GT LIVE Background

GT LIVE v1.0 was many years in planning when it finally made its debut in December of 2004 at California Speedway. The "interactive motor sports festival" format ushered in a new era of import and sports car oriented entertainment by presenting races and activities in a theme park environment. Paramax, a Los Angeles-based consulting firm that has pioneered fusion car culture events, built GT LIVE around a philosophy that ALL forms of motor sport should be developed as entertainment for those who watch, not just for those who participate. This philosophy was affirmed many times over when GT LIVE drew praise from spectators, media, participants and sponsors for elevating and redefining the quality of an "import culture" event to new heights and for bridging the gap between traditional road racing and the import car oriented youth culture.

The LA Times summed it up nicely with, "Weekend festival at California Speedway draws an estimated 45,000 with plenty of things to do and little time for boredom." Even SportsCar magazine couldn't deny the appeal of GT LIVE to the elusive youth market with this excerpt from their March 2005 issue, "The result was a markedly different demographic than that usually found at road races, a much younger crowd introduced to a new form of motorsport."

After the successful 2004 event, the GT LIVE team spent the better part of the following year evaluating the event format and refining it into a product more sustainable for the U.S. market and adaptable to a more diverse variety of venues. Much of the current GT LIVE content can be traced back to that first groundbreaking event but some are new and some are still evolving.

One thing is for sure, the GT LIVE concept has forever altered the motor sports landscape in the U.S. by putting a spotlight on the youth market and the importance of this group to the future of motor racing in this country. No longer is "throwing a race event" enough to attract new customers to the race track. After the inaugural GT LIVE, variations of the "motor sports festival" concept have cropping up at other races all over the nation to further validate our "motor sports is entertainment" philosophy.

As GT LIVE evolves into a sanctioned product, we will continue to guide it toward a sustainable business model that suits the market, venue, sponsors, competitors, media and fans on both local and national levels. Through exciting, meaningful entertainment based content, GT LIVE connects today's youth market to sports car road racing and to the people and machines that make it all happen.