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2014.09.30
3rd Steering Committee: New Japan-US-Europe regulation agreed to be called "Class1". DTM will also be equipped with an inline-4 turbo.

3rd Steering Committee: New Japan-US-Europe regulation agreed to be called "Class1".  DTM will also be equipped with an inline-4 turbo.の画像

“3rd Steering Committee meeting” was held at a hotel in Tokyo on September 30th. The steering committee is an organization aiming to establish a common regulation for the major race categories of Japan, Germany, and USA, namely SUPER GT, DTM, and IMSA, respectively, by 2017 and to hold a joint event. Third round of the meeting was held in Japan after the first meeting in Germany and the second in the US.

In this meeting, agreements were made to name the common regulation as “Class1” and to adopt the 2000cc, inline 4-cylinder, turbo-charged engine, which has already been rolled out in the GT500 class of SUPER GT, in the new 2017 technical regulation.

 

 

 

The meeting was chaired by Masaaki Bandoh, the chairman of GTA which governs SUPER GT, and participated by Hans Werner Aufrecht of ITR, governing body of DTM, as well as representatives from automakers, Keizo Takahashi of Toyota Motor Sales Marketing, Shoichi Miyatani of Nissan Mortorsports International, Wolfgang Ullrich of Audi, and Jens Marquardt of BMW, Toto Wolff of Mercedes-Benz, and also from JAF and DMSB. Members of IMSA also joined via teleconference to exchange their views. As mentioned above, representatives from racing industry as well as manufacturers from Japan, Europe, and USA got together at one place for a discussion.

 

 

At the press conference held after the meeting, Masaaki Bandoh, the chairman of GTA which governs SUPER GT, said, “In the meeting today, we confirmed the intent (to participate) of each manufacturer and the possibility of holding a joint event in relation to the 2017 regulations. A decision that was made was to name the regulation as “Class1.” It holds implication of to aim for the apex of GT race, the highest class. Also, we came to an agreement on the 2017 regulation. We will continue the discussion for realizing a collaborative event of SUPER GT and DTM.” He emphasized the success of the meeting. The agreement made regarding the regulation includes the adoption of 2000cc, inline 4-cylinder, turbo engine, which has already been implemented in SUPER GT, by DTM.

Aufrecht of GTM, who jointly issued a statement with GTA Chairman Bondoh, looked satisfied, “It was a very satisfying meeting and we can now move on to the next phase (dimension). We will have a same regulation by 2017, and will continue to work to realize an event where cars will be running together. All participating manufacturers can compete under a same condition, and it can be Suzuka (SUPER GT) last week, Nürburgring (DTM) this week, and Daytona (IMSA) next week, and fans can also enjoy that. “Class1” can be a cramp that holds Japan, USA, and Europe tightly. The regulation can be said as the top even among the motorsports world and is safety-conscious as well as cost-conscious, which can be a good example to various areas. Details will be determined going forward, but I think it is a bright way ahead. Most of all, I would like to express my appreciation to the participation by six global and motorsports enthusiastic manufacturers (Honda is participating to the meeting only).”

 

 

Though significant agreements were made at the third steering committee meeting in Japan, the work needs to be done further to decide on details, for example, the engine specification was finalized but which parts to standardize or where to allow development competition are not decided, issues in terms of the car bodywork such as balancing between speed control for safety and competition standpoint, etc. With the SUPER GT using tires made by various manufacturers and DTM using tires of a sole supplier, it does not look easy to say that a joint event is feasible yet.

However, both Chairman Bandoh and Aufrecht said firmly that more detailed, specific plan will be announced at the fourth meeting scheduled next year (planned to be held in Germany).

 

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