www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports Published: 20th May 2020 By: Glen Smale Online version: https://www.porscheroadandrace.com/25-years-of-gt-racing-stephane-ratel-and-sro-motorsports/ www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale www.porscheroadandrace.com On the world stage, GT racing has enjoyed as many ups as it has had downs over the years, but this class of racing arguably forms the core of what motor racing encompasses, that is, to take a recognisable Grand Touring car and to go racing with it. I acknowledge that this is an extremely simplistic view to take, and there will be those who point to their favourite form of the sport such as rallying, hill climbing, prototypes etc, this list goes on. But GT racing has (almost) always drawn crowds because the individual spectator can recognise their favourite brand or model on the track on Sunday, even if they cannot afford to buy that car on the following Monday morning. 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale GT racing clearly took a back seat through the 1980s when the Group C cars grabbed all the www.porscheroadandrace.com limelight. And while Group C gave us one of the most enjoyable and closely fought eras of motorsport in modern times, GT racing all but ground to a halt in the final years of the Group C decade. In fact, once the Group C cars had left the scene after the 1992 season, there was a huge vacuum in European motorsport. It was clear then, that the long-time mainstay of motorsport, that is the GT race car, was sorely missing from the grids of Europe. The future of GT racing Eager to launch a new GT series that was open to Gentlemen drivers, Stéphane Ratel stepped up to the plate with a new vision by offering this eager and wealthy group, a series in which to compete. Ratel started out with the Venturi Trophy which saw a one-make field of Venturi 400 Trophy race cars filling grids across Europe from 1992 to 1994. His plans received a real boost when a batch of seven Venturi LM500s ran in the 1993 Le Mans 24 Hours. www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale In 1994, the BPR partnership was formed, consisting of Jürgen Barth, Patrick Peter and Stéphane Ratel – the acronym consisting of the first letter of the three surnames. This series really took off with eight rounds taking place across Europe and included a round each in Japan and China. The racing got more serious and grids of up to 50 cars of all makes filled the grids and drivers include some high ranking international professionals. It is true to say that several of the top GT drivers today, started out in BPR in the mid ‘90s. www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale As the series gained traction across Europe, more and more manufacturers sat up and noticed, and these included Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini, Marcos and Morgan. The BPR Global GT Series (not a championship) was clearly instrumental in drawing GT racing back into the fold of European racing. www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale As from 1997, the FIA GT Championship took over what had been the BPR Global GT Series, and with the FIA’s muscle behind it, the championship grew enormously in stature. For the 1997 and 1998 seasons, Stéphane Ratel partnered with Bernie Ecclestone, during which time the BPR partnership was dissolved. Jürgen Barth assisted Stéphane Ratel in some aspects of the new championship, but Patrick Peter moved on to develop his own classic car racing series. During this time, the FIA GT Championship attracted some really big names, such as Mercedes-Benz, McLaren and Porsche, and the series once again blossomed well into the new millennium. www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale The 2010 season brought a big change, as gone was the FIA GT Championship, and in its place the FIA GT1 World Championship was created which was run from 2010 to 2012. This championship included the likes of Aston Martin, Maserati, Lamborghini, Corvette, Ford GT and Nissan. The 2013 year was a year between two chairs, as Ratel had created a new series for GT3 cars in 2011, the Blancpain Endurance Series, but with the GT1 cars still in the mix, it was all a bit confusing. www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale The Blancpain Endurance Series proved very popular and was making money which was just as well for the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO), as they were still smarting following several years of big losses. The GT1 series had been based around one-hour sprint races, whereas the Blancpain Endurance Series offered the fans and the teams a welcome return to proper GT endurance racing. www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale Running through much of this period was the Spa 24 Hours, and this special race has been given its own section entitled, The World’s Biggest GT3 Race. The Spa circuit is special in anyone’s book, and the 24-hour race is right up there with the biggest and best events in the world. The Spa 24 is for Grand Touring cars, not prototypes, and so this event could be considered the crown in any series. www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale The book 25 Years of GT Racing: Stephane Ratel and SRO Motorsports, was published and given out to guests at a lavish banquet held at the Grand Palais Brongniart in Paris on 24th November 2017. Ratel’s extraordinary achievements and contribution to, not only the survival, but the significant growth of GT racing around the globe, are recorded and recognised in this substantial book, which celebrates his quarter of a century in the sport. www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale Each invited guest received a copy of this tome, which has been compiled and written by Andrew Cotton, who has himself attended probably most of the events covered by the book. A highly respected and experienced motorsport journalist, Cotton was the perfect candidate for the job. Working alongside him, was professional motorsport photographer John Brooks, who has been snapping motorsport, race cars, the people and circuits around the globe all his working life. A high percentage of the images in the book have come from his work in racing, and his knowledge and experience are clearly evident in his work. www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale The book is huge dimensionally, comprising 408 pages on high quality paper with around 550 images, and is a weighty piece to hold. It tells the story of Stéphane Ratel’s journey from a passionate young car enthusiast to architect of modern GT racing world-wide. Around 95 one or two-page interviews and contributions by drivers, engineers, team managers and personnel express what GT racing has meant to them and how it has enhanced their team or career. Names such as Allan McNish, Mark Webber, Toto Wolff, Alex Zanardi, Andrea Bertolini, Karl Wendlinger, Darren Turner, Laurens Vanthoor, Jamie Campbell-Walter, Eduardo Freitas, Hans Reiter, Christophe Bouchut, Toine Hezemans, Paul Belmondo, Hugues de Chaunac and so many others, spring to mind. As many names as you can think of are included here, a list that reads like a who is who of the motorsport world. In addition to this, there are a dozen or more race car profiles of some of the more significant www.porscheroadandrace.com cars – such as the McLaren F1 GTR, Porsche GT1 98, Mercedes GTR, Chrysler Viper, Ferrari 550 Maranello, Maserati MC12, Ford GT and Audi R8 LMS, and more – as well as valuable narrative explaining the various eras of GT racing in Europe and around the world. 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale As most of the 1000-plus copies of the book were given to the invitees, just a small number were made available for sale. So, you might wonder, why are we reviewing a book of which only a few were sold on the open market. The answer is, around 75 copies did make it onto the market but there will inevitably be others who did receive a copy on the night of the dinner, but for whom the book just takes up unnecessary space. www.porscheroadandrace.com 25 Years of GT Racing: Stéphane Ratel and SRO Motorsports by Andrew Cotton © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale In closing It is a mightily impressive large format publication, well designed and appealing, with a stunning selection of images from around the world.