LMP3 and GT Cup will not merge
LMP3 Cup and GT Cup series organisers have ruled out the possibility of the two series combining grids to become a
World Endurance Championshipstyle multi-class event.
A recent survey released by GT Cup aimed at drivers and teams included a question on whether it should be combined with the sister LMP3 Cup series.
United Autosports boss Richard Dean earlier this year suggested combining the grids, but Chris Haynes, the managing director of series organiser
Bute Motorsport, has ruled it out.
“We wanted to know [in the survey] what they thought, but they’re confirming what we think, which is that those things should be kept separate,” said Haynes. “They’re happy to do the odd race where it’s appropriate, where the circuit can cope with it – Spa for instance, and possibly Silverstone. But as a rule they would prefer the two to be apart.
“GT racing and prototype racing, they’re two different species. We want to have more than one championship that complement each other.”
Steve Ruston, who drives a GT4 Ginetta, which is among the slower GT Cup cars, is concerned about the speed disparity of a combined grid. “There’s just massive accidents that could happen there, and that would put me off,” he said. “I don’t want to be repairing a car every weekend because an LMP3 who’s got pots of money wants to come and smash it up.”
Some GT3 runners were more open to combined grids. “We’ve raced two years with them at Spa and it’s been good fun,” said GT Cup frontrunner Nigel Hudson. “We have to cope with them [GT4 cars] in GT3, so there’s no reason why they [LMP3 cars] can’t. It would make for a better spectacle and better racing.”
LMP3 racer Bradley Smith also liked the idea: “Mixed classes is what endurance has always been about. With a P3 and a slow guy in a GT4 the closing speeds are quite quick. That’s an element of endurance racing – they just need to get the right balance.”