VERSION 1 – NOV 2017 BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA 2017 2017 SEASON REVIEW 2018 PRESENTATION BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA – SEASON REVIEW 20CONTENTS17 2017 SEASON REVIEW 04 INTRODUCTION - BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA 05 INTRODUCTION - SRO MOTORSPORTS GROUP 06 INTRODUCTION - SRO’S EXPERTISE IN ACTION 07 CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT & KNOW-HOW 2017 FAN & MEDIA DATA 09 TV OVERVIEW & DISTRIBUTION 10 TV & AUDIENCE STATS 11 LIVE & VIDEO SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT 12 SOCIAL MEDIA STATS - FACEBOOK 13 SOCIAL MEDIA STATS - TWITTER 14 MEDIA PARTNERSHIP - SPORT AUTO 15 ENTRY STATS 16 GT3 SEASON REVIEW 17 GT4 SEASON REVIEW 18 SRO ’NIGHT OF THE CHAMPIONS’ AWARDS 2018 PRESENTATION 20 INTERCONTINENTAL GT CHALLENGE 21 BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA CALENDAR 22 SUZUKA 10 HOURS 23-27 ELIGIBLE GT3 / GT4 / GTC CARS 28 CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT 29 PRIZE MONEY 30 TRANSPORT ASSISTANCE & TIMING 31-33 PARTNERS 34-35 GRAPHICAL CHARTER 36 2018 ENTRY FORM 37-38 CONTACTS 2017 SEASON REVIEW BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA – 2017 SEASON REVIEW 04 INTRODUCTION - BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA 117 drivers, 34 teams, nine when British GT Championship manufacturers and a season-high General Manager and Macau FIA 34 entries: Blancpain GT Series GT World Cup co-ordinator Asia surpassed all expectations Benjamin Franassovici joined during its inaugural campaign, a forces with Paul Yao, whose trend that looks set to continue in regional expertise remain 2018 and beyond. invaluable. They have since formed a potent partnership. SRO Motorsports Group’s first- ever pan-Asian championship That collaboration and was built on 25 years of understanding between East and experience as well as several West is also evident in the tried and tested elements championship’s format, which has imperative to the success of its been paramount to its early championships in Europe and success. Lessons learnt by SRO elsewhere. Indeed, a new level of in Europe suggested a simple, professional organisation, proven format that allowed both accountability, world-renowned Pro/Am and fully-professional Balance of Performance crews to fight for outright victories regulations and teams-first would also find favour in Asia. approach has all contributed Equally, the championship only towards Blancpain GT Series Asia visits the continent’s very best becoming the region’s sportscar circuits, all of which stage two, 60- benchmark in less than 12 minute races per weekend. GT3 months. remains popular, but the emergence of GT4 as an But the team behind the series is increasingly important alternative also as international as its driver prompted SRO to include it from line-ups. By mid-2016 the the start. And, as a result, the foundations for a successful new class is expected to grow championship were put in place considerably in 2018. BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA – 2017 SEASON REVIEW 05 INTRODUCTION - SRO MOTORSPORTS GROUP Over the last 25 years SRO has specialised in now known as the FFSA GT4 European the promotion and organisation of motorsport Series Southern Cup – was added to its series around the world. Inextricably linked existing Northern Cup counterpart in 2017. with GT racing’s revival, SRO predominantly promotes categories that adhere to its But that’s not all. SRO’s world-renowned successful GT3 and GT4 regulations. Indeed, Balance of Performance regulations are these rules - a common framework allowing licensed by other series running GT3 and/or manufacturers, teams and drivers to compete GT4 machinery, such as Super GT in Japan, MANUFACTURERS equally with one another - has helped the Australian GT Championship and China establish SRO as the global leader in GT. This global influence has not gone INTERCONTINENTAL customer GT racing. unnoticed by motorsport’s world governing GT CHALLENGE body, the FIA, who work closely with SRO Today, SRO’s influence and organisation can when organising its prestigious Macau FIA GT be seen around the world. Its flagship remains World Cup race. BLANCPAIN GT SERIES the European-based Blancpain GT Series, which features both the Sprint and Endurance While Macau caters solely for professional TEAMS Cups. Its annual highlight remains the iconic teams and drivers, SRO also understands the PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE (USA) Total 24 Hours of Spa. important role amateurs play in GT racing’s global success and sustainability. That’s why The same Pirelli tyres and Balance of it operates the SRO Race Centre by MMC - a BRITISH GT CHAMPIONSHIP Performance parameters governing the high-level technical centre at Paul Ricard Blancpain GT Series have also been adopted Circuit in southern France - and Curbstone in the United States by the Pirelli World Track Events, which provide ultimate track GT4 EUROPEAN SERIES Challenge (of which SRO is also a major driving opportunities on world-renowned shareholder), while SRO expanded its circuits. Many of its clients have subsequently BLANCPAIN GT SPORTS CLUB