Hello and welcome, everybody, to the biggest GT3 race in the world. This is the one and the only 24 Hours of Spa at the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps amidst the pine trees of the Ardennes Forest in southern Belgium. The best production sports car drivers in the world are tackling this race this year on it's 100th anniversary. Though it's past has been both legendary and somewhat confusing to fans, with the GT3 platform being the cornerstone of its renewal for well over a dozen years, the history of the Spa 24 Hours is now without doubt, a secure one in the annals of not just sports car racing, but in all of motor racing history. A quality entry of 66 GT3 cars has assembled, for this anniversary race. For the next 24 hours, join us to find out how it all unfolds. It's live, and it's next!
Bonjour et bienvenue à tous, à la plus grande course GT3 du monde. C'est le seul et unique 24 Hours of Spa du Circuit de Spa Francorchamps au milieu des pins de la forêt ardennaise dans le sud de la Belgique. Les meilleurs pilotes de voitures de sport de série au monde s'attaquent à cette course cette année à l'occasion de son 100e anniversaire. Bien que son passé ait été à la fois légendaire et quelque peu déroutant pour les fans, la plate-forme GT3 étant la pierre angulaire de son renouvellement depuis plus d'une douzaine d'années, l'histoire des 24 Heures de Spa est maintenant sans aucun doute sûre dans les annales non seulement des courses de voitures de sport, mais de toute l'histoire de la course automobile. Une équipe de qualité de 66 voitures GT3 s'est rassemblée pour cette course anniversaire. Pendant les prochaines 24 heures, rejoignez-nous pour découvrir comment tout cela se déroule. C'est en direct, et c'est le prochain!
It is the biggest and the best GT3 race in the world on this sunny day in the Ardennes Forest as we are joined by David Addison and John Watson, this centenary editions, the 76th running, the 24th for GT cars and the 14th for GT3 cars. We have had a couple of sprint races and we have had one endurance round for the season so far. The European championship joins those in America, Asia, and Australia as well. The parade on Wednesday was massive in the center f town. There were the classic touring cars and many of the GT1, GT2, and GT3 cars. The parade was incredible with both current and historic cars who did a great lap of the old circuit from Bernenville to the Masta Kink and back up to rejoin the current circuit.
We have the Sports Club right now finishing their exhibition and we might have video of that later. We'll see. This seven kilometer crciut is a beast from Eau Rouge to Raidillon through the kink to the Kemmel straight and into Les Combes. Right, left, right, through Pouhon, down the hill from Fangnes to Campus by the tech school, through Paul Frere corner into Blanchimont, flat out into the chicane and across the line into La Source hairpin and then we start the lap all over again. Drivers must be respectful of track limits. It is a favorite of the drivers. Some cars have been racing this weekend and others are clearly just on display.
We are going to have some of the exhibition races as some bonus coverage after the 24 Hours of Spa finishes. So, stay tuned for that. BMW have had changes for Balance of Performance and there are some other details we have covered this morning in the pre-race news and notes post I just published a wee while ago. BMW have won this race in both touring cars and GT3s. The last time a brand went back to back was Ford, with the Martin brothers Ford Capri in 1979 and 1980. Could we see rain this evening? It is Spa, and we might see it tonight when it gets dark. Jacky Ickx is in the house! The Belgian legend for Porsche, for Ferrari, for Ford, in Formula 1 and sports cars.
Jacky Ickx is an amazing driver and along with Olivier Gendebien are the two greatest Belgian drivers ever. Ickx won Le Mans six times, drove for Ferrari in Formula 1, has won the 24 Hours of Spa. We have the original winning 1924 Citroen on display here. This car was truly innovative and so have many Citroen's been. We have the Belgian Police Orchestra playing music. The fans are here, the place is jammed to capacity. Endurance today is a very long sprint, 24 qualifying laps per hour, honestly. We can see the Ferris Wheel.
Hello to Ryan Myrehn and to Jacky Ickx. He is the official starter. In 1966 Jacky won and he says "I am privileged to have the opportunity to give the start. I am at home in a way, after my brother won right here in '65, and I won the 24 Hours of Spa in 1966, and it is amazing to celebrate 100 years of the race and to have the large crowd. If you have no crowds, you have no racing." Jacky Ickx drove a BMW 2000 TI with Hubert Hahne. The cars are on their sighting laps. Last year's champions in the #98 Rowe Racing BMW M4 GT3 are back with Philipp Eng, Nick Yelloly, and Marco Wittmann. Don't forget the #46 BMW M4 GT3 of Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin, and Raffaele Marciello.
