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2012 FIA GT1 World Championship season


The 2012 FIA GT1 World Championship was the third and final season of the SRO Group's FIA GT1 World Championship, an auto racing series for grand tourer cars. The 2012 championship, which opened to GT3 Series Grand Touring cars, featured two titles awarded to the highest scoring competitors over the course of the season: the GT1 World Championship for Drivers and the GT1 World Championship for Teams. The series underwent regulation changes in 2012 with GT3 cars replacing the GT1 category vehicles used in the previous two seasons of the World Championship. Hexis AMR, now under the title Hexis Racing, returned as the defending Teams' World Champions, while German drivers Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr didn't return to the series to defend their Drivers' World Championships.

The series commenced at the Circuit Paul Armagnac in France on 6–9 April and ended at Donington Park in England on 27–29 September. The nine-event calendar included two new races, inaugural events in Russia and Slovakia. In addition to the races, six new manufacturers and seven new teams made their GT1 Series debut at the opening race of the season.

Stéphane Ratel, CEO of the SRO Group, stated during the course of the 2011 season that the 2012 calendar will include rounds in Europe, as well as Brazil, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates. Ratel has also been in discussions with venues in Australasia, North America, and Russia for possible additions to the championship calendar, as part of his plan to limit the calendar to only four European rounds. During the 2011 season finale, Ratel confirmed that the 2012 season will open at the Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro, France, a departure from the opening round of the past two seasons at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi round was removed from the calendar, as were events held at Silverstone and the Sachsenring during the 2011 season. The Circuit Paul Ricard was also removed, being replaced by the Circuit Paul Armagnac. The series will become the first major international motorsport series to visit Russia, with a race to be held at the Moscow Raceway in Volokolamsk, while the final round will move from San Luis, Argentina to the Buddh International Circuit in India.


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