GTM prides itself on being more than just a community of petrol-heads, we're an extended family. And in keeping with our Fellowship philosophy, when a member is in need, we find a way to band together and help. That being said, we got some recent news about one of our members and a change in their family situation so we immediately went into action to find a way to help.

First off... what is Lupus?

For those of you unfamiliar: Lupus is a chronic (long-term) disease that can cause inflammation and pain in any part of your body. It’s an autoimmune disease, which means that your immune system — the body system that usually fights infections — attacks healthy tissue instead. Lupus most commonly affects your: Skin, Joints, Internal organs, like your kidneys and heart. Lupus can effect people of all ages. And Lupus is especially dangerous now during this time of COVID.

The Lupus Foundation of America has been working to optimize clinical trials, as well as enhancing diagnosis, care and treatment of Lupus. More importantly, your support goes to raising awareness and the funds directly support researchers in finding a cure for this disease.

Virtual Racing

As many of you probably know, GTM has been hosting VRLs (Virtual Racing Leagues) since 2016. And after the success of our Spec Racing series, our VRL committee decided that we needed a break. But now that the weather is getting colder and there is less motivation to turn laps, or wrenches, many of us are turning to gaming to fill that need. So we thought... why not combine all this together? We reached out to our newest sponsor: GarageRiot to see if they would be interested to go head-to-head in a DTM inspired VRL series.

And we're excited to announce that they have agreed and we've developed a campaign to "VRL for Charity" where a major portion of all the proceeds of the campaign will be donated to the Lupus Foundation of America on behalf of our member and his family. This will be GTM's 14th VRL Series, and even if you can't participate there's a couple different ways to get involved - read on!

The field is limited to 24 drivers and we're reserving 12 spots for each team: GTM & GarageRiot. We'll be following the 2021 GTM VRL rules and below is our racing schedule. Since this is a DTM-inspired series - just like the T-shirt says - this is limited to Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo vehicles. Most races will be mixed class: GTD/GTE and LMP-1; with a few "old skool" races where drivers will be able to build and tune any of the brands up to B-600 to recreate iconic DTM cars like the BMW E30 ///M3, MB 190E, Alfa 155, and more! We only race on known-professional tracks, and the competition should be fierce!

Fundraising

Our fundraising campaign is being hosted by CustomInk and we've developed an enthusiast inspired rendition of the legendary "Konami Code" to bring the racing and gaming worlds together.

The CustomInk campaign is designed to let you purchase the shirt, in Men's and Women's cuts or just donate to the cause without purchase of the shirt. Major portions of the proceeds will be donated to the Lupus Foundation of America once the campaign ends in name/honor of our member and their family. Stay tuned for a follow-up press release with all the final campaign details when the fundraiser closes on 12/28/2020 and shirts begin ship and donation has been completed.

Live Stream : Tuesday’s 8pm on XBOX Live & Twitch – Jan 5 – Feb 23, 2021

For the first time in GTM VRL history, we're going to be live streaming races using TWITCH. You'll be able to tune into several drivers twitch feeds, but you're always encouraged to follow the GTM main feed at https://www.twitch.tv/grantouringmotorsports - you don't need a twitch account to watch; just pull up the link and follow the action. You can even tune in before the series launch for some of the practice and exhibition events - check our main schedule for those details.

Follow Jordan F: Twitch.tv/Gazebogang
Follow Nicholas M: Twitch.tv/ThatGuyBigNick
Follow GTM: Twitch.tv/grantouringmotorsports

Several series ago, GTM developed an online scoring system for our VRLs. Its clever and complex at the same time, but we've decided to up the anti and score this VRL using 3 methods: Driver Points, Manufacturer Points and by Team (GTM vs GR). We'll be collecting all sorts of data throughout the race but we've simplified the results down to a scoreboard (below), which will update post-race. (click picture to load scoreboard).

We really hope that this event will bring us together in so many ways, and we know that whatever money we raise will in some small way help to find a cure for diseases like Lupus and others. Our hearts and prayers go out to our member and his family. Please consider supporting this event, and we look forward to seeing everyone come race day.