineering Chrysler Viper GTS-R Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 G 53 Jari Nurminen 1–3 Hans Hugenholtz Jr. 1–2, 4–5 Pertti Lievonen 3 Tim O'Kennedy 4–5 David Goode 4, 8 Gerd Ruch 6 Almo Coppelli 6 Leonardo Maddelena 6, 8–9 Manabu Orido 7 Naohiro Kawano 7 Yukihiro Hane 7 Paul Thomas 8 Renato Mastropietro 9 Piergiuseppe Pironi 9 Zak Brown 10 Chris Gleason 10 Rick Fairbanks 10 Shane Lewis 11 Tim Moser 11 Patrick Vuillaume 11 54 Peter Hardman 2 Richard Dean 2, 11 Tim O'Kennedy 8, 10–11 Hans Hugenholtz Jr. 8 Wido Rössler 8 Peter Halsmer 10 Matthew Cohen 10 Karl Augustin Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 G 55 Helmut Reis 1–7 Hans-Jörg Hofer 1–2 Wido Rössler 1, 3–7, 10–11 Manfred Jurasz 3–6 Ernst Gschwender 7, 9 Wolfgang Kaufmann 9–11 Roock Racing Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 M 56 Bruno Eichmann All Ni Amorim 1–7 Claudia Hürtgen 1–5, 7–10 Stéphane Ortelli 8–9, 11 57 François Lefon 1–3, 5, 8 Jean-Marc Smadja 1–2, 5 Stéphane Ortelli 1–2, 4–6 Jean-Pierre Jarier 3 Hugh Price 4 John Robinson 4 Bruno Eichmann 6 Claudia Hürtgen 6, 11 Pedro Chaves 7–9 Robert Nearn 7 Hisashi Wada 7 Ni Amorim 8–10 Patrice Goueslard 9 Uwe Alzen 10–11 87 John Robinson 8–9, 11 Richard Nearn 8 Michel Ligonnet 8 Hugh Price 9, 11 Mike Martin 9 André Ahrlé 10–11 Pedro Chaves 10 Estoril Racing Team Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 58 Manuel Monteiro 1–2, 4–5, 7, 9–11 Michel Monteiro 1–2, 4–5, 7, 9–11 Henri-Louis Maunoir 7 Marcos Racing International Marcos LM600 Chevrolet 5.9 L V8 D 59 Cor Euser All Harald Becker All Herman Buurman 7 60 Toon van de Haterd 1 Bert Ploeg 1 Christian Vann 2, 8 John Schumann 2 Ville-Pertti Teuronen 3 Teijo Lahti 3 Thomas Erdos 8 Marco Simoncini 9 Alfons Taels 9 Martijn Koene 10–11 Angelo Zadra 10 Rob Wilson 11 Stadler Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 P 61 Enzo Calderari 1, 4, 10–11 Lilian Bryner 1, 4, 10–11 Ulli Richter 4, 11 62 Denis Lay 1–2, 4–5, 7, 9–11 Axel Röhr 1–2, 4–5, 9 Uwe Sick 1–2, 5, 7, 9–11 Bruno Michelotti 4 Franz Hunkeler 7 Krauss Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 P 63 Bernhard Müller 1–6, 8–11 Michael Trunk 1–6, 8–11 Nigel Smith 7 Takashi Suzuki 7 Sumio Sakurai 7 Kremer Racing Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 G 64 Tomás Saldaña 1–2, 6, 8–9 Alfonso de Orléans-Borbón 1–2, 6, 8–9 Carl Rosenblad 2 Christophe Bouchut 6 RWS Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 65 Raffaele Sangiuolo 1–2, 4–6, 9 Luca Riccitelli 1–2, 4–6, 9 Wolfgang Münster 1 Charles Margueron 2 Benno Rottenfusser 5–6 Mario Spagnoli 9 Konrad Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 P 66 Franz Konrad 1, 4–8, 10–11 Philipp Peter 1 Uwe Alzen 1 Toni Seiler 2–6, 8–11 Marco Spinelli 2–3, 9 Richard Nearn 2 Michel Ligonnet 3 Bert Ploeg 4 Gerd Ruch 5 Wolfgang Kaufmann 7 Seiichi Sodeyama 7 André Ahrlé 8 Nick Ham 11 67 Marco Spinelli 1, 5 Michel Ligonnet 1 Toni Seiler 1 Kelly Collins 5 Barry Waddell 5 Martin Snow 10 Karel Dolejší 10 Angelo Zadra Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 P 68 Angelo Zadra 1–2, 4–5, 9 Leonardo Maddalena 1–2, 4–5 Marco Brand 1 Renato Mastropietro 2, 4–5 Philipp Peter 9 Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 P 69 Gerold Ried All Patrick Vuillaume 1–10 Ernst Gschwinder 1 Manfred Jurasz 7–11 