FIA GT3 European Championship
The FIA GT3 European Championship logo
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| Category | Group GT3 |
|---|---|
| Country | International |
| Inaugural season | 2006 |
| Folded | 2012 |
| Drivers | 105 |
| Teams | 20 |
| Tyre suppliers | Michelin, Dunlop, Pirelli |
| Last Drivers' champion |
 Dominik Baumann Maximilian Buhk
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| Last Makes' champion |
 Heico Gravity-Charouz Team
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| Official website | FIA GT3 official website |
The FIA GT3 European Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a championship derived from the international FIA GT1 World Championship, but meant to provide competition for more amateur racers in closer to production cars. The series used extensive performance balancing and handicap weights to make cars more equal.
FIA GT3 European Championship races served as support races for the FIA GT1 World Championship races that took place in Europe.
The FIA GT3 European Championship was launched in 2006 as a way to expand manufacturer involvement in motorsports as well as to help amateur drivers across Europe. It attempts to combine multiple one-make series into a larger event with a race within a race, teams competing not only to beat others in their own manufacturer cup but also to win the overall race.
In the future, the FIA and SRO plan to not only expand the overall European championship, but also to help in the development of multiple one-make series across Europe, similar to the Ferrari Challenge and Porsche Supercup.
Following in the established name usage from FIA GT, the FIA's Group GT3 differs from its GT1 and GT2 counterparts by using more low-cost engineering and design elements in the development of the road cars to their racing counterparts, as well as attempting to make all cars equal by pre- and in-season performance balancing adjustments. Unlike FIA GT1's GT1, the GT3 class cars are not allowed to be developed by their manufacturers over the course of a racing season. Manufacturers simply provide a ready-to-race car to a customer and the teams are limited in what they can alter from production specs. All cars that participate in GT3 must be allowed permission and equalized with the competition by the FIA.
The Jaguar XKR, Ford Mustang FR500GT, Ford GT, and Morgan Aero 8 were added to the homologation list for 2007, while the Venturi Atlantique silhouette, Maserati Trofeo, and Lotus Exige were all dropped due to lack of participation. The Jaguar XKR, Ford Mustang, and Morgan were eventually dropped by the 2011 season. Audi's R8 LMS and the Alpina B6 were homologated for 2009, while the F430 GT3 was replaced by the Ferrari F430 Scuderia. The Alpina B6 and Chevrolet Corvette Z06R were also dropped by the 2011 season, while the Ferrari F430 GT3/Scuderia has been replaced with the Ferrari 458 GT3.
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