Maxime Martin's dad Jean Michel and his uncle have won this race before. There are drivers from 41 countries, and 16 previous winners in the race today. Bonjour to another legend, Pierre Dieudonne, who is one of the owners of the WRT BMW team. It is great to see the legends of this race. His father brought him to see the race. Pierre Dieudonne's dad was pals with the racing journalist, Paul Frere, another legend of this circuit. Pierre Dieudonne won this race in 1981 for Tom Walkinshaw Racing with a Mazda RX-7 in the touring car days, with a 3-rotor engine. You could hear that car absolutely screaming around the Spa circuit. How cool is that?!
A lot of the fans were allowed on the track to be with the drivers as the Race Control team are also readying for it. Eric van de Poele is another legend who is back this year, a winner of this event. He is very happy to be here, wearing his trademark cowboy hat. Other legends have won in touring cars and GT3 here like Kurt Mollekens, Bernd Schneider, and there are a couple more. The stilt walkers holding their flags are entertaining the fans. Yikes! Stilt walkers! Braver than me! Hello to George Kurtz, racing driver, and CEO of the title sponsor of the race, CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity service of course.
This is the best GT racing in the world on an iconic track with all the great history. So, we have David Addison and John Watson in the booth and Antonia Rankin and Ryan Myrehn in the pit lane for this first stint. Hello to another legend, Toine Hezemans, in his original unifrom and with his BMW 3.0 CSL he drove with Dieter Quester. They did it as a duo and they won, an hour ahead of everybody else. Pretty remarkable. Toine Hezemans son Mike has also won this race before. It was only in the 1980s or '90s that the physical demands of prototypes, GT cars, and touring cars, to add a third driver or fourth driver to the lineup, for safety and preventing drivers from getting way too tired.
Frederik Vesti is ready for his first 24 hour race in a GT3 car for Mercedes-AMG and he knows how much he will learn. He raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans and he was runner up in Formula 2 last year in an open wheel car. Drivers want to be all around drivers and be versatile in being able to drive many different kinds of cars. His co-driver Daniel Juncadella, the Spaniard, will start it. Vesti is also a test driver for the Mercedes Formula 1 team as we see the Monster Energy stunt riders with their stunt motorcycles doing wheelies, entertaining the fans. There is a massive international crowd with the neighboring nations to Belgium, like France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Holland as well as Belgium, obviously.
Customer racing, the brands have teams to engineer and support the cars with parts, logistics, tech support and more. Last year's winning team brings the trophy back and they'd like to keep it, but we'll see. They probably have a replica of the race trophy at the race shop. You cannot make a mistake. It is a 24 hour sprint but drive the race by the book and don't make mistakes. Spend the least time in the pit lane and you will win. You make a technical pit stop for five minutes between hours 11 and 20. The brass band plays the Belgian National Anthem before we get started.
We are just minutes away from getting this race underway. We are planning to start at half past 4. Now for the flyover by the Belgian Air Force Red Devils. The sky is pretty clear with some clouds, and it is breezy. But it has been hot and humid the past handful of days. The cars continue coming to the grid as there are seas of people still on the grid. I wouldn't like to be the marshal with the whistle trying to shepherd the crowd off the grid and get them back to the grandstands to watch. Clear the grid, clear the grid, please. Clear the grid. Clear the grid, please. Effacez la grille. Effacez la grille, s'il vous plaît.
Valentino Rossi and Maxime Martin are both set to go in the #46 BMW M Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 they are sharing with Raffaele Marciello. Again, Martin is a Belgian, wants to win again, and to add to the wins his father and his uncle have. So many great old cars that have won this race before and next week, we are going to get a glimpse of a lot of these old cars. There will be some video about the different eras of this wonderful race. Starting 28th overall, Eddie Cheever III. with the #93 Sky Tempesta Racing Ferrari 296 GT3. Chris Froggatt, Eddie Cheever III., Lilou Wadoux, and Jonathan Hui.
Eddie Cheever III. is confident. Lamborghini on the pole. Franck Perera will start in the #163 GRT - Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. Race Director Alain Adam giving him instructions. Our reigning champions at Rowe Racing hope to go back-to-back. Phillipp Eng, Marco Wittmann, and Nick Yelloly. Wittmann is going to start this race. These wonderful races are billed as endurance events, but believe me, now, they are flat out sprints. These are road going cars that have the performance we would have seen with the Group C cars in the '80s and '90s and even the Hypercars of today, the prototypes.
