BMW holds a narrow advantage over Aston Martin in the race for the inaugural GT4 Manufacturer Ranking crown, the German brand having emerged on top following a run of nine events in Europe, North America and Australia.
The early leaders are joined in the new international contest by Audi, Ford, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and Toyota, with each scoring points via its customer teams in eight championships organised or licensed by SRO Motorsports Group. Seven of those series have now staged at least one meeting in 2024, while the new Japan Cup is set to launch its campaign at Sugo on 8-9 June.
The season began with a run of races in Europe, kicking off over the Easter weekend (30 March–1 April) with events at Nogaro (Championnat de France FFSA GT) and Oulton Park (British GT). Porsche made a dream start in the French series thanks to Am class wins for AV Racing and JSB Compétition, the former taking a remarkable overall victory in Race 1. Audi also enjoyed a fruitful weekend, with CSA Racing securing a Pro-Am sweep.
British GT got underway with a pair of 60-minute races at Oulton Park. The new Aston Martin Vantage completed a sensational maiden outing on home soil thanks to a pair of Silver class wins for Forsetti Motorsport, while Mercedes-AMG banked a double Pro-Am victory courtesy of Team Parker Racing. BMW and McLaren also picked up solid points at the Cheshire venue.
The GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club attracted a remarkable 50 entrants for its opener at Circuit Paul Ricard (5–7 April). A bumper 25-car Silver class offered excellent scoring opportunities, which were seized upon by Toyota (TGR Team Matmut Évolution) and Aston Martin (PROsport Racing). The latter further bolstered its tally by earning Pro-Am victory via Mirage Racing, while W&S Motorsport added another win for Porsche.
The American season launched over the same weekend at Sonoma Raceway. This offered a double helping of GT4 action, with Manufacturer Ranking points up for grabs in Pirelli GT4 America and GT America Powered by AWS. In the former, the Pro-Am spoils were shared between BMW (Bimmer World) and Mercedes-AMG (RENNtech Motorsports), while BMW also bagged a Silver win (AutoTechnic Racing) along with Toyota (Smooge Racing). In GT America Powered by AWS, which features a single-driver GT4 class, Isaac Sherman led Rotek Racing to a double win with his Porsche.
The next points-scoring opportunity came two weeks later in Monochrome GT4 Australia, which began its first campaign under SRO’s management at Phillip Island. This produced one of the most evenly matched rounds yet in terms of points, with little to separate Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, BMW, McLaren and Ford. The latter captured a pair of overall wins with its new Mustang, both courtesy of Miedecke Motor Group.
While the Australian series got underway at Phillip Island, GT America Powered by AWS was some 12,000 kilometres away showcasing GT4 machinery at another world-famous venue, running as part of the Long Beach Grand Prix. Isaac Sherman again swept the weekend for Porsche – no mean feat in a nine-car class – while table-toppers Aston Martin and BMW also emerged with strong scores.
The season stepped up another gear last weekend (27–28 April) when ADAC GT4 Germany launched at Oschersleben and British GT arrived at Silverstone for its second meeting of the year. The German championship, which is licensed by SRO and organised by the ADAC, saw BMW make huge gains thanks to a double victory for Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport. With only minor points for Aston Martin, the Bavarian brand opened up a serious gap at the top of the standings – though it would not last long.
In British GT, the blue riband Silverstone 500 attracted a 19-car GT4 field split between the Silver and Pro-Am classes. McLaren got its first GT4 Manufacturer Ranking win of the season, with Optimum Motorsport taking overall and Silver class honours in the showpiece event. But, in a crucial development for the standings, it was Aston Martin that emerged with the most points thanks to a runner-up finish in Silver and a Pro-Am podium.
This result has ensured that the battle at the top of the table remains close heading into May. BMW leads with 4,975 points, thanks in no small part to its ADAC GT4 dominance, but Aston Martin is within striking distance on 4,753. Porsche sits a solid third on 3,814, followed by Mercedes-AMG (3,414), Toyota (2,232), McLaren (1,818), Audi (1,138) and Ford (729).
The action now comes thick and fast, with every GT4 Manufacturer Ranking series set to run over the next six weekends. Pirelli GT4 America and GT America Powered by AWS head to Sebring on 3–5 May, while Championnat de France FFSA GT stages its second event of 2024 one week later at Lédenon.
The GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club tackles Misano on 17–19 May, while across the Atlantic both American series will be in action at COTA. ADAC GT4 and British GT will again share the same weekend on 24–26 May, racing at Lausitzring and Donington Park respectively. Monochrome GT4 Australia resumes at The Bend on 31 May–2 June before the Japan Cup joins the party with its opener at Sugo on 7–9 June.
HOW ARE GLOBAL POINTS SCORED?
SRO Motorsports Group must account for varying degrees of manufacturer participation across each continent when calculating the GT4 Manufacturer Ranking.
As such, points are awarded based on the position of each manufacturer’s leading car per category (Overall, Pro-Am, Am etc) in every race.
Points for Sprint races of up to 60 minutes are based on the standard allocation (25 – 18 – 15 – 12 – 10 – 8 – 6 – 4 – 2 – 1). This allocation doubles for races lasting two and three hours.
The points scored per brand are then multiplied by the number of cars competing in that category. Therefore, a win in a category with five cars competing is worth less than one where 20 cars are entered.
No cars are removed from the classification – if the top six cars are from a single brand, the next brand will score points for seventh. These points are added across the categories and races to give the manufacturers’ global score.