Almost a year exactly since the idea was first put on paper, the FIA GT3 European Championship will take to the track in the UK on Saturday (6 May 2006) for its inaugural races with Maserati entering six GranSport cars in two teams. With a grand total of 51 cars having signed up for the season, a grid of up to 46 cars is expected to line up on the Silverstone grid for the first one-hour round. The remaining cars should be ready in time for the second event in Oschersleben, Germany.

In addition to the Maserati GranSport Light, in the hands of GPC Sport and AF Corse, a total of eight manufacturers  will be represented in this first race: the Ascari KZ1R, entered by British team Damax, the Aston Martin DBRS9, entered by Barwell Motorsport and BMS Scuderia Italia, the Corvette Z06 GT3, entered by Carsport Callaway and Riverside, the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, entered by Racing Logistic, Racing Box and Pouchelon Racing, the Ferrari 430 Challenge GT3, entered by JMB Racing Ferrari, the Lamborghini Gallardo, from Reiter Engineering and S-Berg Racing, and last but by no means least, the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup, raced by Larbre Competition, SOFREV Auto Sport Promotion and Tech 9 Motorsport.

As for the drivers, they are a mixed group, including familiar faces from the British and FFSA French GT Championships, such as Roland Berville and Raymond Narac, racing a Larbre Competition Porsche 997 GT3 Cup, or Demitri Deverikos, who won the GT3 category of the British GT Championship last year with Tech 9, and who remains with the team in the GT3 Championship.  Gabriel Balthazard (Sofrev), Frederic Makowiecki (Racing Logistic), James Ruffier (Riverside) are also French GT regulars. A number of younger drivers are also taking part, such as 19-year old Jonathan Cocker, who won the British GT Championship in 2004 and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia last year, and who will be racing for Barwell in an Aston Martin DBRS9.  Maxime Dumarey, racing for Tech 9 Motorsport, is only 17, and already an experienced Belcar driver.  Dennis Retera, aged 19, will be racing for S-Berg in a Lamborghini.

Plenty have been regulars in the FIA GT Championship over the years, such as Lilian Bryner, Enzo Calderari and Toni Seiler, all racing for BMS Scuderia Italia in an Aston Martin DBRS9.  Bernhard Müller and Michael Trunk return to Lamborghini competition with Reiter Engineering, having raced first a Porsche and then a Lamborghini in the FIA GT Championship.  They will be joined at Reiter by former N-GT race winner Jürgen von Gartzen. The field is not all masculine, with BMS’s Lilian Bryner being joined on the grid  by Rachel Green in a Pouchelon Racing Viper.