Watch for the #78 Lamborghini in Bronze Cup. Till Bechtolsheimer, the new owner of Lola, Sandy Mitchell, Ricky Collard, and Antoine Doquin. Franck Perera set the track record in Super Pole and he says the track is complwtely different from what it used to be. Qualifying can sometimes be considered a joke with a long race ahead, but the team believes they can fight for a victory tomorrow. Rain overnight in the forecast. Perera raced in the rain at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in IMSA at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen and what did we have in those races? Il a pleu! It rained! The grid now beginning to empty.
The GT3 cars in herringbone formation. So many cool cars. Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, it is unbelievable. Strategy is going to be secretive but with the rain later, we'll see. Most teams are going to do double stints at the start. A few years ago, a team kept their slower driver out of the car for the first half of the race. Everyone is finally clearing the grid as we have the command to start engines. Drivers, start your engines! It's go time! Stephane Ratel, SRO President, takes a picture of the trophy. This is wonderful. We have come a long way since the year 2000 when a Peugeot 306 turbo diesel hatchback won here. Now we have these awesome GT3 monsters! Jacky Ickx waves the Belgian flag and we are ready to go.
David Addison, John Watson, Antonia Rankin, and Ryan Myrehn with us and we'll have Martin Haven, Bruce Jones, and Ben Constanduros for the night shift as we look at the grid. 66 GT3 cars! Incredible! It is time to go racing at least on a dry road. Track position will be critical. Go easy in the first part of the race. But if you tell a racing driver to go easy, they're not listening to you. Blimey! OK. Out of La Source they will come. Ferrari #52 will need to start at the tail end of the field. Alright. The centenary 24 Hours of Spa is go!
Lamborghini leads and Lucas Auer for Mercedes to second spot. Dry track, fast track. Lamborghini t the top of the sjhop as they fan out up the hill and let's see how things are going to work out. Look out through Les Combes and plunging downhill to Brussels corner. Franck Perera making good his escape through Jacky Ickx corner and into Pouhon next. Luca Stolz pushing in the #2 Mercedes he shares with Fabian Schiller and and Jules Gounon as one of the McLaren's gets tapped. Through Blanchimont and now, side by side up to the end of lap one, Porsche 911 of Ayhancan Guven vs. one of the BMW M4 GT3's.
You can't win on lap one but you can damn well lose it. They are pouring onto the frontstretch as Frank Perera leads the motor race. Franck Perera, Lucas Auer, Alessio Rovera, Glenn van Berlo, Luca Stolz, Jim Pla, Maxi Gotz, Vincent Abril, Arjun Maini, and Marvin Kirchofer, the top ten. Perera and Auer dominated the pole shootout. This is a championship race for both Intercontinental GT Challenge and the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. Six hours and halfway, teams will earn points for the overall championship. Louis Machiels stone last in the #52 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 as some cas already have their skid blocks or loose bodywork rubbing. These cars are on full fuel tanks currently.
Marvin Kirchofer is chasing after Arjun Maini in the #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3 vs. the #188 Bronze classified McLaren. Chris Froggatt in the Ferrari 296 GT3 is next up in that class. 65 of 66 cars running well so far as we are on lap two of the race. McLaren won the Gold Cup in 2023. Ricardo Feller in the Audi running in 19th place aboard the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 and the sister car as well in the #88 car. Glenn van Berlo, Lorenzo Ferrari, Lorenzo Patrese, and Leonardo Moncini. Frank Perera has fastest lap so far at 2:16.3. Perera sharing with Jordan Pepper and Marco Mapelli.
Single file out of Courbe Paul Frere as Franck Perera inches ahead of Lucas Auer with just eight minutes of racing on the board. Alessio Rovera is hanging in there. Glenn van Berlo in the Audi another to watch wriggling their way through La Source and screaming through Eau Rouge. We have one long pit lane between the Formula 1 pit lane and the heritage endurance pit lane. Accelerating out Les Combes toward Bruxelles as Rob Bell is being harried by one of the Ferrari's. Felipe Fernandez Laser behind him. Bell sharing with Ollie Milroy, Mark Radcliffe, and Fran Rueda. The maximum drive time is 62 minutes unless a yellow flag happens in which it extends to 67 minutes.
Lucas Auer clawing tenths back to Franck Perera as everyone is running between 246-249 kilometers an hour, 153-155 miles an hour and now, the Porsche's send it! Ayhancan Guven and Matt Campbell have monstered the Audi! Oh my! Campbell is motoring! He is on the move here early doors even though the Porsche 992's just have not had the qualifying speed. Through Campus and into Courbe Paul Frere again. Matt Campbell in 20th spot. Franck Perera continues to lead as we are seeing a battle in the Pro class. So many of these drivers are able to adapt between a Hypercar and a GT3 car. We have seen two 24-hour races at Nurburgring and Le Mans, a 6 hour race at Watkins Glen, and now, the 24 Hours of Spa.
