After a successful first full season of GT World Challenge Esports across Europe, America and Asia, 2022 will see SRO expand their championships immensely.
Image credit: SRO Media
The official esports championships of the collective GT World Challenge series take place on Assetto Corsa Competizione and 2021 saw SRO run both a Sprint and Endurance championship for sim racers in Europe, America and Asia. For 2022 though, drivers from all three continents will be competing together more often!
SRO announced 14 February that the championships will be merging. The Sprint series will all remain separate, but drivers from all three regions will compete in a merged Endurance series, with all championships being made up of five rounds.
🎮 #SROesports is back for 2022 with a new global endurance championship, while the continental Sprint Series – including #GTWorldChEu – also return to action 🏁
— GT World Challenge Europe (@GTWorldChEu) February 14, 2022
Find out more ➡️ https://t.co/uKcTMnUp9A#beACC | @AKEsportsIT | @fanatec | @AC_assettocorsa | @pirellisport pic.twitter.com/6ANHpNeLeT
How Will it Work?
The new Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports series will see drivers from all around the world compete in five endurance races on tracks from five different continents. The rounds will be the 12 hours of Bathurst, 10 hours of Suzuka, 24 hours of Spa, 8 hours of Laguna Seca and 9 hours of Kyalami. Just like last year, the Endurance centric series will be open to teams who will then field drivers of their choosing.
As for the tri-continental Sprint series, which are more focused on the individual drivers since there won’t be any driverswaps in these 60 minute races. European-based drivers will race at Misano, Zandvoort, the Nürburgring, the Hungaroring and Monza. American-based drivers will race at Zolder, Silverstone, Kyalami, Donington and Laguna Seca. Finally there are the Asian-based drivers, who will race at Barcelona, Imola, Bathurst, Zolder and Suzuka.
New driver categories
Also new for 2022 are driver classifications that will result in there being two sets of championships going on, with Pro and Silver class drivers.
To be a Pro, you need to have scored at least 25 points in the European championship or 15 in the American or Asian championships. In the Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports series, entries are classified as Pro entries if they have at least two Pro class drivers in their lineup.
Then for the other side, you have the Silver class. Drivers are classified as Silver if they’re new to the championship or haven’t met the 25 points minimum if they competed in the European series or the 15 points minimum if they competed in the American or Asian series. For the Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports series, Silver class entries must field at least one driver who was classified as a Pro from the previous year.
How to follow
The European and Asian championships will take place on Wednesdays whilst the American and Intercontinental championships will be held on Saturdays. Here are the dates for all races.
Firstly for the European series, all races start at 21:00 CEST.
Rd 1: Misano – 6 April
Rd 2: Zandvoort – 4 May
Rd 3: Nürburgring – 8 June
Rd 4: Hungaroring – 6 July
Rd 5: Monza – 3 August
Next is the Asian series, all races start at 11:00 CEST.
Rd 1: Barcelona – 13 April
Rd 2: Imola – 11 May
Rd 3: Bathurst – 15 June
Rd 4: Zolder – 13 July
Rd 5: Suzuka – 24 August
For the American series, races begin at 21:00 CEST.
Rd 1: Zolder – 23 April
Rd 2: Silverstone – 28 May
Rd 3: Kyalami – 25 June
Rd 4: Donington Park – 9 July
Rd 5: Laguna Seca – 13 August
Last but in no way means least, the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Unlike the other championships, note that these races don’t all have the same start time.
Rd 1: Bathurst 12 hours – 16 April (11:00 CEST)
Rd 2: Suzuka 10 hours – 21 May (13:00 CEST)
Rd 3: Spa 24 hours – 18 June (17:00 CEST)
Rd 4: Laguna Seca 8 hours – 16 July (15:00 CEST)
Rd 5: Kyalami 9 hours – 27 August (14:00 CEST)
UPDATE 14/04/2022: After a difficult Asian series opener with connection issues, the Bathurst 12 hours round of the IGTC Esports series has been pushed to 21 May. With other rounds also being moved around in accordance.
You can follow all SRO Esports championships from the official SRO Twitch and the GTWorld YouTube channel.
Will you be following SRO Esports in 2022? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
