Front Runner to broadcast live the upcoming season of the British GT Championship

Fans will be able to watch this season’s UK rounds, LIVE and for FREE on Front Runner.

The 2017 season will be the first in British GT’s 25-year history to feature live coverage from every UK round.

The British GT Championship features more than 30 supercars which have been specifically prepared for racing. Viewers will recognise them as road-legal models – such as Ferraris, Aston Martins, Lamborghinis and Porsches – that have been developed for the track.

GT racing is traditionally seen as an endurance discipline, and British GT features two drivers per car. Driver changes take place during pit-stops when tyres are also replaced and fuel added. Race durations vary and can last one, two or three hours.

Front Runner’s Ryan Scarratt said: “We’re delighted to be broadcasting live British GT on Front Runner. I’m sure British GT fans everywhere will be tuning in to watch all the action as it happens this season.

“Offering more live sports is certainly an area of focus for us this year: we screened the 24H Series Dubai live in January; live darts is coming to Front Runner screens this month; and there will be British GT in April. There are exciting times ahead for sports fans across the UK.”

British GT Championship Manager Benjamin Franassovici: “This is fantastic news for British GT, their drivers and teams, who together with Front Runner now have a platform capable of reaching millions of new and existing fans. It’s really exciting to be bucking the trend of motor racing, and sport in general, by offering live free-to-air coverage throughout our 25th anniversary season. There’s nothing quite like seeing Ferraris, Aston Martins and Lamborghinis battling for real on track, but at least now anyone unable to attend our races needn’t miss out on the action at home.”

Oulton Park’s two 60-minute British GT races kick off the season on Easter Monday (April 17) – the first time that particular round has aired live – before the championship visits Rockingham for a two-hour contest a fortnight later (April 30). Snetterton’s double header then takes centre stage on May 28 ahead of the championship’s blue riband, three-hour Silverstone 500 event on June 11.

Spa-Francorchamps, British GT’s only race outside the UK, isn’t covered by Front Runner’s deal, but the channel’s live coverage does return in time for Brands Hatch’s penultimate round of the season on August 6. Donington Park then closes the campaign – and most likely decides this year’s GT3 and GT4 champions – on September 24.

Front Runner leads the way in showcasing the best action sports from across the globe. Its output also includes lifestyle and documentaries from the worlds of motorsport, ice hockey, professional fighting and poker. British GT are the channel’s first season-long live motorsport signings.

Launched in October 2016, Front Runner is the UK’s first and only free sports channel. It is currently available in 19 million homes across the country via Freeview channel 91, FreeSat 250, YouView/TalkTalk/BT 91 and Sky 468.

About Front Runner

Front Runner is the first and only free-to-air dedicated sports channel in the UK and leads the way in showcasing the best in action sports from across the globe.

It offers action, lifestyle and documentaries from the worlds of motorsport, ice hockey, professional fighting, poker and now live sports.

Along with adrenaline-fuelled action, there’s also comedy and chat. Updates are available through the Front Runner’s Facebook and Twitter.

About the British GT Championship

For 25 years the British GT Championship has been an intrinsic part of the UK’s national motorsport fabric. But, having undergone a number of changes throughout that quarter-century, it’s difficult to envisage an era more competitive than the current GT3 and GT4 format.

First organised by the British Racing Drivers Club in 1993, the BRDC National Sports GT Challenge (as it was known until 1995) featured grids of wildly different machinery loosely grouped into vibrant classes comprising sports cars and saloons.

Today, under SRO Motorsports Group’s guidance, British GT grids comprise 30-plus GT3 and GT4 specification supercars tuned to varying degrees of race preparation. Both classes take their cues from road-legal models – examples include Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Porsche – that have been developed specifically for the track.

GT racing is traditionally seen as an endurance discipline, and British GT honours that by mandating two drivers per car. Driver changes take place during pit-stops, when tyres are also replaced and fuel added. Race durations vary and can last one, two or three hours.

In 2017, British GT celebrates its 25th anniversary.

For more information visit www.britishgt.com, or follow the championship on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.