Daylight Saving Change Turns 24H Spa into 25-Hour Race

SRO has added an extra hour to the duration of this year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa to factor in central Europe’s daylight saving adjustment, turning the race into a 25-hour affair.

The GT3 enduro was originally set to be held at the end of July but was postponed to the weekend of October 24-25 as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic.

This change put the race on the date of central Europe’s transition from the UTC+2 time zone (Central European Summer Time) to UTC+1 at 3 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25.

To factor in the clocks moving back an hour, SRO has confirmed that it will add an extra hour to the race clock.

This means the green flag is set to fly at 3:30 p.m. on the Saturday (9:30 a.m. EDT) and the checkered flag is set to come out at 3:30 p.m. on the Sunday (10:30 a.m. EDT).

The race will continue to be marketed as the Total 24 Hours of Spa despite its new longer duration, which has never been attempted before.

Spa represents the third round of both the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli and GT World Challenge powered by AWS Endurance Cup.

The main event will be supported by Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe, the GT4 European Series, TCR Europe and Formula Renault Eurocup.

Further details of the timetable are expected to be released soon, although SRO confirmed that teams will be loading in on Monday, Oct. 19.

The Bronze driver test will take place the next day, followed by a rest on Wednesday before the start of competitive track action on the Thursday.

SRO has yet to confirm whether spectators will be allowed to attend the event.