On 12th and 13th May 2017, the new season of the China GT Championship kicked off at the Beijing Goldenport Motor Park, with help from exclusive tyre supplier Pirelli. Over the past year, the competition has continued to grow in terms of size and support, with several thousand fans attending the first race weekend of the season. The record for the fastest lap times that were set here in the official tests in the GT3 and GT4 classes have all already been broken.

Pirelli is the official tyre provider for the 2017 China GT Championship. The Italian brand is one of the most globally renowned names when it comes to tyres. Pirelli has a large amount of experience in the world of motor sports, and is the official F1 tyre supplier. Pirelli is involved with top-level racing events across the globe and has facilitated many race wins worldwide. Since the number of participating car marques has become more varied since the 2016 season, Pirelli have introduced new specifications for racing car tyres.

According to 2017 China GT sporting regulations, each car in the GT3 and GTC classes are permitted to use 16 slick tyres (i.e. 4 full sets) and an unlimited number of wet tyres from the start of the official practices. Cars in the newly added GT4 class are permitted to use 12 slick tyres (i.e. 3 full sets) and an unlimited number of wet tyres from the start of the official practices.

The rules regarding tyres fully take the characteristics of China GT into account. Both old tyres and new tyres can to be used during official practices, qualifying and actual races. This tests the teams’ strategies, and makes the races more unpredictable, and therefore more exciting!

Each round of the China GT Championship races takes the form of an one hour sprint to the finish line, which is a longer race time than that of other races. Because of this, Pirelli hard tyres, which have outstanding durability, have been chosen for use in the race. These tyres ensure that lap times remain stable in the second half of the race, therefore ensuring that the drivers can put more focus on individual performance.

China GT is expecting a more closely fought season with its new sets of regulations and the tailor-made tyres. We can hardly wait to see what Pirelli can bring to the table for the next race!