Paul Jeffrey
Premium
This weekend sees the might Spa Francorchamps play host to the biggest GT3 endurance race on the planet - the Total 24 Hours of Spa. Catch the live stream details and race preview below!
2017 will mark the 69th running of the Total 24 Hours of Spa, and with an incredible 66 GT3 cars lining up on the grid for the most high profile race of the Blancpain GT Series, Saturday's event could well prove to be the most closely fought race in the events long history of competition.
In the PRO category no fewer than 36 cars look set to be entered by ten prestigious manufacturers: Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Nissan and Porsche are all represented by an array of top International racing teams, fielding drivers with touring car, Formula One and Le Mans experience, as well as seasoned professional GT drivers.
Audi look set to be the most represented manufacturer in the field, with eight cars, lending official support to five of those outfits, run by the ISR, Saintéloc and Belgian Audi Club Team WRT teams. André Lotterer, formally of the works Audi LMP1 World Endurance team has signed to take part for the WRT team alongside Marcel Fässler and Dries Vanthoor, and with his immense experience and outright pace should prove to be one of the main contenders for victory come Sunday afternoon.
The surprisingly nimble but incredibly large Bentley GT3 found itself victorious during the previous endurance round and will no doubt be looking to make amends for last year's Spa 24 disappointment, so should be a challenger at or near the front of the field, alongside the reigning drivers champion in the works McLaren team, and the ever fast but occasionally wild Nissan Nismo GT-R could well spring a surprise or two in Belgium thanks to the straight line speed advantage enjoyed by the Japanese cars.
As well as the main focus in the PRO category, the PRO-AM Cup is well represented this weekend too, with a total of 23 cars expected to enter the race on Saturday afternoon. As has been the case for the last couple of years, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Ferrari 488 GT3 cars should hold much of the advantage at Spa, however a field rich in talent and variety comprising of four Lamborghinis, two Audis, two Porsches, a BMW, a McLaren and an Aston Martin the battle should remain hard fought throughout the event.
The Entry List
This season the Total 24 Hours of Spa will feature an incredible array of top class GT machinery. With cars from the likes of Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Aston Martin fighting it out over the course of 24 exhilarating hours, what isn't to like? You can see the full provisional entry list below:
Spa 24 Hour Race - Saturday 29th July - 15:00 BST / 14:00 GMT
The Cars
- Audi R8 LMS
- Mercedes-AMG GT3
- Bentley Continental GT3
- Ferrari 488 GT3
- Lamborghini Huracan GT3
- Emil Frey Jaguar G3
- Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3
- BMW M6 GT3
- McLaren 650 S GT3
- Aston Martin V12 GT3
- Porsche 991 GT3 R
The Calendar
01st-02nd April - Misano (ITA) – Sprint
22nd-23rd April - Monza (ITA) – Endurance 3 hours
06th-07th May- Brands Hatch (GBR) – Sprint
13th-14th May - Silverstone (GBR) – Endurance 3 hours
02nd -04th June - Zolder (BEL) - Sprint
23rd-24th June - Circuit Paul Ricard (FRA) – Endurance 1000kms
04th July Official Test Day - Total 24 Hours of Spa (BEL)
27th-30th July - Total 24 Hours of Spa (BEL) – Endurance 24 hours
25th-27th August - Budapest (HUN) - Sprint
15th-17th September - Nürburgring (DEU) – Sprint
30th Sept-01st October - Barcelona (ESP) - Endurance 3 hours
The Drivers Championship
Because I'm lazy, formatting is hard and this series has lots of drivers, I'll direct you to the full championship standings pre Total 24 Hours of Spa on the link HERE. Mirko Bortolotti and Christian Engelhart continue to lead the drivers championship, with a reduced advantage of just four points over the intimidating trio of Maxi Buhk, Franck Perera and Vincent Abril in the Mercedes and Bentley cars respectively.
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