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Slovakia Ring to Host FIA GT3 Event in August

The FIA has confirmed that the 5.9km Slovakia Ring will host Rounds 9 & 10 of the FIA GT3 European Championship, on 19-21 August 2011. The event, which is sponsored by Casino Admiral, will be the first time the FIA GT3 European Championship has raced in Slovakia, although the Championship has visited Brno in the neighbouring Czech Republic in 2007 and 2010.

The Admiral GT3 Racing Weekend will also host rounds of the Central European Zone Championship, the Radical European Cup and Formula D2 and D3.

The circuit, which is located 40km from Bratislava, was opened in 2008 and is one of the longest road courses in Europe -
• Track length: 5 922 m
• Track width: 12 m
• The length of the start/finish straight: 900 m
• Track width at the finish line : 20 m

Stephane Ratel, CEO of the SRO Motorsports Group, said: "I am very pleased that we are able to announce that the FIA GT3 European Championship will race in Slovakia next month. When we were informed that the event in Russia could not take place, SRO had a big job to find a suitable replacement and Slovakia Ring was the perfect solution. The circuit is long and wide and it will certainly be an interesting event, as not many of the current drivers will have seen the track before they go there. I'd like to thank everyone at the circuit who worked with the team at SRO to make this event happen and I'd like to especially thank Mr Antonin Charouz and event sponsor Casino Admiral for their support. I'm sure the results will match the effort that has gone into making this event happen."

Tomáŝ Vranka, Executive Director of the Slovakia Ring Agency said: "We are very happy that the Slovakia Ring will host a round of the FIA GT3 European Championship in August. I saw the races at Paul Ricard and was very impressed by the organisation, the teams and the cars. With great racing between so many different GT cars, the Slovakian race fans will certainly have a lot to look forward to. Slovakia Ring is one of the newest motorsport facilities in Europe and we look forward to hosting the FIA GT3 European Championship in our country for the first time."

Antonin Charouz said: "I am really happy that we managed to bring the FIA GT3 European Championship to the Slovakia Ring circuit. It is a real milestone for the Slovakia Ring. It is great for all Czech and Slovak fans of those races but also for our team Gravity-Charouz Racing which they can support directly at the track."

Representative of the European Data Project group, General Event Partner:
"We are pleased that we were offered cooperation related to organising the event of the FIA GT3 European Championship. Our company supports sport in the Czech Republic and we have also broad activities in gaming industry in Slovakia so have welcomed such an opportunity to support this important sporting event in the region."

Background to the FIA GT3 European Championship
The 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship takes place over six double-header events across Europe, starting in Portugal on the 7/8 May at the Autodromo do Algarve. The first four events were held with the FIA GT1 World Championship before continuing the season as the headline series in Slovakia, which replaces the event that was due to be held in Russia, and at the season finale at Zandvoort in the Netherlands in October. As well as competing against some of the best up-and- coming sportscar drivers in the world, the overall champions will join a very elite group of European title holders, with Michelin also providing a €150,000 award to move up to the FIA GT1 World Championship in 2012.
2011 FIA GT3 European Championship
7/8 May Portugal Algarve
4/5 June Great Britain Silverstone
2/3 July Spain Navarra
16/17 July France Paul Ricard
20/21 August Slovakia Slovakia Ring
15/16 October Netherlands Zandvoort

For more information on the Slovakia Ring visit official website