+ Record 46 IGTC entries across six full-season manufacturers
+ Championship leaders Engel and Martin split for first time
+ Five drivers vying for Independent Cup honours
+ IGTC entry list: CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa
The world’s biggest GT race takes centre stage in Belgium this weekend when a record 46 Intercontinental GT Challenge entries contest the 78th CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
Mercedes-AMG tops the IGTC manufacturers’ and drivers’ standings after winning outright at Bathurst and the Nürburgring, while Kerong Li has maximum Independent Cup points from his first two outings.
The enormous Intercontinental entry comprises all cars representing the globe-trotting GT3 series' six full-season manufacturers. Porsche holds the numerical advantage with 15, Mercedes-AMG is well supported with 11, BMW and Ferrari boast eight each, and Ford and Chevrolet have two apiece. All are eligible to score manufacturers’ and drivers’ points at full distance, while five Bronze-graded drivers are battling for IGTC Independent Cup honours.
As ever, only each manufacturer’s two best finishers can score IGTC points for their brand, whereas drivers’ points are awarded per Intercontinental’s final top 10.
IGTC’s multi-class events in Australia and Germany provide very different spectacles and challenges to those of Spa, which remains unrivalled in terms of GT3 participation thanks to its historic significance and place on the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS calendar.
The event is more akin to a five-day festival, which officially begins with race cars travelling via public roads into downtown Spa on Wednesday before three nights of music – on and off track – begin Thursday.
There’s also a nod to Spa’s recent past thanks to GT3 Legends, which features amongst a packed support series roster that also includes the GT4 European Series, McLaren Trophy Europe and Lamborghini Super Trofeo.
Mercedes-AMG | 11x GT3 | IGTC points: 64
Two wins from as many IGTC races leaves Mercedes-AMG nine points clear of nearest rivals Porsche, while Maro Engel and Maxime Martin – who makes his 20th Spa appearance this year – both have the maximum 50 points for winning together at Bathurst and Nürburgring. However, that successful partnership has been severed at Spa where the duo revert to their full-season GT World Europe crews.
Engel’s MANN-FILTER entry, which also comprises Nürburgring winner Luca Stolz and Lucas Auer, tops Europe’s Endurance Cup standings for which points will be scored at the six, 12 and 24-hour marks. Martin, on the other hand, shares GetSpeed’s entry with Maximilian Götz and Fabian Schiller who finally joined IGTC’s winners’ circle at the Nordschleife.
Something therefore has to give this weekend when both Engel and Martin also chase IGTC history. Only Jules Gounon has won three races consecutively, and that was across the 2021/22 seasons.
The Andorran features in Mercedes-AMG’s third Pro car, Verstappen Racing’s example also driven by Dani Juncadella and Chris Lulham. Two of that trio were in prime position to win at the Nürburgring alongside Auer and Max Verstappen before a driveshaft issue ended hopes with three hours remaining.
Four Bronze, two Pro-Am and two Silver entries complete Mercedes-AMG’s Spa entries.
Porsche | 15x 911 GT3 R | IGTC points: 55
Rarely has a manufacturer had so much firepower at its disposal as Porsche whose cars comprise 21% of the total entry list. But crucially, in IGTC terms at least, just three of the 15 911s are entered in the Pro category.
Of those, it’s Lionspeed GP’s #80 car that has Porsche’s best placed IGTC drivers. Bastian Buus lies fifth in the standings, 28 points behind Engel and Martin and just one clear of his co-driver this weekend, Ricardo Feller. Thomas Preining completes the trio.
Dorian Boccolacci’s second place at Bathurst leaves him a further three points back. The Frenchman’s Boutsen VDS Porsche is an established GT World Europe frontrunner with Morris Schuring and Alessio Picariello who finished second, but collected maximum IGTC points, at Spa 12 months ago.
Porsche’s Pro roster is completed by Schumacher CLRT’s one-off entry shared by factory stars Fred Makowiecki, Ayhancan Güven and Matt Campbell.
BMW | 8x M4 GT3 Evo | IGTC points: 53
The reigning manufacturers’ and drivers’ champions have yet to really hit their stride this year, but with three Pro entries and a particularly potent Gold combination BMW has an excellent chance of extending its record 11 IGTC victories and 25 wins at the 24 Hours.
