24H Spa Debut “Stepping Stone” in Hartog’s Porsche Journey

Porsche Carrera Cup North America points leader Loek Hartog believes he will be able to “share his expertise” gained from competing in single-make racing to help Rutronik Racing’s Bronze Cup effort during his debut outing in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.

The Dutchman, who races for Kellymoss in North America, joins the lineup for the No. 97 Porsche 911 GT3 R at Spa, sharing the car with Dustin Blattner, Zach Robichon and Dennis Marschall.

His 24H Spa debut comes as part of a combined program for the 21-year-old, as he competes with both Kellymoss in Carrera Cup and Rutronik in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup.

Hartog told Sportscar365 that it originally “wasn’t part of the plan” to race on two levels of Porsche’s sports car racing ladder at the same time, but is confident that he is able to apply his Carrera Cup experience to be beneficial at Rutronik.

“It’s really how the cards shuffled for me this winter, which I’m very happy with,” Hartog said.

“Of course in retrospect now looking at it, it’s a great opportunity for me to still share my expertise about the cup racing that I’ve gained over the last couple of years and apply it into a series which is competitive as well.

“It’s also important to win for both teams, but also in general if you look at the one-make series there in the U.S., Porsche Carrera Cup is quite an important thing there, but then also learning now in a whole different kind of speed and trajectory in GT3 racing.”

Hartog noted that his placement in a Bronze Cup entry allows him to sharpen his GT3 skills “under the radar” as he seeks to further his career path in endurance racing.

“It’s kind of nice that of course I’m now in the car, getting my mileage in, [doing] all these big races now which I only dreamed of a few years ago,” he said.

“But still doing it for myself, kind of under the radar. The operation now is running in Bronze. So not necessarily my speed for myself in the car is important, it’s the entire package.

“The pressure is on for me for sure that I have to deliver, but it’s not that there’s a bigger pressure from a manufacturer behind it yet.

“This is kind of nice. But of course for me, it’s the idea of having it as a stepping stone towards a factory deal and already having the mileage in the GT3 R.”

Hartog added that his dual program allows him to enjoy the best of both worlds when it comes to the different characteristics in each form of racing.

“I think it’s something that most drivers don’t necessarily do, to have an individual championship as one of their programs and a GT3 program combined,” he said.

“But for me it’s kind of nice in the sense that you’re still having races where you can prove your own speed and where you’re more responsible for results as you’re the driver that’s strapped in for the sprint races.

“But then as well having these endurance race where you’re then essentially part of a bigger team. The bigger picture counts again as a bigger operation in general.

“So I really like this year that I have both elements in that kind of sense.”