If you’ve been following international FIA GT3 racing for the last few years, like I have, then you’ve likely noticed a huge influx of talented drivers, top-rate teams, and some truly fascinating race cars. You’ve also probably noticed that the level of competition in this category has gotten very tight all over the world. There are 24 hour races that are decided by mere seconds, usually with a half dozen or more cars on the lead lap. Just this year, we’ve seen some exciting finishes at Bathurst, Daytona, Sebring, etc. Now just imagine if there were an international GT3 championship on the line for those races. That’d just spice things up further, wouldn’t it? Putting all of the teams through the ringer in an attempt to see who is the best throughout the world. Yeah, I’d love to see how that plays out.
Warning: I get very sports car nerdy in this post, and probably only Eric Rood will read it in its entirety.  Because all of the races that comprise my ‘championship’ already exist and are already contested by pro-level drivers and teams, I will be calculating out the points totals of all drivers and teams throughout the season, and I absolutely will have a cheesy bowling trophy constructed in the honor of the series victors and mail out a teams and drivers championship trophy when this is all decided. Yes, it is entirely possible [Scratch that, probable] that a team and driver will win a series that they had no idea they were competing for.

Which races would be included, and why?

Region 1 – Asia and The South Pacific
Dubai 24
Excellent quality racing as orchestrated by Creventic. Like many other racing events, GT3 spec cars fill out the top category of this race, and there are always world-class teams in attendance. This race takes place as the first race of the year for many. While the race is held during the earliest part of the calendar year, the race is generally quite warm, and thus quite taxing on both car and driver.
Bathurst 12
The Bathurst 12 is rapidly becoming my favorite race all year. The battles are tight, the level of competition is getting to insane levels, and some of the worlds best drivers show up to contest for the win. Fantastic Australian-based teams like Erebus show up to compete against some of the world’s best. Not only that, but the circuit is just fantastic. With the climb and fall of each lap, there are tight and technical leading directly into long drawn out straights and probably one of the fastest kinks in all of motorsport. If you can survive 12 hours here, you can probably take on everything else the world has to offer. The top tier of this race, and thus the overall winner, runs to GT3 specification.
3 Hours of Fuji, 3 Hours of Shanghai, and 3 Hours of Sepang
Three rounds of the Asian Le Mans Series, which are some of the shortest races on the calendar for this series, are relatively new, and don’t exactly attract the best of the best. For an entrepreneurial team or drivers, this could mean netting some “easy” points. In the Asian LMS, the GTC category runs to what is essentially a GT3 specification, which is also the series’ lowest classification. In order for teams to do well in these races, drivers will need to know how to be quick, but also to stay out of the way of faster machinery.
Region 2 – Europe
Mugello 12
Helping to fill out the “Europe” region of our series with a slightly shorter race is another of the Creventic-backed races. That organization has found an excellent way to attract some top tier teams and drivers to their races. They run well-orchestrated events and they are only gaining in popularity. For some teams that need to log some hours or gain some points, this could be a make-or-break race for the season.
Nurburgring 24
GT3 is the top spec in this race, and is generally considered one of the hardest races in the world. GT3 drivers have to worry about safely executing passes on much slower competition while racing on one of the most demanding circuits in the world. The race nearly always sees rain, and the drivers have to make the best of conditions. With both the Nordschleife and the Grand Prix circuit in play, there is quite a long lap to complete, so if anything goes wrong out on the circuit, it could be quite a while before making it back around to the pit lane. Mistakes can cost hours. Drivers and teams in this race cannot afford to make mistakes, but equally, they cannot afford to be slow.
Spa 24
A classic circuit, Spa serves as home to a very demanding GT3 event. Drivers again must usually contend with rain, and the early morning Belgian fog. As part of SRO’s Blancpain endurance series, this race will have a lot of top-shelf teams that are familiar with each other on the circuit, and ‘outsiders’ must also learn that familiarity. Excellent teams, factory drivers, and well prepped machinery. If that’s sounding repetitive, that’s because GT3 is really amazing these days.
Region 3 – The Americas –
Daytona 24
The first race of the season for North American competitors, Daytona serves as probably the highest profile race on the calendar for GT3-esque cars.
While 2015 spec GTD class cars are not quite full-boat GT3 spec, many of the cars in this category are at least nominally GT3-based. In 2016, however, GTD cars will conform 100% to GT3 classification, so we will allow them to compete in this series this year, with the expectation that next year all of the cars will be interchangeable. Many of the teams running in this category are also competitors in other GT3 championships as well, so they will be given a pass.
Sebring 12
Running to the same regulations as Daytona, Sebring’s GTD competitors are also not-quite GT3. This circuit, again a very high-profile race, is a huge challenge. Using very old concrete from very long WWII plane runways, the race is often decided by which cars can last a full 12 hours of beating and banging around this track. Cars need to be well put-together to finish here, and finishing well requires a level of concentration that is unparalleled.
COTA (1 & 2), Road America (12 & 13), and Laguna Seca (20) rounds of the Pirelli World Challenge
Three of the greatest circuits in North America, and only 1 hour to tackle them. Add in the challenges of standing starts and massive multi-class grids, and you’ve got a recipe that will challenge even the most stout of drivers. There are no driver changes, and no tire changes, and no refueling, just an outright fight for the fastest lap times. For the purposes of our series, the GT and GT-A categories will be considered as one grouping, with overall placing being the deciding factor on points garnered.

How the points would work –
Points are given based on the car’s position at the end of each hour of the race. GT3 class leaders at the end of the race (ie. class victors) earn double points for that hour.
Addendum 1: In the case of Pirelli World Challenge rounds, which consist of only 50 minutes, full points will be awarded as if this were the first hour of an endurance race. Double “hour” points will be awarded to the victor of each round.
Addendum 2: In the case of any races lasting at least 24 hours, “victory” (double) points will be scored at the 12 hour mark as well as the race finish.
In races featuring 15 or more GT3-style racing cars, points will be paid only to the top 12 drivers and teams as follows –
1st – 18
2nd – 15
3rd – 12
4th – 10
5th – 9
6th – 8
7th – 6
8th – 5
9th – 3
10th – 2
11th – 1
12th – 1
In races featuring fewer than 15 GT3-style racing cars, points will be paid only to the top 8 drivers and teams as follows –
1st – 13
2nd – 11
3rd – 9
4th – 7
5th – 6
6th – 5
7th – 3
8th – 1

How the championships would work – (Rules)
1. The teams championship will be determined by the points accumulated at the end of the season by a common-named team. Because a team may run in more than one championship with different car manufacturers and different drivers, these variables will not be taken into consideration. Only the highest placed car running under a given team name will score points for a given period of points scoring.
2. The drivers championship will be determined by the points accumulated by the individual driver. In championships where drivers are shared, the car number of that named driver will serve as the driver’s place marker when the hour is completed.
3. In order to be eligible for consideration in either driver or teams championship, parties must be entered and start races with intent to finish at least 51 hours of racing, and at least one race in each of the three regions.
4. Out of a total possible 146 hours of racing, drivers and teams will be scored only on their best 90 hours on track (Allowing teams to either miss 56 hours of racing, or pad their points scores by dropping their 56 lowest scoring ‘hours’).
[Photos taken from Racer.com]