Ratel introduces GT penalty system

A rolling system of penalty points for driving offenses will be introduced for the Blancpain GT Series this season as part of a push to improve on-track behavior.

Drivers penalized or warned for a range of offences will be awarded one or more so-called "behavior warning points." When they hit a set number of points ahead of an event, they will be given a grid-place penalty or a drive through during the race.

Series boss Stephane Ratel described the new system as part of an on-going drive to improve driving standards. He said it as a way of "spotting and penalizing drivers who are causing problems."

Jacquie Groom, sporting director of BGTS organizer the Stephane Ratel Organisation, explained that the system was motivated by a desire to improve driving standards by creating a sanction for offenses that can go unpenalized, as well as punishing persistent misbehavior.

"A formal reprimand for an offence is effectively just a slap on the wrist," she said. "We can also have the situation where the stewards apportion blame to a driver for a collision, but because the car is out of the race as a result, they never get to take the penalty."

She drew a comparison with the SRO-promoted British GT Championship, in which a formal reprimand comes with a license penalty point.

A reprimand, a black-white-warning flag and a drive-through penalty will gain a driver one point. A pitlane speeding penalty will result in one or two points depending on its severity and a stop-and-go penalty two points.

The points with be applicable to a driver, rather than the car.

Should a driver hit three points ahead of an event, he or she will be a given a five-place grid penalty. Four points will result in a 10-place penalty and five or more a minimum of a drive-through.

Drivers will have three points deducted from their tally after they are penalized. They then lose two points from their score after a meeting in which they receive no further points.

Originally on Autosport.com