Sasol GTC Championship

The Sasol Global Touring Car Championship is a South African touring car series co-founded by Gary Formato and Vic Maharaj in 2016 and sanctioned by MSA. Sasol has been the series' title sponsor and sole fuel supplier since its inaugural season.[1] It has dubbed itself South Africa's "premier motorsport championship".[2]

Sasol GTC Championship
CategoryTouring Cars
CountrySouth Africa
Inaugural season2016
Drivers18
ConstructorsAudi (2016-present), BMW (2016-present), Volkswagen (2016-present), Ford (2016-present), Mini (2017-present), Toyota (2019-present), Honda (2017-2018)
Tyre suppliersDunlop
Drivers' champion Keagan Masters
Constructors' champion Volkswagen
Official websitegtcafrica.co.za
Current season

The series is divided of two classes, namely GTC (which runs silhouette racing cars) and GTC2 (which runs production racing cars).

History

Following the folding of the National Production Car Championship in late 2015,[3] South Africa lacked a premier touring car racing series. The Sasol GTC Championship (which had been in development for nearly four years), spearheaded by Vic Maharaj and Gary Formato, was given the green light by Motorsport South Africa in March 2015.[4]

The new series was set to be attractive due to its lower costs (reportedly R200,000 less for a season than the NPCC).[4] All the cars would run identical six-speed Albins sequential gearboxes (identical to those used in the Supercars Championship), shock absorbers, suspension and brakes in order to aid cost-saving. The car regulations would be frozen for the series's first five seasons, and car development was banned. Originally slated to consist of four manufacturers (Audi, Ford, Nissan and Jaguar) fielding 12 cars between them, there were only 10 cars fielded in the inaugural race at Zwartkops Raceway. With Nissan and Jaguar completely pulling out before the championship even began, the series attracted Volkswagen and BMW to also enter two and four cars respectively.[5]

The inaugural season calendar consisted of seven rounds with two races each, except for the rounds at Killarney Race Track and Aldo Scribante, of which each had three races. It kicked off at Zwartkops Raceway on the 9th of August, seeing South African racing veteran Michael Stephen take the series's first ever victory. The season finale was staged at Prince George Circuit in East London, with Stephen being crowned the first Sasol GTC champion. Gennaro Bonafede finished as championship runner-up with five victories to his name.[6]

Cars

GTC

The cars consist of a single-specification tubular chassis with metal bodywork, supplied by the manufacturer. Each manufacturer also provides a turbocharged 2-litre petrol engine which produces a maximum of 436 bhp and 600 nm of torque. All cars are rear-wheel drive. The gearboxes are standardised Albins six-speed sequential gearboxes, the same gearboxes used in the Australian Supercars Championship. Suspension parts, dampers and brakes are also standard across all cars, and all cars run slick tyres provided by Dunlop.[7] Traction control and Anti-lock braking systems are banned. Sasol provides fuel to all cars. The cars were anticipated to reach up to 280 km/h prior to the first season.[8]

Following a series of engine issues during the first round of the 2017 season, changes had to be introduced to lessen stress on the engines. This included setting an RPM-limit of 7200, as well as decreasing the absolute boost pressure of the turbochargers to 2100 millibar.[9]

GTC2

The GTC2 class allows for production racing cars only, also with 2-litre turbocharged petrol engines, but instead capped to 281 bhp.[10] The cars have to be front-wheel drive and must keep their factory engines, gearboxes and dashboards. Limited-slip differentials are permitted in order to aid traction. They use steel tube roll cages built by South African ex-racing driver Etienne van der Linde. Unlike in the GTC Class, aftermarket shock absorbers are permitted, but are cost-capped at R50 000 per set. Each car is given one set of Dunlop slick tyres at the beginning of a season, and then two fresh tyres at each race.

Champions

Drivers
SeasonGTCGTC2
2016 Michael Stephen Daniel Rowe
2017 Michael Stephen Keagan Masters
2018 Michael Stephen Keagan Masters
2019 Keagan Masters Brad Liebenberg

Manufacturers
SeasonGTCGTC2
2016 BMW Volkswagen
2017 Audi Volkswagen
2018 Audi Volkswagen
2019 Volkswagen Volkswagen

References
  1. "Sasol to fuel 280km/h production racers". IOL. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  2. "About The Sasol GTC Championship". GTC Africa. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  3. "Bridgestone Pays Tribute as Curtain Falls on Production Cars". Bridgestone South Africa. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  4. "GTC to be SA's top racing formula". IOL. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  5. "Audi and Stephen take first GTC win". IOL. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  6. "East London Finale Highlights Package". YouTube. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  7. "SA's new GTC racing cars revved up and ready". IOL. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  8. "Sasol GTC Championship set to make motorsport history". GTC Africa. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  9. "GTC Championship Engine Statement Update". GTC Africa. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  10. "GTC Production Classes Explained". GTC Africa. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
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