 “The
disappearance of the Porsche and Mercedes factories
forced the organisers to restructure around the old
B-division cars, essentially the
increasingly-venomous Chrysler Viper and Porsche
ageing warhorse, the 911 GT2. (…) Somehow, though,
it survived the season, all the more surprising,
given the
domination of the only true factory team - the Oreca
Chrysler squad. The credit for that survival must go
to FIA GT boss Stephane Ratel and his organisation,
which worked tirelessly to ensure that entry levels
stayed around the respectable 20 car mark. A less
committed figurehead would surely have been unable
to prevent it from going under” Gary Watkins -
Autosport - 16 December 1999. In France, the
national GT Championship is  booming
with a record entry of 48 cars, making it the
largest and most diversified GT grid to be seen in
Europe. Lamborghini, now part of the Volkswagen Audi
group, has renewed its trust in SRO, extending the
Supertrophy to a fourth season before announcing a
renewed agreement for the Supertrophy 2000 to 2002.
A big surprise for the world of sportscar racing
comes from the American Le Mans Series promoter Don
Panoz, when he announces that the SRO will
co-ordinate the expansion of his series to Europe in
2000.
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