GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). It has been managed by SRO Motorsports Group since 2018 and sanctioned by the United States Auto Club since 2017. Race weekends currently consist of two 90-minute races exclusively for GT3-class cars, though a change to a single three-hour race per weekend has been confirmed beginning in 2026.
The SCCA created a "showroom stock" class for amateur club racing in 1972. In 1984, following the success of the Longest Day of Nelson and another 24-hour race at Mid-Ohio, the SCCA combined existing races into a manufacturer's championship. For 1985 the series became a six-race professional championship with sponsorship from Playboy magazine, and Escort radar detectors sponsored the series from 1986 until 1991.
In 1990 the series was officially named World Challenge and restructured to adopt rules similar to European Group A for homologated production cars. The higher-cost "sports" classes were dropped after 1996, establishing a class format that remained until 2010. Speed TV network began sponsoring the series in 1999. In 2000 the series introduced separate races for the GT and Touring classes, a division that continued until 2010. With the SpeedVision television contract, the World Challenge eventually succeeded Trans Am as the SCCA's premier series.
In July 2008, the World Challenge series was purchased by WC Vision, a group of investors, while the SCCA remained the sanctioning partner.
Starting with the 2011 season, Pirelli became the official tire supplier and title sponsor. In 2010, Pirelli replaced longtime partner Toyo Tires as the exclusive tire supplier, and for the first time in series history teams competed on racing slicks (Pirelli P Zero) rather than DOT competition tires. Pirelli Tire North America and WC Vision extended their partnership in January 2014 for an additional five years through 2018.
In 2014 the series established a GT-A classification similar to the FIA's bronze category. In 2015 it established GT Cup, featuring Porsche 991 Cup Cars running within the overall GT class races; in 2017 the class was expanded to include Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo and Ferrari 488 Challenge cars. CBS Sports Network and Motor Trend On Demand became television partners in 2015.
In 2016 the series introduced SprintX classes featuring two-driver sprint races across several driver classifications, and expanded the GTS class to include GT4 homologations as part of the SRO partnership. For 2017 the series transferred its sanctioning body to USAC.
On 25 May 2018, the Stephane Ratel Organisation became majority shareholder of WC Vision LLC. On 29 September 2018, the series acquired a new title sponsor as part of an overhaul of the Ratel series portfolio; the GT Sprint Cup in Europe and GT Series Asia were simultaneously rebranded as Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe and Asia, while the American series became GT World Challenge America.
Each season consists of upwards of 11 event weekends and between 5 and 16 rounds. Some rounds use a standing start, unlike the rolling starts common in other sports car racing series. GT World Challenge America races consist of two-driver, 90-minute SprintX format races with two races per weekend. GT4 America is divided into single-driver 50-minute Sprint races and two-driver 60-minute SprintX races. TC America involves separate TCR 40-minute sprint races and 40-minute TC and TCA races.
The GT class permits coupes, sedans, and convertibles typically sold as sports, sport-touring, or performance luxury cars, with power output between 500 and 600 hp. FIA GT3-class cars have been approved to compete from 2013. The Pirelli GT4 America class uses similar body styles at a lower preparation level, with power output between 300 and 400 hp; as of 2017 the class rules fully mirror the FIA GT4 formula, with eligible models including the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Acura TSX, Audi TT, Porsche Cayman, Kia Optima, Nissan 370Z, and Scion FR-S.
The Touring Car (TC) class permits coupes, hatchbacks, wagons, and sedans targeting approximately 300 hp. The TCA class, established in 2014, emphasises cost-effectiveness with modifications limited mainly to chassis tuning and a target of 220 crank hp from non-modified stock engines; eligible cars include the Honda Civic SI, Mazda MX-5, Ford Focus, Scion FR-S, and Kia Forte. The TCR class is based on the international TCR Touring Car formula, using 4- or 5-door production vehicles powered by 2.0-litre turbocharged engines, subject to Balance of Performance adjustments.
The Touring Car B-Spec class featured smaller cars with naturally aspirated engines targeting 125 hp and was discontinued after the 2017 season following the sanctioning change from SCCA to USAC. Starting in 2009, older World Challenge cars became eligible for SCCA club racing competition under the Super Touring category.
Speed TV televised the World Challenge starting in 1996 under the name SPEED World Challenge until 2010. Versus (now NBC Sports Network) announced a new 90-minute broadcast deal beginning with the 2010 season. CBS Sports Network acquired television rights from 2015, partnering with Torque.TV and Motor Trend On Demand for live streaming. The series maintains an archive of race and in-car video on its official site, with coverage dating back to 2008.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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