The 2018 GT Series Sprint Cup (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup ) was the sixth season of the GT Series Sprint Cup following on from the demise of the SRO Motorsports Group 's FIA GT1 World Championship (an auto racing series for grand tourer cars), the fifth with the seasons sponsored by Blancpain. The season began on 7 April at Zolder and ended on 16 September at the Nürburgring .
Calendar
At the annual press conference during the 2017 24 Hours of Spa on 28 July, the Stéphane Ratel Organisation announced the first draft of the 2018 calendar. Zolder became the season opener instead of Misano .[ 1] On 9 October 2017, the finalised calendar was announced, confirming the dates of the races at the Hungaroring .[ 2]
Race format
In previous years a race weekend consisted of one Qualifying session, one Qualifying Race - of which the results set up the grid for the Main Race - and one Main Race. On 2 October 2017, changes to the format of race weekends were announced. In 2018 a race weekend consisted of two races scoring equal points and featuring separate Qualifying sessions for each race.[ 3]
Round
Circuit
Date
1
Circuit Zolder , Heusden-Zolder , Belgium
8 April
2
Brands Hatch , Kent , Great Britain
6 May
3
Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli , Misano Adriatico , Italy
24 June
4
Hungaroring , Mogyoród , Hungary
2 September
5
Nürburgring , Nürburg , Germany
16 September
Entry list
Christian Klien in the pits at Circuit Zolder .
Icon
Class
P
Pro Cup
S
Silver Cup
PA
Pro-Am Cup
Am
Am Cup
Race results
Bold indicates overall winner.
Championship standings
Scoring system
Championship points were awarded for the first ten positions in each race. The pole-sitter also received one point and entries were required to complete 75% of the winning car's race distance in order to be classified and earn points. Individual drivers were required to participate for a minimum of 25 minutes in order to earn championship points in any race. A new points system was introduced this season. It takes the maximum points an entry could earn in the old 'Qualifying Race + Main Race'-format divided by two.[ 29]
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
Pole
Points
16.5
12
9.5
7.5
6
4.5
3
2
1
0.5
1
Drivers' championships
Overall
Key
Colour
Result
Gold
Race winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
Points finish
Blue
Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple
Did not finish (Ret)
Black
Disqualified (DSQ)
Excluded (EX)
White
Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Withdrew (WD)
Blank
Did not participate
Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap
Silver Cup
Pro-Am Cup
Am Cup
Teams' championships
Overall
Pro-Am Cup
Am Cup
See also
Notes
^ a b Car No. 11 entered as Kessel Racing under Swiss licence and car No. 39 entered as TP 12 - Kessel Racing under Thai licence.
^ a b Cars No. 14 and 114 entered as Emil Frey Lexus Racing and car No. TBA entered as Emil Frey Jaguar Racing.
^ a b c Car No. 35 entered as SMP Racing by AKKA ASP under Russian licence. Cars No. 87, 88 and 90 entered as AKKA ASP Team and car No. 751 entered as SunEnergy1 Racing, both under French licence.
References
^ Kilshaw, Jake (28 July 2017). "Zolder to Open 2018 Blancpain GT Series Season" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 2 January 2018 .
^ Kilshaw, Jake (9 October 2017). "Hungaroring Date Confirmed; Blancpain GT Schedule Finalized" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 2 January 2018 .
^ Dagys, John (2 October 2017). "Blancpain GT to Limit Pro Entries; Equal Sprint Cup Races in 2018" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 2 January 2018 .
^ a b Watkins, Gary (22 January 2018). "Audi squad WRT slims down line-up for Blancpain Endurance assault" . Autosport . Autosport Media UK. Retrieved 22 January 2018 .
^ a b c d e f Kilshaw, Jake (22 March 2018). "Riberas, Sheldon van der Linde Join WRT" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 23 March 2018 .
^ a b "Zolder: Magnus/Picariello chez Team WRT" . endurance-info.com . Endurance-Info. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018 .
^ a b c d Kilshaw, Jake (20 June 2018). "Silver Cup Field Grows as Blancpain GT Heads to Misano" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 20 June 2018 .
^ a b Kilshaw, Jake (26 April 2018). "Sprint Cup Grid Remains at 22 Cars for Brands Hatch" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 27 April 2018 .
^ a b c d e Kilshaw, Jake (28 August 2018). "Largest Sprint Cup Grid of Season Set for Hungaroring" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 28 August 2018 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Kilshaw, Jake (29 March 2018). "Boutsen Ginion Lamborghini Boosts Zolder Field to 21 Cars" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 29 March 2018 .
^ a b c d "Un équipage confirmé chez Kessel Racing" . endurance-info.com . 9 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018 .
^ a b c Kilshaw, Jake (8 February 2018). "Emil Frey to Run Lexus GT3s in Blancpain GT" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 11 February 2018 .
^ a b Kilshaw, Jake (15 February 2018). "Emil Frey Confirms Jaguar Return; Reveals Lexus Lineup" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 February 2018 .
^ a b "Klien relishing first full-season Blancpain GT Series assault with Emil Frey Lexus Racing" . blancpain-gt-series.com . SRO Motorsports Group . 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018 .
^ a b "Sprint Cup battle resumes as Blancpain GT Series heads for Misano" . blancpain-gt-series.com . SRO Motorsports Group . 13 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018 .
^ a b c d e f g h Dagys, John (27 February 2018). "Bortolotti, Caldarelli, Engelhart to Defend Blancpain GT Titles" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 27 February 2018 .
^ a b c d Kilshaw, Jake (16 January 2018). "Audi Sport Team Slovakia Launched for Partial Blancpain GT Effort" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 16 January 2018 .
^ a b c d Kilshaw, Jake (14 February 2018). "Sainteloc Set for Full-Season Blancpain GT Program" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 February 2018 .
^ a b Kilshaw, Jake (6 March 2018). "Sainteloc Completes Blancpain GT Sprint Cup Lineups" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 6 March 2018 .
^ a b c d Kilshaw, Jake (27 February 2018). "Team Parker Racing Enters Bentley GT3 in Sprint Cup" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 27 February 2018 .
^ "Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup Brands Hatch Entry List" . blancpain-gt-series.com . SRO Motorsports Group . 4 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018 .
^ a b c Tassel, Pierre (1 April 2018). "Blancpain GT - Une Mercedes SMP Racing by AKKA-ASP en Sprint Cup" . autohebdo.fr . AUTOHebdo. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018 .
^ a b c d e f g Kilshaw, Jake (14 March 2018). "Marciello to Lead AKKA ASP Pro Cup Entry" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 14 March 2018 .
^ a b c Dagys, John (23 August 2018). "SunEnergy1 Mercedes Set for Hungaroring Sprint Cup Debut" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 23 August 2018 .
^ a b "Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup 2018 Nürburgring Free Practice 1" . blancpain-gt-series.com . SRO Motorsports Group . 14 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018 .
^ a b "Final entry list confirmed for Misano Sprint Cup contest" . blancpain-gt-series.com . SRO Motorsports Group . 22 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018 .
^ a b c d e f Lloyd, Daniel (7 March 2018). "Attempto Switches to Audi for Full-Season Blancpain GT Entry" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 7 March 2018 .
^ a b c d Kilshaw, Jake (12 September 2018). "Leaders Tied Ahead of Nürburgring Sprint Cup Finale" . sportscar365 . John Dagys Media. Retrieved 14 September 2018 .
^ "Blancpain GT Series 2018 Sporting Regulations" (PDF) . blancpain-gt-series.com . SRO Motorsports Group . 22 March 2018. p. 17. Retrieved 11 April 2018 .
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