SRO GT Academy is expanding its next-generation talent search to international series for its 2026 season.

Four drivers--one each from British GT and the continental GT World Challenge series in America, Asia and Australia--will earn a fully funded seat at the 2027 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. The selected drivers will share a Silver Cup entry run by an accomplished professional team.

Candidates must be aged under 30 on December 31, 2026, and hold an FIA Silver driver classification for that season. They will be judged using SRO GT Academy's assessment-based criteria, which seeks to reveal each driver's true ability and potential by eliminating external factors such as co-driver performance, reliability and luck.

Rather than focusing on race results, the process rewards individual attributes such as qualifying pace, average stint times and a driver's conduct off the circuit. In tandem, they are penalized for unforced errors and unsporting behavior. The system also ensures that Silver competitors from a variety of classes can be judged equally.

SRO GT Academy was launched during the 2025 season within the FFSA French GT Championship. The winner, 19-year-old Gaspard Simon, received a $175,000 contribution towards a GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup or GT2 European Series seat in 2026, as well as support and mentoring as he graduates towards the highest level of GT competition.

The concept will also expand into GT2 Europe next year when the prize on offer is a seat with a Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Team for the following season's GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. This contest is also supported by Maserati, Ginetta and Pirelli, as well as Mercedes-AMG.

For more information, visit sroamerica.com.