GMWC News summary

2009C

The final round of the GWMC draws to a close this weekend and we see a repeat at the top with AJ Weber and Celso Jorge battling for the title. At this point last season the question was, can Celso take his first title or will AJ add to his extensive tally? And so we arrive at the final round of 2009 with the same question on everyone’s lips however this time Celso has the upper hand and AJ will certainly need to claim the win and fastest lap to defend the title… pressure is certainly on.

Matt Lewis and Anthony Cochrane will be fighting for 3rd place, both of whom were never in title contention having not contested all the cups. Also in distance of that 3rd place with a very credible performance this year is Ian Cumming ,who is set for his highest points finished for the RAC team.

In the Team title race, Antares once again look set to clinch the crown but a valiant effort from Rusyn has kept them on their toes. Based on current performance, A-tek look set to knock M-sport out of the top three.

2010A

And so on to 2010 and what looks like one of the most interesting off season shake ups for a while. Much like F1 the Grid Motorsport see’s new teams, departures and a refuel ban.

Of what little there is confirmed from the silly season will be that new boys MRDC will join the grid led by ex SDL driver Andy Jones, with an interesting concept to team management. Litchfield Dynamics have a bolstered squad with their first expansion from a one car team.

SDL’s fall from grace though looks set to continue from the once great team as its owner struggles to find time and funding for the SDL project. With Andy Jones already moving on to form his own team, will others follow? Certainly the Seattle factory will be hanging onto faith for the possible return of star driver “C” at some stage during the 2010 campaign. Another team owner struggling to make the grid is Chris Jones; however his team drivers have done a good job to keep the RAC banner flying. 

Of the current top four, Antares, Rusyn, M-Sport and A-Tek no changes have been revealed and stability is expected to continue. Rumours of a merger between M-sport and A-tek have surfaced however they remain just rumours.

GTCC

The GTCC series draws to a close in Cleveland in two weeks, but the news is all about the revamped series which will commence before the end of the year. 

Aimed at increasing popularity and the fun factor the series will reduce to two car classes, B and C. GTCC promoters are confident this will retain the attraction of a multi class series but retain strong competition across the classes even with low field numbers. whilst retaining an element of arrive and drive accessibility. So in summary GTCC will feature 

• Unchanged class B cars with possible additional types to compliment the Panoz and Porsche (reports of Chevrolet and Spyker truck sightings have emerged from resident nearby GWMC HQ)
• Class C car consolidated to Skoda only with 200bhp engine spec
• Unchanged GTCC raceand points format

GMWC Off season

So after the hangovers subside after the end of season Party, what’s on the agenda?

Well with the core GP series taking a month long sabbatical, there’s plenty to keep the competitive juices flowing. 2009C GTCC finals will be held in Cleveland followed the week after by a showcase for the revamped mid week racing series. In December we have a welcome return of the highly entertaining and competitive Skoda series which as a bonus now contributes to the points for the 2010A GTCC series.

So plenty of change and some exciting times, we wish the title contenders well for the final GMWC round and look forward to seeing as many drivers on track for the off season action.