As was announced at the end of the 2017 season, the SRO Motorsports Group wishes to slow the increasing professionalisation of the Blancpain GT Series, where the average number of Pro cars increased from 11 in 2011 to 32 in 2017. In order to do so, the following sporting evolutions will be taken for the 2018 season.

As recently announced, in order to make the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup more appealing for non-professional drivers, the maximum number of cars with a full Pro line-up has been limited to 26. Exceptions will be made for the Total 24 Hours of Spa, not only a round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup but also of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Driver pairings in the Pro-Am Cup of the endurance races will be solely made out of two Bronze and one professional driver. However, the possible derogations for two-driver line-ups will remain applicable, although the driving time for the Pro driver has been slightly reduced. For Spa, the line-up will be Platinum/Platinum/Bronze/Bronze. The pairing rules for the Am Cup will remain identical, with three Bronze drivers and an additional driver who may be Silver for Spa. Sprint line-ups will not change, with the maximum being Bronze/Platinum in Pro-Am and Bronze/Bronze in Am.

In order for each driver to be guaranteed to play a role in qualifying for the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup races, the starting grid will be determined by the average of the times of all drivers sharing a car.  This will also apply for the Total 24 Hours of Spa.  For cars with two drivers, one of the drivers will race in two sessions. Each driver will have a designated new set of tyres for their 15-minute qualifying session.

In the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, a more traditional GT3 format will be adopted. Driver 1 will take part in Qualifying 1, which will set the grid for Race 1, which they will start. Driver 2 will take part in Qualifying 2 to set the grid for Race 2, which he or she will start. Both races will score equal points, which will be reduced in order to maintain the balance between Sprint and Endurance Cups. In qualifying, points will be given to the team and drivers on pole in both races.

The Silver Cup, reserved for cars with all-Silver driver line-ups will be extended to the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. Cars with a Silver/Silver/Bronze line-up will be allowed to race in the Silver Cup should they wish. For Spa, a fourth Silver driver may be added. An Overall title will also be awarded.

To help in incidents and to emphasize safety, a driver-facing camera will be adopted in all races. Further improvements will include the introduction of GPS in the cars and lifting bars to aid in recovery.

The Prize Fund is expanded to the Silver Cup and in collaboration with partner TM Performance an innovative Accident Compensation Fund is implemented. This brings the total amount of money for distribution to the teams to well over two million euros.

The 2018 season of the Blancpain GT Series starts with the Official Test Days at Circuit Paul Ricard on March 13-14. The Belgian circuit of Zolder will host the first race meeting of the new season, on April 6-8.

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Officials have described the operation as heroic, guaranteeing a quality field for the Cup.

Fourteen cars were damaged, some of them beyond repair, in the first lap incident that blocked Macau’s Guia circuit.

Every Cup team has worked together in a massive co-operative effort to ensure the maximum possible grid for today’s race.

Teams are to face scrutineering in the early morning to ensure safety compliance.

The world’s best GT drivers will contest the 18-lap FIA GT World Cup.

Even as teams worked, competitors woke to rain, forecast to clear by race start.

Audi Sport Team WRT last night raided a motor racing display in Macau’s Fishermen’s Wharf to commandeer the R8 race car of local driver Marchy Lee for parts.

Lee, who is not racing in the GT World Cup, volunteered his car to help Audi repair the Number Two car of Nico Muller, badly damaged in the crash.

FIST Team BMW retained only the central safety cell of Marco Wittmann’s M6 GT3, replacing both the front and rear end, plus the windscreen and roof with parts secured from BMW and from rival Team Schnitzer.

Wittmann’s roof was damaged when the Audi R8 of Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi came to rest on top of it.

HCB Rutronik Racing used underbody parts from Fabien Plentz’s Audi R8 to restore di Grassi’s sister car.

Craft Bamboo Racing has retired Laurens Vanthoor’s 911GT3R and used components from it to fully repair team mate Darryl O’Young’s car.

Vanthoor’s driver safety cell had been damaged beyond repair.

FIA scrutineers have been told of the withdrawal of FF Racing Team’s Lamborghini Huracan ( Mirko Bortolotii) and Aust Motorsport’s Audi ( Markus Pommer).

The condition of the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488GT3 of twice Macau F3 winner Felix Rosenqvist is yet to be confirmed.

Macau specialist, twice F3 and three times GT winner Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes-AMG Team Driving Academy) has pole alongside Augusto Farfus ( BMW Team Schnitzer) for the rolling start of the FIA GT World Cup.

The most successful Macau competitor in modern history Edoardo Mortara ( Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy) has claimed a dominant flag to flag victory in the third FIA GT World Cup.

Mortara qualified fastest, won the crash shortened qualifying race and converted both into his most satisfying ever victory at the 6.12km Guia track.

