Goodwood hosts GT3 time attack at Members’ Meeting

Exciting news from Goodwood. At next year’s 82^nd Members’ Meeting, we will see a time attack from the first generation of GT3 cars (2006 – 2012), like the Mercedes SLS, Porsche 911 GT3 R, Ferrari F430 or Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

The first batch of GT3 cars are quickly gaining popularity. They are welcomed in Masters Historic Racing, Peter Auto and the Motor Racing Legends series. They are easy to run, reliable and cheaper than the GTE and GT1 cars.

World-class drivers

At the 82^nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting (12 – 13 April), the GT3s will play a starring role. There is no specific race for them yet, but on Friday and Saturday, we’ll be seeing them on parade laps, and on Sunday, they will take part in a timed shoot-out. As we’ve seen in the past, these time attacks are taken rather seriously, with world-class drivers being sent out with the specific instruction to go flat out.

Balance of Performance

The GT3 class is currently the main class in GT racing, having taken over from the GTE class at the Le Mans 24 Hours and in the WEC world championship. In the early 2000s, the GT3 cars arrived on the scene, mainly in Stéphane Ratel’s SRO series, of which the Blancpain championships became the main focal point.

The Balance of Performance (BOP) was, and still is, the main characteristic of GT3 racing. The BOP creates a level field, and guarantees close racing right to the end of even a 24-hour race. Much can be said that BOP took away the engineering challenge in racing, but it has guaranteed exciting races ever since its inception. Often, the engines are reigned in compared to the road car variants, which helps reliability. Since the manufacturers offered them, they helped turn racing into a very profitable affair for them.

With the Audi R8, Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Mercedes SLS AMG GT3, Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Huracan and of course the Porsche 911, the GT3 fields have always been diverse.

20 cars

Goodwood has provided a slot for 20 cars at the Members’ Meeting. These will take part in a qualifying shoot-out on Saturday. The top-eight will go through to the time attack on Sunday.

Goodwood Members’ Meeting is accessible to members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club only. The upside of that privileged approach is that you can take part in one of the most relaxed historic motor racing events of the season, with plenty of time and opportunity to chat with the drivers in the paddock. It’s one of our favourite events.

More info on 82^nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting here.