The trophies are back — and the Radical SR3 opens the new season

The summer break is over.

The GTCRC Trophy returns to the track for a new series of rFactor 2 competitions. Before the end of the year, there will be three trophies, three cars and three opportunities to find new winners.

The first begins with a car that seems to have been designed to remove every trace of distance between the driver and the track.

Low, light, fast and with no roof to hide the scares.

The Radical SR3 is the next star of the GTCRC Trophy.

Three trophies before the end of the year.

The first belongs to the Radical SR3.

A prototype built for close racing

The Radical SR3 occupies a space of its own between a single-seater and an endurance prototype.

Its low driving position, immediate response and aerodynamic downforce allow drivers to carry plenty of speed into the corners. At the same time, the absence of excessive power should help keep the field close and turn every corner exit into another opportunity to attack.

It will not be a difficult car simply because it is fast.

It will be difficult because it inspires confidence.

The SR3 encourages the driver to brake later, stay on the throttle longer and enter each corner faster than on the previous lap. When everything works, the car feels glued to the asphalt. When confidence exceeds the available grip, there is very little time to recover.

Studio 397 itself described this Radical family as easy to drive, but difficult to master.

That is exactly the balance we want for the Trophy.

A car in which any driver can start turning laps, but finding the final tenths demands precision, commitment and courage.

The same formula, with a different kind of speed

The car changes. The spirit of the GTCRC Trophy remains.

Fixed setups, identical cars, and the difference left to the driver.

There will be no secret setup capable of transforming a lap. Everyone will have the same baseline and the same tools. The work lies in understanding how to brake, how to use the downforce, how to protect minimum corner speed and how to fight for a position without compromising the next corner.

Short races and the reversed grid will once again prevent an evening from being decided in qualifying. Fast drivers will have to prove their pace on the track. Those starting farther back will still have a second opportunity. The winner of the first race may find themselves in the middle of the field when the next one begins.

With the Radical, fighting back through the field may be just as demanding as leading.

Cornering speeds will be high, braking distances short and the slipstream will bring the cars closer together in the fastest sections. Choosing the right moment to attack may be worth more than attacking at every opportunity.

The setup will be the same for everyone.

The way each driver takes it to the limit will not.

The Trophy starts again from zero

Copa Corsa brought the first part of the year to a close at Fort Grozny and sent the GTCRC Trophy into a short summer break.

Now everyone returns with zero points.

Previous champions may bring experience, confidence and the habit of fighting at the front. They bring no advantage to these standings. The Radical will establish a new benchmark and could completely reshape the order we know.

Drivers accustomed to high-downforce cars may adapt more quickly. Those who achieved their best results in touring cars will have to relearn where the limit lies. Others may simply discover that this is the car that best suits their driving style.

That constant renewal continues to define the Trophy.

Every car removes some of the grid’s certainties.

Every opening round creates room for a different name to emerge.

Every trophy begins with the same question.

Who understands the car first?

The first of three

This Radical SR3 Trophy is only the beginning.

Two more trophies will be contested before the end of 2026, with new cars and new challenges. The next choices will be revealed when the time is right.

For now, the work begins with a lightweight prototype, four demanding circuits and a grid on which everyone will receive exactly the same tools.

There will be no setup behind which to hide a moment of hesitation.

There will be no time to rest in the middle of the field.

And nobody can rely on downforce to fix what their hands got wrong.

The summer break is over.

The trophies are back.

And the Radical SR3 will be the first to put everyone to the test once again.