FIA Gold Categorisation

Gold Categorisation is a category within the FIA Drivers' Categorisation. The FIA Drivers' Categorisation is a system created by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile that lists drivers on the basis of their achievements and performances. This categorization is used in sports car racing championships as FIA World Endurance Championship, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, etc. It was merged from the FIA WEC and FIA GT3 lists. The initial categorisation is based on the driver's age and their career record.

Requirements for Gold Categorisation

Driver rankings are revised annually and issued in December.

(Only the 2022 series names are listed in this summary; the historical equivalent series also count in most cases.)

General definition

• Main professional activity based around driving in motor sport
• Participation in high-level karting for three or more seasons
• Participation in significant single-seater competitions for more than two seasons with at least one podium
• The driver's motor sport career (karting or cars) began before the age of 20 with at least five full seasons of results

Career

• Top 5 finisher in the general classification of a Tier 2 Series (Porsche Supercup, NASCAR Cup Series, FIA Formula 3 Championship, Formula Renault V6, Indy NXT, an international Formula 4 series, any FIA World Cup [with the exception of the FIA Nations Cup and the FIA Motorsport Games], DTM, Super Formula, Super GT)
• Winner of a Tier 3 Series (overall or category in multi-class racing). Tier 3 championships include Regional and National Touring Car Championships, Regional or National Porsche Carrera Cup, Regional or National LMP3 series, Regional or National GT4 Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Truck Series, FIA European Hill Climb Championship, International and European Karting Championships
• Comparable level of performance to Gold drivers
• Any additional criteria deemed worthy of consideration by the committee

The following career achievements of categorised drivers in monitored series would result in an upgrade to Gold;

• Finishing in the top three in the Silver Cup in a GT World Challenge series
• Achieving relevant race results in LMP2, LMP3, LMGTE Am (including ELMS) and GT3 (in the Asian Le Mans Series and Le Mans Cup)

Age

• Drivers over 50 will be reduced by 1 grade for the season following their 50th birthday (starting in 2023, age downgrades will start after the age of 55)
• Drivers over 55 will be reduced by an additional grade for the season following their 55th birthday, thus no driver over 55 can be above Silver Categorisation

Discretionary

Drivers whose performances and achievements, despite not being covered by one of the definitions above, may be considered as Gold by the FIA.

Current drivers

This is the list as published on the FIA website at the beginning of the 2023 season, and includes 447 drivers, who hold the Gold license.

References

External links

• FIA Driver Categorisation
• FIA Reveals First 2015 Global Driver Ratings List