Everyone is pushing to make progress as we have 15 minutes of racing gone. Mirko Bortolotti is being harried currently running behind David Pittard and just ahead of Mirko Bortolotti. Watch for track limits as Simon Gachet is being harried by Jaxon Evans in the first 24 hour race for the Phantom Global Porsche team. Evans sharing with Joel Eriksen from Sweden and the Austrian Thomas Preining. In the background, look, Matt Campbell is pressing Mirko Bortolotti. Bortolotti barely hanging on to 18th spot.
\Maxime Martin and Sheldon van der Linde in the two WRT BMW M4 GT3's are mired in the pack. It is inevitable someone has to be the cork in the bottle and those ahead are reaping the benefits. Evans, Pittard, Simon Gachet, Nicki Thiim, Augusto Farfus, Dominik Baumann. Perera has uncorked fastest lap of the race so far. This is a Grasser Racing Team Lambo sharing with Marco Mapelli and Jordan Pepper. The gap is opening up now between second and third. It is a two-horse race for the lead with a couple other cars back there. Alessio Rovera third in the #51 Ferrari 296 GT3. The sister car is moving up.
#51 has Alessio Rovera, Davide Rigon, and Alessandro Pier Guidi, and #52 of Louis Machiels, Jef Machiels, Andrea Bertolini, and Tommaso Mosca. A great view of Eau Rouge and Raidillon, a blind corner. Aim the car through the compression and push uphill. Campbell, Guven, Feller. Porsche., Porsche, Audi. Car #333 has a driver standards' flag shown. That is German driver Felipe Fernandez Laser, sharing with countryman Christian Hook, Fabrizio Crestani from Italy, and South African David Perel. Luca Stolz is reading into the Audi's performance trying to catch Glenn van Berlo. Stolz has cars all around him and he must go out to the right side of the road.
Cars weaving around to try getting their Pirelli P Zero tires warm. This traffic is maddening! My heavens! The cars have tire warmer blankets, but they won't get as hot as racing and having the inertia run through them. Now, Lucas Auer has caught Perera, makes the move in the final corner and takes the lead! Holy smokes! I think he caught Franck Perera napping! So, the bright yellow Mann Filter Landgraf Mercedes is in P1. Perera must be brave and do everything he can to get back around. Lucas Auer has babied his Pirelli tires, and he has more grip than the deep blue and white Lamborghini in second through Bruxelles corner.
The opening stint will be a lap or two shorter to check fuel data and we have not had a yellow. But, blimey! Skip, don't tempt fate! I'll get my coat. I'm out. No. I have to stay here to tell you all the story of the race. Chris Froggatt is now 31st in the overall in the #93 Sky Tempesta Ferrari 296 GT3 chasing the Audi of Alban Varutti, the Frenchman, who has been a former Middle Eastern Supercars champion. Braking into La Source, square the apex while it dips away on the downhill run to Eau Rouge. Through Eau Rouge, I think he lifted. Now he has his foot flat. He clattered over the curbs and into Les Combes, clipping the curbs. That clattering sound under the undercarriage is terrible to hear!
Alban Varutti V's off the corner. Froggatt, chasing, short shifting to Jacky Ickx corner down to Pouhon, pulls another gear and into Fangnes corner. This is a battle of half of dozen cars. Colin Caresani in the Pro-Am class Mercedes #57 for Winward Racing is next sharing with Tanart Sanintheirakul and now Caresani gets loose into the last turn. The third racer in that Mercedes is Dann Arrow. We are looking at the order in each of the classes, but I will tell you that we'll just have to get to that later. Indy Dontje leads the Pro-Am class. Alban Varutti in the Sainteloc #26 Audi R8 LMS Evo II is ahead. Varutti sharing with Gilles Stadsbader, Ivan Klymenko, and Markus Paverud.
Mercedes drivers reporting understeer and now, the #97 Rutronik Porsche is off the road. There are two of them and I think it is the #97 of American driver Dustin Blattner and we have a local yellow in sector two. Full Course Yellow now with one car in the gravel trap by Race Director Alain Adam. Dustin Blattner, and he just spins. There is no wave by. We'll worry about that later when cars lose laps. Blattner was tagged by the #52 Ferrari, and he locked the brakes. So, Dustin Blattner is sharing with Zacharie Robichon, Dennis Marschall, and Loek Hartog.
