> BMW, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche once again battling for Intercontinental points
> IGTC Entry List: CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa
The world’s biggest GT3 race hits 100 this weekend when 66 cars tackle the centenary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium.
But as well as the prestige of claiming an overall or class victory, almost half the field is also eligible to score Intercontinental GT Challenge points in Round 3 of the globe-trotting series, which has already visited the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour and ADAC Ravenol 24h Nurburgring.
The latter’s result remains provisional pending the outcome of an appeal. IGTC’s current standings therefore only reflect Bathurst where Porsche established an early lead in both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings over fellow Intercontinental contenders Mercedes-AMG and BMW.
Its Manthey EMA squad, Laurens Vanthoor and Ayhancan Güven won outright in Australia and were also IGTC’s top finishers at the Nordschleife where Audi – a non-IGTC manufacturer – provisionally claimed victory. The ‘Grello’ 911 GT3 R is not competing this weekend, but its two former drivers – whom have been split at Spa – might ultimately and officially be awarded both Intercontinental victories over the first half of this year’s four-round season.
Porsche’s confirmed total of 40 points reflects its one-three finish Down Under. Without factoring in the Nurburgring that’s 12 more than Mercedes-AMG and 28 greater than BMW.
Failing to complete at least 75% of the scheduled duration means only half points will be awarded for Round 2.
For now, though, all eyes are on the Ardennes where 32 cars – 14 of which feature Pro combinations – are split between the three registered manufacturers. Three of them are also entered in IGTC’s Independent Cup for Bronze-graded drivers.
• All are eligible to score drivers’ and manufacturers’ points, but unlike previous editions of the 24 Hours only each brand’s two highest placed finishers will contribute towards their manufacturer’s total – the same rule as all other Intercontinental races.
• Drivers’ points, on the other hand, will be awarded per IGTC’s top 10.
• Unlike Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS, points are only scored for positions at the end of the race.
• All IGTC entries feature white Fanatec windscreen banners and Intercontinental logos on their flanks and bonnet.
Fans can watch all sessions from Qualifying onwards, as well as the full 24 Hours, with multiple-language commentary options live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.
PORSCHE | 12x 911 GT3 R
Numerically, Porsche has two fewer entries than Mercedes-AMG at Spa. But, perhaps crucially, its proportion of Pro crews – 50% – gives Stuttgart the slight edge in a straight fight. And two in particular stand out…
Güven and Vanthoor’s joint IGTC title bid might well be coming to an end, but the latter – a home favourite and former Spa winner – shares HubAuto’s entry with two super-quick, long-time fellow factory drivers in the form of Kevin Estre (a IGTC ‘winner’ at the Nordschleife with Vanthoor last month) and Patrick Pilet. Another IGTC victory would also, provisionally, make Vanthoor the only driver to win three races consecutively in a single season. Jules Gounon achieved his hat-trick across two campaigns, albeit in the same calendar year.
Porsche’s other trio of ever-dependables features Mathieu Jaminet, Fred Makowiecki and Matt Campbell who won at Bathurst alongside Vanthoor and Guven. Another good, or even great, result at Spa would hoist the Australian back into title contention ahead of IGTC’s Indianapolis 8 Hour Presented by AWS finale in October.
Güven, meanwhile, shares Schumacher CLRT’s 911 GT3 R with two more young Porsche stars: Dorian Boccolacci and Laurin Heinrich. The latter was electric at Indy last year and has continued to impress over the first half of 2024. Victory for this trio would also put Güven in pole position for the IGTC drivers’ title, subject of course to other results at Spa and beyond.
Elsewhere, reigning DTM champion Thomas Preining joined Vanthoor, Güven and Estre in IGTC’s Nurburgring winner’s circle last month. He now shifts across to top Chinese squad Phantom Global Racing, which is assisted by Team 75 Bernhard – a team that knows all about the 24 Hours. His co-drivers Jaxon Evans and Joel Eriksson finished fourth with the same outfit at Bathurst.
Rutronik’s line up of Patric Niederhauser, Sven Müller, Julien Andlauer will also feature prominently, while Porsche’s sixth Pro entry actually includes an Am – albeit a very quick one – in Alex Malykhin.
MERCEDES-AMG | 14x GT GT3
Spa isn’t the only entity celebrating a significant milestone this season. 2024 is also the 130th anniversary of Mercedes-AMG’s involvement in motorsport, and it would dearly love to mark that occasion by scoring a third victory at the 24 Hours.
Its last came just two years ago with Jules Gounon, Dani Juncadella and Raffaele Marciello. The latter has since departed Affalterbach for Munich, but his former Andorran and Spanish factory colleagues will be very much spearheading Mercedes-AMG assault once again.
