Breaking news
Super GT
Super GT's alignment with DTM no waste, says Cassidy
Nick Cassidy feels SUPER GT's push to harmonise its rules with the DTM was still worthwhile, despite Audi's pending withdrawal from the latter series plunging the future of Class One into doubt.
Jamie Klein
Published: May 25, 2020, 12:23 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
SUPER GT's 2020 cars are the first to be built entirely in accordance with the rulebook that the Japanese championship had agreed with the DTM, the culmination of years of negotiations between the two series.
This paved the way for the first 'Dream Race' event to be held featuring five different manufacturers at Fuji Speedway last autumn.
However, the future of the tie-up is now in doubt as Audi leaving the DTM after the 2020 season may force the German championship to drop Class One rules in favour of a cheaper, more customer-friendly formula to ensure its survival.
But even if the two series end up diverging again from a regulatory standpoint, Cassidy thinks that SUPER GT will still enjoy the benefits of introducing more standard components and simplified aerodynamics.
"It looks potentially like it will help SUPER GT a little bit," the 2017 series champion told Motorsport.com. "We share now a lot more common parts, which should bring down the costs a lot. Development has stopped in a lot of areas.
"The cars between the three manufacturers are closer than ever because we’re sharing those parts. The aero is less which means the development is less and we're saving money.
"They’ve definitely done things to match these Class One regulations, which will help the championship going forwards. For the manufacturers here, maybe that was a good thing even though [potentially] DTM won’t be there anymore."
Honda faced the biggest challenge of SUPER GT's three GT500 manufacturers as it was forced by the Class One rules to abandon its mid-engined NSX-GT in favour of a front-engined version of the car, bringing it in line with rivals Nissan and Toyota.
Other changes include the adoption of the DTM's Bosch electronics, common suspension parts, a standard floor and an aero development freeze around the front and rear wheel arches.
Cassidy added: "I don’t think SUPER GT really knew about [the risk of Audi leaving the DTM] and they wanted to be aligned more.
"It’s a shame that it happened and that potentially [further] joint races might not eventuate, but in terms of our own championship it’s great we are more aligned.
"[The DTM's future] won't affect SUPER GT too much. It’s more the international fanbase that takes a hit, that’s the most disappointing thing. But in terms of the teams and the manufacturers, potentially they aren’t too worried about it."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Super GT considering closed-doors Fuji opener
Next article Super GT to hold most races at one of three tracks
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jamie Klein
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
1 mo
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
1 mo
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
More from
Nick Cassidy
Formula E nearly man Nick Cassidy "sad" he doesn't have a title
Formula E
Formula E
London ePrix I
2 mo
Formula E nearly man Nick Cassidy "sad" he doesn't have a title
Nyck de Vries defends himself after latest Formula E clash in Berlin
Formula E
Formula E
Berlin ePrix II
6 mo
Nyck de Vries defends himself after latest Formula E clash in Berlin
Rolex 24, Hour 24: Porsche Penske take third consecutive victory
IMSA
IMSA
Rolex 24 Hours
9 mo
Rolex 24, Hour 24: Porsche Penske take third consecutive victory
Latest news
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
57 min
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
2 h
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
The Kimi Antonelli you don't know: Inside the Mercedes garage with F1's new world champion
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
The Kimi Antonelli you don't know: Inside the Mercedes garage with F1's new world champion
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe