Insight: Does IGTC Still Have a Place With LMGT3’s Arrival?

Sportscar365 examines what LMGT3’s arrival into WEC means for Intercontinental GT Challenge…

A global series for GT3 cars. It was with that pitch that Intercontinental GT Challenge was launched by Stephane Ratel’s SRO Motorsports Group in 2016. For the longest time, that seemed to be quite an accurate statement. 

IGTC flourished. It could be argued that it reached its peak in 2019, with races on five continents and stacked grids with no fewer than eight full-season manufacturers. Races like that year’s Suzuka 10 Hour were remembered fondly, and for good reason. 

Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, something that arguably affected IGTC more than almost any other series. Suzuka disappeared from the calendar and has yet to return. Manufacturer involvement shrunk, while grid sizes at flyaway events like Bathurst and Kyalami took a significant hit. 

It could be argued that the series is still trying to recover from the pandemic in 2024, turning to the Nürburgring 24 as means to strengthen its calendar and plot a new course.

While all of this was going on, at least IGTC could rest easy knowing that it had somewhat of a monopoly on globe-trotting GT3 racing.

The platform continues to enjoy tremendous popularity, much like it did back then, but it could be argued that IGTC was the only true international GT3 series in those days.