Juncadella has the honour of racing GruppeM’s anniversary-themed #130 entry, which also features Ralf Aron and Frederik Vesti. The carbon weave, bare aluminium and basic white paint design echoes the development of German motorsport over more than a century but also bears a resemblance to the colour scheme that Juncadella’s winning entry used in 2022.
His former co-driver, Gounon, partners full-season Fanatec GT Europe co-drivers Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz in a GetSpeed entry that is bound to be near the sharp end. This trio lies third in the Endurance Cup standings so will also have one eye on that championship’s points scoring opportunities at quarter and half-distance.
Elsewhere, Maro Engel needs no introduction. So it’s perhaps unusual that one of the world’s foremost GT drivers has never won at Spa. IGTC has also seldom been kind to the German, but he has another excellent opportunity to redress the balance with a strong run alongside two fellow factory drivers: Lucas Auer and Daniel Morad. Their Winward-run Mercedes-AMG also features one of the grid’s most popular liveries: MANN FILTER’s Mamba.
2013 winner Maximilian Götz warmed up for the 24 Hours by taking British GT victory at Spa on Sunday. Thomas Drouet and fast Belgian Ulysse De Pauw – perhaps better known for his recent Ferrari exploits but whom raced the Mercedes-AMG three years ago – also join Boutsen VDS, the second half of which won this event with BMW back in 2015.
BMW | 6x M4 GT3
All three BMW GT3 models have taken at least one 24 Hours victory over the last decade. It’s a remarkable record and one it could add to further with an M4 that won there last year.
ROWE’s victorious combination of Nick Yelloly, Marco Wittmann and Philipp Eng is unchanged and hopeful of achieving the rare feat of consecutive wins for the same crew, team and car – something that hasn’t been achieved since 1980.
But doing so will first involve beating three very strong Pro entries from within BMW’s own stable, one of which operates from the other side of ROWE’s garage. There you’ll find Augusto Farfus, Dan Harper and Max Hesse who lead the Fanatec GT Europe Endurance Cup standings following victory at Paul Ricard. Hesse and Harper were also two of the standout drivers at the recent ADAC Ravenol 24h Nurburgring where they took pole and provisionally finished the weather-interrupted race third. Farfus, meanwhile, arrives fresh from finishing second in class at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Team WRT can never be discounted either, even if their last victory at Spa came all the way back in 2014. That’s something of an anomaly given their enduring pedigree elsewhere, and a statistic that could well be re-written given the quality of their two crews.
Marciello joins Valentino Rossi and former winner – as well as Spa favourite – Maxime Martin in #46, a car and combination that finished fifth overall at Bathurst. The team’s other full-season Fanatec GT Europe line up of Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts will also be in the hunt given their pace at Spa last year when an unfortunate incident in the night ended their chances.
BMW’s six-car roster is at least half that of its IGTC rivals. But the two additional Bronze entries, fielded by Century and OQ by Oman Racing, still have an opportunity to score points for their manufacturer if the factory entries hit trouble.
INDEPENDENT CUP | 3x ENTRIES
Nurburgring’s result might not yet be official but it’s certain that Antares Au – as the only entry there – will score IGTC Independent Cup points.
However, failing to complete more than 75% of the scheduled distance due to the shortened duration means only half-points can be awarded. He therefore trails Bathurst winner Prince Jefri Ibrahim by 12.5 ahead of Round 3 where the Lionspeed GP Porsche and Triple Eight JMR Mercedes-AMG race each other for the first time.
The two are in different event classes: Au competes in Bronze while Ibrahim is targeting Pro-Am honours. But both have factory talent at their disposal. Belgian Alessio Picariello will spearhead the 911 GT3 R’s crew, while Jordan Love and Alexander Sims – a winner in 2016 with BMW – join the Supercars-run outfit.
Au was Spa’s Independent Cup winner last year but has remained with the same team that ran him at the Nurburgring in late May.
But there’s also a third element to consider this weekend. Adrian D’Silva’s EBM Porsche makes its first IGTC appearance of the season with a crew also comprising, amongst others, Earl Bamber.
2024 CROWDSTRIKE 24 HOURS OF SPA TIMETABLE
Thursday 27 June
11:20 – 12:50 | Free Practice
16:30 – 17:30 | Pre-Qualifying
20:35 – 21:56 | Qualifying (4x 15mins)
22:25 – 23:55 | Night Practice
Friday 28 June
15:45 – 16:15 | Superpole (top-20)
20:10 – 20:40 | Warm-up
Saturday 29 June
16:30 – 16:30 +1 | CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa