Photo credit: Porsche
Porsche’s customer-team arm will field 11 examples of the 911 GT3 R in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the globe’s largest GT3 race and the third round of both the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and the Intercontinental GT Challenge. The twice-around-the-clock classic begins at 4 p.m. local time on Saturday, 28 June, with a record 75 GT3 cars from ten manufacturers set to tackle the 7.004-km “Ardennes roller-coaster.”
Four factory drivers anchor Porsche’s Pro-category assault. Dinamic GT’s No. 18 entry pairs Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet with Danish youngster Bastian Buus, while Pure Racing’s No. 911 car features Austrian works duo Richard Lietz and Thomas Preining alongside Bronze driver Alexander Malykhin. Rutronik Racing’s No. 96 Porsche relies on Sven Müller, Patric Niederhauser, and Belgian favorite Alessio Picariello, and Schumacher CLRT’s No. 22 combines Ayhancan Güven, Laurin Heinrich, and Klaus Bachler.
Photo credit: Porsche
Seven additional 911 GT3 Rs will chase class honors in the Pro-Am, Gold, Silver, and Bronze divisions. Project manager Sebastian Golz expects a “close, intense battle,” noting Spa’s capricious micro-climate and the sheer traffic generated by a 75-car field. Porsche has eight overall Spa victories in its history, the last in 2020.
The event follows hard on the heels of the Nürburgring 24 Hours and Le Mans, further testing drivers and crews. Live streaming and timing will be available through the GT World Challenge app and website. Weather forecasts call for changeable conditions, making strategy and luck as critical as outright pace on the revamped circuit, which now features added gravel traps at Eau Rouge/Raidillon.
