Brands back on GT schedule

Brands Hatch is back on the GT World Challenge Europe calendar for 2021, but it remains unclear whether it will be joined by Silverstone as part of the nowtraditional British double-header in May.

The Brands Sprint Cup event (below) and the Silverstone round of the Endurance Cup were casualties of the coronavirus pandemic this year. Brands has been reinstalled on the calendar with a 2 May date next season, while Silverstone could fill a TBA the following week.

Series boss Stephane Ratel explained that Silverstone is one of two options for the second race in May on the 10-date GTWCE schedule. “We need a bit more time to make a decision on which is the best for us,” he said.

He explained that he needed greater visibility on the implications of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. He explained that the customs agreement resulting from Brexit could have a more significant effect on Silverstone than Brands: the Stephane Ratel Organisation brings almost double the number of cars to an enduro than one of the shortformat events and also supplies the full support programme.

Ratel said he was happy with a 2021 calendar that he described as having “a familiar look”. “At the start of the year we had 54 full-season entries for Endurance and 34 for Sprint, so we don’t need to change anything,” he said.

The GTWCE will begin at Monza in April as it has every season since the season was inaugurated as the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2011. The doublepoints Spa 24 Hours round remains the centrepiece, while Paul Ricard and the Nurburgring maintain their slots.

The final Sprint round also remains a TBA alongside the regular fixtures at Brands, Zandvoort, Misano and Barcelona.