The FIA replaces ballast with time compensation in the GT3 European Championship

Since 2009, one of the most important success factors of the GT3 European Championship, has been the ballast imposed on the top three cars. Penalising the leading cars with 20 Kg, 15 Kg and 10 Kg has ensured maximum parity in the championship.

For the 2011 season, the FIA will modify this successful formula and, instead of ballasting the top three cars with weight, they will be given a time compensation, such that the first car will receive a compensation of 15 seconds, the second a compensation of 10 seconds and the third a compensation of 5 seconds, which will be added to the minimum pit stop duration established for the next race.

Despite the success of ballast, which balanced the performance of the cars, various studies concluded that imposing ballast negatively affected some cars more than others, so a formula that is in principle fairer has been adopted, namely the compensation of times in the pit stop at the first race of the next event.

Stephane Ratel, CEO of SRO, has stated that the abandonment of ballast in GT3 should help teams to be more consistent throughout the season and will help keep GT3 at the forefront of motorsport in Europe:

The abandonment of the successful ballast formula in GT3 and the introduction of time compensation should help teams to be more consistent throughout the entire season. We will keep control over the three drivers of each event, so we will avoid the domination of a single team.

The FIA GT3 will begin on 7 and 8 May in the Algarve, Portugal, and end in Zandvoort, Netherlands, on 16 October. The full calendar of this prestigious competition will be as follows:

GT3 European Championship 2011 calendar:

7 – 8 May, Algarve – Portugal.
4 – 5 June, Silverstone – Great Britain.
2 – 3 July, Navarra – Spain.
16 – 17 July, Paul Ricard – France.
20 – 21 August, Smolensk Ring – Russia.
15 – 16 October, Zandvoort – Netherlands.

Source: | FIA GT3 European Championship