GT World Challenge Australia is set for a new category management group from the 2024 season, Speedcafe understands.
According to multiple sources, the Australian Racing Group has sold its 50 percent share in the championship, although whether the transaction has been completed is yet to be confirmed.
SRO Motorsports Group is expected to become the sole owner of what is otherwise known as the Australian GT Championship, after three years in partnership with ARG.
Said partnership commenced effective from the 2021 season, when the competition was bestowed the commercial moniker of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS, consistent with other SRO properties.
Now, it appears that the SRO influence will increase further.
The future of ARG has been brought into focus of late due to the well-publicised woes of the S5000 category, and a sale of its half of GT World Challenge would be consistent with a streamlining of the business.
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Australian GT has been through a tumultuous period in recent years, arguably reaching a nadir when just four GT3-spec cars fronted for an Australian Endurance Championship race at Sandown in September 2019, during the era of Trofeo Motorsport/Jim Manolios ownership.
However, it has also proven to be a successful competition under different stewardship.
In 2016 and early-2017, when Tony Quinn was the category management rights holder, it boasted entry lists in the mid- to high-twenties and sometimes even thirties, the vast majority of which were GT3s.
Even lately, grids have been solid if unspectacular, with 22 cars entered for the Sydney round on the Supercars support bill, of which 18 were current-spec GT3s.
SRO’s other presence in Australia is the Bathurst 12 Hour, an event owned by Supercars but run as part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
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