Ratel Not Ruling Out Jeddah Return; No Current Contract

Photo: JEP/SRO

SRO Motorsports Group has no current plans to return to Jeddah despite last year’s inaugural GT World Challenge Europe presented by AWS Endurance Cup round having been “well received” by competitors.

The six-hour enduro on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which closed out last year’s season, eventually became a one-off race after SRO elected to replace it with Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on the 2025 calendar.

The decision came prior to the running of the race last November after initially having an option to return to Saudi Arabia for a second consecutive year.

When asked by Sportscar365 if there any plans for a return in the future, Ratel said: “Not at the moment.”

He added: “It could come back. We have a very good relationship with them. For the moment it was a one-off and we are happy to have the calendar we have now.”

Ratel previously floated the idea of the event returning as part of Intercontinental GT Challenge, although no progress has been made on that front.

“We’ll see what they want,” he said. “The promoter contacts you when they want a race. We’re there to deliver.

“One thing for sure is that [last year’s race] was a success.

“As much as everybody was a bit concerned about the walls are not the favorite for GT3 cars, especially on a high speed circuit, you don’t touch it light, you destroy your car.

“We had 51 cars, I think, and it was really a trouble-free event considering the number of cars and the nature of the circuit. That showed the level of professionalism on the grid.

“GT4 was a bit more turbulent, but GT3 was incredibly clean.

“Everybody loved it. It surprised us by the evolution of Saudi Arabia, the fact that the general reception and kindness. It was really well received by all the teams and all the drivers.

“Everybody would love to go back but we need a budget and we haven’t been contracted to do it again yet.”

Ratel admitted that if Jeddah, or any other race would be added to the current IGTC calendar, it would likely come as a sacrifice to an existing venue.

The globe-trotting GT3 series returns to a five-round season this year with the addition of the Suzuka 1000km alongside the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour, Nürburgring 24, CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS.

“I think [six] would be too many,” he said. “We would need to drop one if we were to [race in Jeddah].

“Slowly but surely, we’re super happy to have Ferrari joining [IGTC]. We’ve been at three manufacturers for a couple of years. Now we have four.

“We would love to have five [manufacturers]. It’s a slow rebuild but we’re on the right track.

“I really think Suzuka has potential, not only in terms of grid but also spectator attendance. It’s a great name.

“We are working with Suzuka and it’s a multi-year deal. But we’re the promoter now. It’s also a financial commitment for us now.”

Ratel revealed that he’s “shifting” his company to becoming more of an event promoter, which includes taking on the Suzuka event following its previous partnership with GTA and Mobilityland for the Suzuka 10 Hours, which ran from 2018-19.