Dellenbach Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 D 70 Rainer Bonnetsmüller 1–2, 4, 6, 8–11 Manfred Jurasz 1–2 Günther Blieninger 1, 4–6, 8–9 Wolfgang Treml 4–5 Klaus Horn 5–6, 8–11 GT Racing Team Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 71 Luca Drudi 1, 4–6 Luigino Pagotto 1, 4–6 Elf Haberthur Racing Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 D 72 Jean-Claude Lagniez 1 Guy Martinolle 1 Michel Neugarten 10–11 Guy Ligonnet 10 Will Pace 10 Stéphane de Groodt 11 Seikel Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 73 Fred Rosterg 1, 4 Ruggero Grassi 1 Renato Mastropietro 1 Wolfgang Haugg 4 Giuseppe Quargenten 4 Bruno Michelotti 9 Jacques Corbet 9 Andrew Bagnall 9 G-Force Strandell Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 D 75 Geoff Lister 2, 4–5 John Greasley 2, 4–5 Magnus Wallinder 4–5 Nigel Barrett 8 Koit Veertee 8 Steve O'Rourke Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6 D 76 Steve O'Rourke 2 Win Percy 2 Tim Sugden 2 Saleen-Allen Speedlab Cirtek [N 2] Saleen Mustang SR Ford 5.9 L V8 D 77 Steve Saleen 2 Price Cobb 2 Carlos Palau 2 Peter Owen 5, 8–10 James Kaye 5 Guy Smith 5 Mark Peters 8–9 Jonathan Baker 8 Robert Schirle 9–11 Christian Vann 10–11 78 Allen Lloyd 2, 5 Robert Schirle 2, 8 James Warnock 2, 8 Thomas Erdos 5 Richard Dean 8 79 Peter Owen 2 James Kaye 2 Richard Piper 2 Charles Morgan Morgan Plus 8 GTR Rover 3.9 L V8 D 80 William Wykeham 2–3, 5, 8, 10–11 Charles Morgan 2–3, 5, 8 Tony Dron 10 Mark Hales 11 David Vegher 11 Michael Eschmann Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 81 Michael Eschmann 4 Paul Hulverscheid 4 Gunter Döbler 4 TVR TVR Cerbera TVR Speed Six 4.5 L I6 D 82 Colin Blower 8 Jamie Campbell-Walter 8 Larbre Compétition Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 83 Patrice Goueslard 7 Jean-Luc Chéreau 7 Jack Leconte 7 NSX Dream 28 Competition Honda NSX Honda 3.2 L V6 84 Hajime Ooshiro 7 Masayoshi Furuya 7 Shigekazu Saeki 7 Team Signal Nissan Silvia Nissan SR20DET 2.0 L Turbo I4 85 Takeshi Yuasa 7 Kiyoaki Hanai 7 Akio Tomita 7 Millennium Motorsport Marcos LM600 Chevrolet 5.9 L V8 D 86 Nick Car 8 Ian Astley 8 Andy Purvis 8 Prova Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 88 Scott Maxwell 10 Scott Peeler 10 Saleen-Allen Speedlab [N 2] Saleen Mustang SR Ford 5.9 L V8 95 Steve Saleen 11 Carlos Palau 11 GMB Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6 97 Dirk Layer 11 Cort Wagner 11 Kelly Collins 11 Sources:[2] [3]
^ Agusta Racing Team entered a Callaway for the first four rounds of the championship, before switching to a Porsche for the rest of the season. ^ a b The No. 77, 78, and 79 Mustangs were entered by Saleen-Allen Speedlab for the start of the season before switching to Cirtek from round 8 onward. Saleen-Allen Speedlab later reentered the series with No. 95 for round 11. Results and standings [ edit ] Race results [ edit ] The No. 11 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR of Bernd Schneider and Alexander Wurz en route to victory at Donington Park Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each category. Entries were required to complete 75% of the race distance in order to be classified.[5]
Points system 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 10 6 4 3 2 1
Driver championships [ edit ] Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX)