Baku to host FIA GT Series season finale in October
By Nigar Orujova
SRO Motorsports Group announced Azerbaijani capital Baku as a venue of the 2013 FIA GT Series season finale, FIA GT Series official website reported on June 1.
The race will take place on the weekend of October 18-20 and will be billed as the first-ever Baku World Challenge event.
The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) GT Series is a GT3 sports car racing championship holds races in six countries, with each event consisting of two races over a weekend, mostly concentrated in Europe.
Magnificent GT3 cars will line up on a newly designed 4-kilometre long street-circuit, which stretches along the Caspian Sea.
The Baku World Challenge will be strictly limited to 30 cars. The teams racing in the first-ever Baku World Challenge weekend will be racing for a stunning prize fund of €175,000, that will be distributed by the host city as €100,000 for the overall winning team in the main race, €50,000 for the second placed team and €25,000 for the third placed team.
All teams will also benefit from a €20,000 starting prize package in addition to airfreight costs, plane tickets, hotel and catering costs.
The Baku World Challenge is set to be a dynamic, thrilling and unique event that will reward true racing excellence for the competitors while providing an unforgettable occasion for the residents of the vibrant city of Baku.
Moreover, the exciting final round of the 2013 FIA GT Series, the roar of F1 engines will also reverberate around the Baku streets, as a grid of F1 cars from the period from 1966 to 1985 will provide more spectacular action, the website noted.
SRO Motorsports Group Founder and CEO Stephane Ratel, "All the SRO team is enthusiastic to discover a fast-growing city like Baku."
According to Jean-Francois Chaumont and Renaud Jeanfils, the event promoters, "The circuit for the first Baku World Challenge race will be a high-speed street circuit that will have a very special appeal for the competitors. Part of the circuit will pass close to the famous Crystal Hall, which hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012.This distinctive building will also stage a concert on the Sunday evening with an international artist to be announced soon. Together with the FIA GT Series, we look forward to building up a truly global event on a long-term basis."
Last October Baku hosted City Challenge races, a spectacular urban motorsport experience with excitement, fun and action, which attracted children and adults alike.