He outpaced Macau debutant Robin Frijns (Audi WRT R8LMS) and inaugural FIA GT World Cup winner Maro Engel ( Gruppe-M AMG) with just 1.4 sec separating the top three.

Frijns came from fourth grid position and Engel delivered the fighting performance of the event charging from eight place.

The three drivers swapped fastest laps in the closing stages on a track with low grip levels made slippery by earlier rain.

Mortara added the FIA GT World Cup to three previous GT victories and two F3 Grand Prix wins to stake his claim to the title “ Mr Macau”.

“ When I get in front my strategy is to go faster to ensure I maintain a gap , especially on a circuit like Macau when so much can go wrong , “ Mortara said.

“ I have tried for three years to win this World Cup and it means so much to me to deliver it to my new team.”

Fourteen cars of an entry of 20 from seven makes faced the starter after the Qualifying Race first lap incident which blocked the track and damaged three quarters of the field.

In the unusual circumstance officials allowed 10 minutes of reconnaissance time before the World Cup to test cars after all-night repairs and started the race under safety car as an additional precaution.

Mortara held the lead with masterful restarts through two subsequent safety car periods as cars which had been handicapped by low grid positions after the Qualifying melee forced forward.

The high intensity of the World Cup created extraordinary personal efforts.

Augusto Farfus ( BMW Schnitzer) who started along side Mortaro on the front row hit the fence, pitted under the safety car for his trunk lid to be torn free , dropped to last and raced back to fourth , 10sec behind Engel.

Darryl O’Ypoung ( Craft Namboo Porsche 911 GT3R) was hit by the Mercedes-Benz of both Engel and Daniel Juncadella as they moved up through the field.

O’Young was eliminated in the second collision with Juncadella, who pitted for repairs to finish eighth..

Lucas di Grassi ( HCB Rutronik Audi ) retired in a separate high speed crash into the fence in the top of the hill esses.

Three times GT winner at the Macau Grand Prix Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes AMG Driving Academy GT3) has won the qualifying race for the FIA GT World Cup after the first leg was halted at ‘ Police’ bend.

Three quarters of the most professional GT field ever gathered at Macau was caught up behind a total track blockage, sparked when Mortara’s team mate Daniel Juncadella hit the wall while in fourth place on the opening lap.

Mortara’s win has set up massive anticipation as GT teams from seven makes work overnight to prepare their cars for the World Cup.

Officials have determined a World Cup starting grid intended to provide fair advantage to the field.

Only eight cars survived the incident to complete the time certain qualifying event after a lengthy delay.

Mortara won, 1.5sec clear of Augusto Farfus ( Schnitzer BMW M6) and 2.7secs ahead of Raffaele Marciello ( Gruppe M Mercedes-Benz AMG).

In further drama inaugural FIA GT World Cup champion Maro Engel who had forged to the lead from the second row was unable to immediately fire up his Gruppe M Mercedes-AMG on the restart, finishing eighth one lap down.

The rolling start of the 12 lap qualifying race held great promise as the four Mercedes-Benz which had locked out the first two rows fanned out across the track.

But Juncadella, winner of Macau’s F3 race in 2011, went slightly wide, kissing the safety fence with the right rear of his car.

Engel took the lead from Mortara while Farfus, fortunately , sprinted up from sixth to third as the field climbed the Guia Hill .

Juncadella fell into fourth with Marciello closely challenging ahead of defending GT World Cup champion Laurens Vanthoor (Craft Bamboo Porsche GT3R).

On Police bend on the run down towards the hairpin Juncadella hit the fence , perhaps a result of his earlier incident , and only Marciello was able to squeeze through , collecting minor damage on his vehicle’s side panels.

Behind him Vanthoor slammed into the rear of Juncadella and a chain reaction followed in which all but two cars suffered some damage.

Macau debutante Robin Frijns (Audi Sport WRT R8) counted himself lucky that he had started from seventeenth after a qualifying crash.

“I was able to avoid most of the incident but still had to choose between hitting a Porsche or the safety barrier, “he said.

“I chose the barrier because it seemed softer”.

Frijns, with the minor damage to his car repaired, went on to claim fourth at the restart ahead of Australian Chaz Mostert (FIST Team BMW M6) and Darryl O’Young ( Craft Bamboo Porsche 911 GT3R).

Macau officials have determined the grid for the FIA GT World Cup by allocating the first eight places to the drivers who finished the restarted qualifying event.

The remaining grid positions will be allocated according to the order cars were in when they completed the first sector of the first lap, before the ‘Police’ incident.

That means Juncadella will start ninth behind Engel and ahead of Laurens Vanthoor ,Nico Muller ( Audi Sport Team WRT R8) and Renger Van der Zande ( Honda NSX GT3).

The grid composition will test the professionalism of the field as they manoeuvre for position in the 18-lap (110km) World Cup.