In an era where the popularity of motorsport is growing, and sportscar and GT racing is finding friends rapidly, perhaps it’s time to step away from some of the rhythm of coverage that we traditionally give to some major events and try a little harder to unpick what’s special about them.
First up the Spa 24 Hours, branded this year as the Crowdstrike Spa 24 Hours.
DSC is here this year with some support from the fine folks at Audi Sport Customer Racing and we’ll be working to give you an inside track on just how factory support for top class GT3 racing works.
For the event as a whole though we’ll start here.
What is the Spa 24 Hours?
Often described at the biggest GT race in the world the event, which celebrates its centenary next year, has been run as a GT-only race since 2001 (it has a proud history prior to that as a Touring Car event).
Nowadays it serves as the ‘Blue Riband’ event for two championships with overlapping entries:
The Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli is race organiser SRO’s globetrotting series which brings top quality GT races from around the planet together for a points chase aimed at the top GT brands.
Fanatec GT Europe Endurance Cup is part of SRO’S global family of continental championships (there are parallel Championships in North America, Asia and Australia) and features both Sprint and Endurance races.
There’s little doubt that this is the biggest GT-only event in the world – the 2023 race will welcome around 70 GT3 cars for the main race, plus a support package that features a huge array of GT4 and one-make GT races.
Around 200 GT racing cars will be on track over the weekend!
The 24 Hours itself will be contested only by GT3 machinery this year though the cars are divided into five different classes determined by the split of driver rankings across their 3-4 driver crews.
Over the full duration of the race, no driver can spend more than 11 hours in the car, down from 14 at previous editions.
A minimum driving time of two hours has also been instituted when no other requirement is listed. The maximum continuous driving time is three hours and 15 minutes, after which there is a mandatory one-hour rest.
PRO: The top category. Each crew is restricted to three drivers with no limitations on their driver rankings.
Pro crews have filled the overall podium every year since the current class structure was introduced in 2011.
GOLD CUP: This is where things get a little complex. The Gold Cup name was used last year, but this is effectively a new category. The maximum line-up is Gold-Gold-Gold-Silver, though the majority of the field will run with Gold-Gold-Silver trio.
In either case, the Silver driver must complete a minimum of four hours over the course of the race.
SILVER CUP: First introduced to the 24 Hours in 2018, the Silver Cup remains unchanged for 2023. Each crew consists of up to four Silver-graded drivers, with no extra limits placed on driving time.
The fourth driver is optional.
BRONZE CUP: This will be the biggest class at this year’s race. While the name has been used before, it is effectively last year’s Gold Cup category, with a maximum driver line-up of Platinum-Silver-Silver-Bronze. The Bronze must contribute a minimum of four hours during the race, which must include one hour within the first six. The Pro can contribute a maximum of eight hours.
The reigning class winner is Iron Dames, which returns with an unchanged driver line-up. The Bronze Cup has also attracted several powerhouse squads, including six-time Pro-Am winner AF Corse, and recent overall winners Team WRT and Walkenhorst Motorsport.
PRO-AM CUP: A mainstay of the 24 Hours, having been part of each edition since GT3 rules were introduced in 2011. The maximum line-up is two Platinum and two Bronze-graded drivers.
In terms of driving time, a Bronze must be behind the wheel for a minimum of eight hours during the race, and for at least one hour during each six-hour period. This time can be shared between two the Bronze drivers.
Stints and Stops
An on-track stint at the Spa 24 Hours sees the clock start as a car leaves the pits and reset when the car returns. The maximum stint length at Spa is 65 minutes, unless a full-course yellow or safety car period is in operation when the stint finishes. (an additional five minutes is allowed to return to the pits at a slower speed in these circumstances).
For standard pit stops, there is a minimum refuelling time during which the car must remain connected to the rig. Tyre and driver changes can take place during refuelling, but they are optional. A one-second tolerance on pit stop time is permitted on four occasions during the course of the race.
Short refuelling stops are also allowed. For these, a maximum refuelling time will be determined and can differ between brands. As such, some cars may need to complete a ‘stop and hold’ to ensure that they are stationary for the same amount of time. There is no tolerance on short pit stops, so it is essential that teams get them right.
Additionally, each car must perform a technical pit stop, lasting at least four minutes from pit-in to pit-out. This allows teams to change items such as brake pads, a task that can be performed much quicker on some cars than others.
The technical pit stop can be taken at any point between the start of the 12th hour and end of the 22nd hour, including during a full-course yellow or safety car.
Safety Cars
A new ‘pass-around’ rule introduced for this year could prove very significant. When the safety car is on track and the race has been neutralised, any cars running ahead of their class leader in the line will be allowed to overtake and join the back of the field. This will effectively give them a lap back, perhaps allowing a route back into contention.
Tyres
As for tyres, sole supplier Pirelli will provide each car with a maximum of 30 sets of its dry compound, which must be used from free practice onwards. Two sets from the official test day can be carried over as part of the 30-set allocation, while an additional set is authorised for the cars taking part in Super Pole. These can’t be used during the race, so there’s no excuse not to push them to the absolute limit.
In case of rain, there is no limit on the use of Pirelli’s wet compound tyre.
Points
The majority of the cars entered in this year’s race also compete in the Fanatec GT Europe Endurance Cup and the race awards additional points from a regular Endurance round.
The pole-sitter in each class will earn one bonus point, while the top-three in Friday night’s Super Pole will each score points on a 3-2-1 basis.
In the race itself, points are awarded to the top-nine runners in each category after six and 12 hours – 12-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
Full points are also awarded to the top-10 at the chequered flag using the standard 25-18-15-etc format.
Any team that has not entered one of this season’s Fanatec GT Europe races is ineligible to earn points, but their drivers can still score.
Spa will also represent the third round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli campaign.
Competing manufacturers may nominate up to five cars, a maximum of three from the Pro category, which can score points towards the 2023 championship. Mercedes-AMG and BMW are level on points after winning the LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour and Kyalami 9 Hour respectively.
The event is also the biggest points-scoring opportunity for the global Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS. All seven eligible brands will be represented, with points awarded at the end of the race in each class and multiplied by the number of entries.
There is also the time-honoured (but not well-publicised) Coupe du Roi which rewards the manufacturer that scores the best result across the classes, with points awarded per car at six, 12 and 24 hours. Last year, Mercedes-AMG earned the honour thanks to a sensational performance, which included overall victory with Akkodis ASP and Bronze Cup honours courtesy of SPS Automotive Performance.
Following The Race
Look out for DSC’s Race Resource Guide tomorrow but in the meantime, English, German, French and Italian commentary streams are available on the GT World YouTube channel. Live action begins with Thursday’s Pre-Qualifying session and includes the whole 24 Hour race.
