When the GT3 category was launched, it had a wide variety of competitors. It was a class that featured the likes of Morgan’s Plus 8, resplendent with a wooden dashboard, as well as Corvette’s C5 Z06 and Aston Martin’s DBRS9.
The idea was to provide an accessible, cost-effective racing platform for various one-make series cars, including the Porsche Carrera Cup and Ferrari Challenge, that could, for the first time, compete against each other.
The basis of the class was that whatever was brought, the cars would have their performance balanced and be good to race, with very little adaptation needed. The original concept was to balance the cars to within 0.75 of a second, the thinking being that the amateur drivers would make a bigger difference than that and would remain the determining factor in the result.
With the tools that were available, Peter Wright, who managed the performance balancing, was clear – no one could balance the cars any more accurately than that.
Cheaper thrills
As the GT2 and GT1 categories continued to increase in cost, more teams and manufacturers turned to GT3 cars that were less expensive to buy, cheaper per kilometre to run and easier to drive. When the FIA GT1 World Championship died, GT3 cars stepped into the void, while GT2 cars morphed into the GTE category that ran until last year.
The GT3 class was a natural fit for those manufacturers who developed and built ever-more elaborate machines. More professional drivers sat behind the wheel, factory teams were entered and all-pro