successful platform East in 2017 by graduated to the Blancpain GT Sports Club, a DRIVERS establishing Blancpain GT Series Asia. first competitive step towards gaining the confidence and racecraft required to compete BLANCPAIN ULTRACAR SPORTS CLUB & GT1 SPORTS CLUB In addition, the world’s best GT races from all in a Pro/Am environment. four corners of the globe are brought together under the Intercontinental GT Challenge. SRO Motorsports Group is chaired by CURBSTONE TRACK EVENTS 2018’s edition features three events company founder and CEO Stephane Ratel personally overseen by SRO – the Total 24 and has offices in London, Paris, Liège and Hours of Spa, inaugural Suzuka 10 Hours, Hong Kong. It’s dedicated team of full-time and Mazda Raceway California 8 Hours – as and freelance staff work with the support of well as the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour. numerous national sporting authorities and sanctioning bodies to offer teams, drivers and SRO is also strong domestically. The multi- manufacturers the world’s best professional, class British GT Championship, which it has Pro/Am and amateur GT racing platforms. presided over since 2005, pairs GT3 with GT4 machinery, while France’s national series – BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA – 2017 SEASON REVIEW 06 INTRODUCTION - SRO’S EXPERTISE IN ACTION As well as organising its own series and events, SRO works behind the scenes to support promoters of championships and high-profile standalone races around the world. Indeed, so renowned is SRO’s Balance of Performance technology that it is licensed by other organisers. SRO’s BoP governs the GT300 category in Japan’s domestic series, Super GT, while China GT also maintains a level playing field in its GT4 class thanks to SRO. It’s a similar story Down Under where all cars competing in the Australian GT Championship’s GT3 and GT4 ranks remain evenly matched thanks to SRO. This was perfectly illustrated at the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour in 2016 when just 1.2s separated the winning McLaren from the second placed Nissan at the finish. But it’s not just SRO’s BoP that proves popular among partners. Its global network, track record and influence recently saw SRO win the tender to assist motorsport’s world governing body, the FIA, with promoting and organising Macau’s annual FIA GT World Cup event. SRO acts as the interface between the FIA and local promoter, co- ordinates teams and secures manufacturer participation in a race only open to professional drivers. The successful partnership has led to seven GT3 manufactures entering 20 factory-supported cars and drivers in 2017’s edition this November. Almost half the entries are being run by Blancpain GT Series Asia teams (see pink). LIQUI-MOLY BATHURST 12 HOUR MACAU FIA GT WORLD CUP SUPER GT - GT300 SRO SCRUTINEERING BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA – 2017 SEASON REVIEW 07 CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT AND KNOW-HOW Following an inaugural campaign that surpassed all Am/Am pairings can also fight for class honours within expectations, Blancpain GT Series Asia’s format and GT3, while only amateur drivers are currently eligible to regulations – originally based around the British GT compete in GT4. Championship’s - will remain largely unchanged in 2018. Pitstop success penalties are applied at all races to prevent any single crew from dominating. In 2018 the The series brings together a mix of GT3 and GT4 top-three finishers from the previous race must machinery, while GTC cars are also eligible to compete respectively serve an additional 15, 10 or 5 seconds on at the 12 hour-long races spread across six events and top of the mandated minimum pitstop time. This spread four countries that again comprise 2018’s calendar. is slightly higher than in 2017 when 10, 7 and 5 seconds were added. Cars feature a maximum of two drivers, each of whom qualifies for and then starts one of the weekend’s two Just like all SRO championships Blancpain GT Series races. They must then swap places with their co-driver Asia benefits from the organisation’s world-renowned during the mandatory pitstop window, which lasts 10- Balance of Performance (BOP) regulations. These minutes. ensure that a car’s natural attributes or shortcomings are not the determining factors in overall results. Two types of driver pairings compete for outright victories: the mix of a professional and amateur (Pro/Am) But SRO’s BoP is just the start. It’s expertise extends into and two professionals graded no higher than Silver by Race Control, stewarding, scrutineering, management the FIA (Silver Cup). The latter will be subject to and regulatory matters, all of which combine to deliver an performance adjustments and approval by SRO to accountable and trustworthy GT racing environment. ensure that both Pro/Am and Silver/Silver crews are capable of winning races outright. In 2017 this resulted in Format and regulations to be ratified and are subject a balanced five/seven split across the 12 races staged. to changes. FAN AND MEDIA DATA BLANCPAIN GT SERIES ASIA – 2017 SEASON REVIEW 09 TV OVERVIEW Live TV and online streaming coverage from all events.