Preview: Twelve Porsche 911 GT3 R at the 24-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps.

27-07-2021 18:21 -

Ten customer teams, twelve 911 GT3 R and a total of 40 racing drivers, seven of them with works driver status: Porsche is represented with a large line-up at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Hardly any other manufacturer will have more racing cars at the start of the endurance classic this coming weekend. The traditional event on the 7.004 kilometer long “Ardennes roller coaster” is one of the most important GT3 events in the world and is part of two championships this season, the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC). Porsche is aiming for the hat trick on the Belgian Grand Prix circuit. In 2019, works drivers Michael Christensen (Denmark), Kévin Estre (France) and Richard Lietz (Austria) secured overall victory with the 911 GT3 R from GPX Racing. Last year, with Nick Tandy (Great Britain), Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), another trio of works drivers won the highlight of the GT3 season, this time for the Rowe Racing team.

Since 1921, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps has been one of the greatest challenges for drivers from all over the world. As early as 1924 - just three years after the opening - the first 24-hour race took place in the far east of Belgium not far from the German border. At that time, the route ran for 14.863 kilometers between the towns of Malmedy, Francorchamps and Stavelot. In 1979 the distance was shortened. With 7.004 kilometers and 21 corners, the traditional Grand Prix circuit is still the longest track on the Formula 1 calendar. He still rightly bears his nickname “Ardennes roller coaster”, as the spectacular steep section “Raidillon / Eau Rouge” and the downhill passage with the infamous “Blanchimont” curve prove. At the end of the start / finish straight there is the tight hairpin "La Source": It is one of the slowest corners of the GT3 season.

The schedule (all times CEST) Thursday July 29th
10:50 am - 12:20 pm: Free practice 1
3:45 pm - 4:45 pm: pre-qualifying
8:50 pm - 9:05 pm: Qualifying 1st
9:12 - 9:27 p.m .: Qualifying 2
9:34 pm - 9:49 pm: Qualifying 3
9:56 p.m. - 10:11 p.m .: Qualifying 4th
10:30 pm - midnight: night training

Friday July 30th
7:10 p.m. - 7:40 p.m .: Warm up
7:50 - 8:20 p.m .: Super Pole

Saturday July 31st
4.30 p.m .: Start of the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race

Sunday 1st August
4.30 p.m .: Crossing the finish line of the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race

The live stream of the event
The 24-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps starts on July 31st at 4:30 p.m. The website http://www.intercontinentalgtchallenge.com shows the classic in a free live stream.