This incident occurred at Fangnes. Half an hour on the board now. Pit stop time, fuel the car and get ahead of your rivals. Go for the undercut. Go for leapfrogging your rivals. We talk about this in endurance racing all the time as Vincent Abril has likely stepped out of the #71 Ferrari and the two AF Corse Ferrari's double stack with both cars in the lane. The #48 Mercedes is in the lane as well and the bulk of the top 30 are in the lane as we speak. The contact between #52 Ferrari and #97 Porsche under investigation. Both of the WRT BMWs are in the lane at the end of the Grand Prix pit lane.
Some engineers like to be at the bottom of the pit lane in the heritage pit lane. If I were a GT3 team boss in my team uniform and my flat hat, wearing a headset, I would strategize to be in the bottom half of the lane for my team, my drivers, my car. Laurens Vanthoor stays in the HubAuto Porsche 911 GT3R. Vanthoor sharing with Patrick Pilet and Kevin Estre. There is some fluid on the road and it could have been from one of the historic races from earlier, the touring cars or the classic GT cars and like I said, we'll have coverage of those races on video next week.
Now, the #91 Porsche 911 GT3R is in the lane as well and has transgressed for something and will cop a penalty. That is the Herberth Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R (992) of Ralf Bohn, Alfred Renauer, Robert Renauer, and Morris Schuring. Franck Perera pits from the race lead. Franck Perera in the pit lane to change tires and we'll be with ain the area of a restart soon as the #55 Porsche 911 GT3R for Dinamic GT is being examined for a pit lane speeding penalty with Marius Nakken of Norway at the wheel of it, sharing with Frenchman Theo Nouet, Finland's Axel Blom, and Dutchman, Jop Rappange. Perera will drop down the order as we await the safety car.
Only three cars have not pitted yet. Lucas Auer leads ahead of Davide Rigon, and then Franck Perera, Glenn van Berlo, and Gilles Magnus. Magnus is a star driver. He is managed by British Touring Cars driver Rob Huff. Leading in the Silver class is the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the hands of Aurelien Panis, son of Formula 1 driver and 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner Olivier Panis. Aurelien Panis sharing with Sebastien Baud and Cesar Gazeau, all of France, and Roee Meyuhas, the American based Israeli driver. The pit stops don't have a regulation time save for a minimum refueling time of 44 seconds.
We are watching the #5 McLaren and the #25 Audi as we are under the safety car with Lucas Auer leading the motor race. McLaren 720S GT3 #5 is the Optimum Motorsports car of Sam Neary, Shaun Balfe, Ben Barnicoat, and Ruben Del Sarte, three Brits and a Dutchman. The #25 Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS Evo II has Paul Evrard of France, countryman Jim Pla, Belgian Ugo de Wilde, and fellow Belgian Gilles Magnus. One thing on display is a copy of the book about the 24 Hours of Spa. The field turns from Pouhon towards the Piff Paff and we are going to restart this race. Safety Car lights off.
Green flag! We're underway again. Lucas Auer punches it and we are back racing and Auer is gapping the Ferrari and the rest. Auer, Rigon, Stolz, Perera, and side by side stuff between Magnus and van Berlo. Thomas Drouet, Thomas Neubauer, and more. Car #55 with ten seconds added to the next pit stop for speeding in the pit lane and now, over Raidillon, Magnus nearly gets clipped by Glenn van Berlo! Yikes! Settle down, lads. David Pittard in the Walkenhorst Motorsports Aston Martin gets passed. Blimey! Glenn van Berlo, airborne through Eau Rouge and comes back down to earth! Yikes! These GT3 cars are flat bottomed and some cars will take off and do a loop de loop like a fighter jet and come crashing back to earth.
Jaxon Evans is making a pass and so is Matt Campbell, and again, it is Julien Andlauer as well. Porsche to the inside of the BMW. Andlauer was a bona fide star in the FIA WEC race and four abreast up the Kemmel straight into Les Combes and Andlauer comes out of that, four places ahead and smelling like a rose! Marco Wittmann got mugged! One Rutronik car is making progress and now, Dustin Blattner is losing places while in the pit lane having the car checked. Thomas Neubauer has dropped like a stone. The new drivers might be struggling as this second stint begins. Battles all over the circuit as they come out of La Source.
Davide Rigon is right on Lucas Auer's six. Well, Auer is 1.3 seconds ahead of Rigon. Mercedes vs. Ferrari. Co-drivers Daniel Morad and Maro Engel looking on. The #159 Garage 59 McLaren is 34th. Benjamin Goethe, Dean MacDonald, and Tom Gamble. Jonathan Hui has taken over the #93 Sky Tempesta Ferrari 296 GT3. Chris Froggatt, Jonathan Hui, Eddie Cheever III. and Lilou Wadoux. Lilou Wadoux I believe is the only female driver in the race with the withdrawal of the Iron Dames Lamborghini team.
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