60 Cars on Provisional Entry List for 24H Spa

A field of 60 cars will contest this month’s TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa, following SRO Motorsports Group’s publication of the provisional entry list for the Belgian enduro.

The entry, which has grown slightly since last year, includes full-season participants from the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup and entries counting points towards the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli.

There are 26 cars registered for the top Pro category, along with 17 entrants in Silver Cup, 14 in Pro-Am and three in Am Cup.

Porsche and Mercedes-AMG will be the equal best-represented manufacturers at the July 29-Aug. 1 event with 13 cars each.

There are eight Porsche 911 GT3 Rs in the Pro category while most of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos are competing in Silver Cup.

Last year’s winner ROWE Racing is not present, however Porsche will instead be represented by two-car efforts from Dinamic Motorsport, KCMG and Frikadelli Racing Team, as well as single entries for Rutronik Racing and 2019 winner GPX Racing.

All of the Porsche driver lineups had been confirmed prior to the entry list reveal.

Despite its large overall presence, Mercedes-AMG only has four Pro-class entries at Spa, although this still represents double what it had for the 2020 edition.

The returning No. 4 Haupt Racing Team and No. 88 AKKA-ASP cars both return as part of their Endurance Cup programs, while ASP has added a second car for Lucas Auer, Felipe Fraga and reigning GTWC Europe outright champion Timur Boguslavskiy.

The fourth Mercedes-AMG belongs to HubAuto Racing, as announced last month.

Five of the nine Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evos at Spa will be competing for overall honors, while the German manufacturer recently revealed its four factory-supported lineups.

The fifth Pro Audi is Sainteloc Racing’s No. 26 car, which sees ex-DTM drivers Jamie Green and Adrien Tambay team up with Finlay Hutchison.

Frederic Vervisch and Markus Winkelhock normally drive the No. 26 in Endurance Cup, but Winkelhock has been assigned to the No. 25 Audi Sport Team Sainteloc machine while Vervisch, who was a runner-up last year for Attempto, is absent due to a TCR clash.

Sainteloc is also planning a Silver entry that involves Sprint Cup driver Aurelien Panis and Alexandre Cougnaud from Endurance Cup. Both normally race in the top class.

The proposed Pro-level Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo for Grasser Racing Team has not materialized, with Orange 1 FFF Racing Team and Emil Frey Racing standing as the Italian manufacturer’s only top-category representatives at Spa.

GRT is instead focusing on its full-season Silver Cup entry, which is joined by representatives from Emil Frey and International GT Open front-runner Vincenzo Sospiri Racing.

Barwell Motorsport is aiming to defend its Pro-Am crown with a Lamborghini for Sandy Mitchell, Leo Machitski, Miguel Ramos and Henrique Chaves. Two of Barwell’s 2020 winners, Rob Collard and Ricky Collard, are now driving a RAM Racing Mercedes.

Elsewhere, Stefano Constantini is listed as the second Bronze-rated driver next to Hiroshi Hamaguchi in FFF Racing Team’s Pro-Am No. 19 Lamborghini.

Ferrari’s cause is led by the two Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020s that compete in Endurance Cup.

Those lineups remain unchanged, although two of Ferrari’s FIA World Endurance Championship drivers are set to represent AF Corse in the Pro-Am division.

2017 WEC champion James Calado is listed in the No. 52 AF Corse entry alongside Andrea Bertolini, Louis Machiels and Lorenzo Bontempelli. The No. 53 Ferrari, meanwhile, has been bolstered by the addition of Miguel Molina.

Walkenhorst Motorsport is running its Endurance Cup crews for its two-car entry with the BMW M6 GT3.

The 2018-winning team is the only BMW outfit in Pro this year, and is also one of three teams fielding a car in Am Cup. The other Ams are the Porsches from Huber Motorsport and T2 Racing, which normally compete in NLS and the 24H Series respectively.

Garage 59 will spread its three Aston Martin Vantage GT3s across three categories.

Reigning WEC champions Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen are teaming up with fellow factory driver Ross Gunn for Aston Martin’s return to the top division, while Garage 59 also operates full-season Endurance Cup programs in Silver and Pro-Am.

JOTA is the sole McLaren representative in Pro, as has been the case throughout the current GTWC Europe season.

U.S-based racer Kevin Madsen has joined Inception Racing’s Pro-Am McLaren crew as the second Bronze.

The only Bentley Continental GT3 at Spa will be the No. 107 CMR vehicle in Silver Cup. The French team had initially contemplated running two Bentleys at Spa to mirror its Sprint Cup commitment but has ultimately settled for one.

Three Spectator ‘Bubbles’ Established

Following the recent confirmation that fans will be allowed to attend Spa this year, SRO has outlined a ‘bubble’ system designed to control the spread of coronavirus.

Fans can now purchase tickets for one of three bubbles, where they must remain for the duration of their time at the four-day event.

‘Bubble 1’ covers the grandstand stretch from La Source hairpin to Eau Rouge, while ‘Bubble 2’ runs along the Kemmel Straight. ‘Bubble 3’ covers Les Combes to Pouhon.

Each bubble will include its own entrance, parking and other facilities. SRO has said that numbers in each bubble will be limited “according to local regulations” but has not given a precise number.

Camping is not permitted this year, meaning spectators must vacate their bubbles at the end of each day.

Masks and social distancing will be in effect, while the paddock will be closed off. All fans must produce a negative PCR test within 72 hours of first entering the circuit or an antigen test within 48 hours.