Max Hesse, who shares one of WRT’s entries with Dan Harper and Valentino Rossi, represents BMW’s best placed driver in the IGTC standings. The young German is third overall but a sizeable 20 points behind Mercedes-AMG’s leaders Engel and Martin.
Reigning champion Kelvin van der Linde has failed to score a point in either of this year’s two outings. That must change at Spa, one of the few major endurance races the South African is yet to win, if he’s to have a fighting chance of becoming the first two-time title winner over the second half of 2027. He shares WRT’s other full-season GT World Europe entry with Jordan Pepper and another IGTC champion, Charles Weerts.
ROWE’s Augusto Farfus, Raffaele Marciello and Jake Dennis will also be amongst the front runners, while the same team’s Gold combination of Ugo de Wilde, Tim Tramnitz and Jens Klingmann has the potential to become the first non-Pro entry to finish on Spa’s overall podium.
Ferrari | 8x 296 GT3 Evo | IGTC points: 10
Two Pro entries carry Maranello’s hopes of winning Spa for the first time since 2021. That victory was achieved with Nicklas Nielsen who partners Alessio Rovera and Tommaso Mosca in the first of AF Corse’s two overall contenders, with Lilou Wadoux, Arthur Leclerc and Sean Gelael teaming up in the other.
Ferrari is traditionally strong across all categories so has several cars that could score well on their manufacturer’s behalf if either of the Pro entries fail to finish. Kessel’s Bronze example, which is spearheaded by Dennis Marschall, Ben Tuck and Genesis Hypercar ace Mathys Jaubert is probably the pick of them despite Selected Car Racing’s Gold status.
Ford | 2x Mustang GT3 Evo | IGTC points: 10
Ford has won the 24 Hours six times, albeit long before the GT3 era and not since 1989 with a Sierra RS500.
Entering just two Mustangs makes a long-awaited repeat less likely this weekend despite HRT locking out GT World Europe’s front row last time out at Monza. Turn 1’s multi-car pile-up prevented the team from translating its qualifying pace into a landmark result, but it does at least arrive at Spa buoyed by the potential to fight at the sharp end.
Arjun Maini, Fabio Scherer and Thomas Drouet carry Ford’s hopes of achieving a significant overall result, while the second entry – which races in Silver – could also feature strongly.
Chevrolet | 2x Corvette Z06 GT3 R | IGTC points: 3
GM returns to the IGTC fold after missing Nürburgring. The Corvette could have won at Bathurst without a late mechanical issue, which helps to explain Chevrolet’s low score thus far. Neither the Pro-Am nor Gold entry are likely to challenge for overall honours. Instead, both are primarily focusing on their individual classes.
JMR has been here before, first with Mercedes-AMG and then last year with the Z06 GT3 R. The entry is a one-off at Spa but both Jefri and Abu Bakar Ibrahim, as well as Jordan Love and Ben Green, know the team and car inside out from their other programmes. A Pro-Am class victory would, therefore, not be unexpected.
Steller, meanwhile, are Chevrolet’s sole representative in GT World Challenge Europe.
Independent Cup: 5x entries
IGTC’s Am-focused championship has been dominated by one driver this year, but Kerong Li faces a tough task to maintain his 100% winning streak against the likes of Jonathan Hui, Ralf Bohn, Ibrahim, and Johannes Zelgar.
The Chinese driver navigated Nürburgring’s numerous pitfalls to extend his championship lead over Kenny Habul to 32 points. Three-quarters of the same Nordschleife line up reunite with High Class this weekend, albeit with last year’s Pro-Am winner Bob Yuan joining a crew that includes Anders Fjordbach and Leo Yi.
Habul isn’t racing this weekend, which leaves former Independent Cup champion Jonathan Hui as Li’s closest rival on the entry list. His Ziggo Sport Tempesta Porsche can never be discounted, just like Ibrahim who sits fifth behind Ralf Bohn (Herberth Motorsport). Zelgar’s Tsunami RT 911 completes the list of class contenders.