Several Leading Silver, Bronze Drivers Get FIA Rating Upgrades

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Several of the leading FIA-rated Bronze and Silver LMGT3 drivers in the FIA World Endurance Championship have had their classification changed for next season, including points leader Jonny Edgar and reigning champion Riccardo Pera.

Edgar had originally been due to be promoted from a Silver to a Gold for this season, but was able to successfully appeal the decision and remained part of the TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R squad as a result.

But in a batch of driver ratings changes confirmed by the FIA that will take effect from Jan. 1, Edgar has now been promoted to a Gold.

Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo driver Pera — who won last year’s LMGT3 title — has also been promoted from Silver to Gold.

Fellow Silver driver Ben Tuck, who is part of the Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 EVO stable, has had a similar reclassification, as has Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo pilot Tom Fleming.

MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi is among the other Silver drivers to now be reclassified as a Gold, along with DTM race winner Ben Doerr.

Meanwhile, Peter Dempsey, who returned to competition with TF Sport this season after a 13-year layoff from top-level racing and claimed the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup Bronze title at the weekend, has also been now upgraded to a Silver from Bronze.

Dempsey’s rival for the GTWC Europe title, Kessel Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo pilot Dustin Blattner, is another to have been promoted to a Silver.

Several established factory drivers have now been upgraded to a Platinum, including Ferrari racers Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson, and Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s Norman Nato, along with Porsche Penske Motorsport IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship contenders Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich.

Genesis Magma Racing’s rising star Mathys Jaubert has also been promoted from a Silver to a Gold, after he had been the only  WEC Hypercar driver to not be either Gold or Platinum-ranked.

Several racers have also had their rating downgraded for next season including LMP2 regular Paul Lafargue, who drops from Silver to Bronze.

Two past winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans have also had their ratings adjusted with three-time victor Benoit Treluyer and Timo Bernhard, who triumphed twice, both downrated from a Platinum to a Gold.

Source: Sports Car 365