Stéphane Ratel has made clear his interest in attracting Formula 1 drivers to the 24 Hours of Spa in the near-future, following their increased participation in GT3 racing over the past year.
This influx has been headlined by Max Verstappen, who has competed in a programme focused on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, which saw him make his 24 Hours of Nürburgring debut last month.
The Dutchman also fields a team in GT World Challenge Europe, with the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing AMG GT3 EVO competing in Pro, with support from 2 Seas Motorsport. Actively involved in the outfit, Verstappen was in attendance for the season opener at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Fellow Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll, meanwhile, competed at Circuit Paul Ricard, breaking up a five-week break in the Formula 1 schedule with a one-off outing aboard a Comtoyou Racing-run Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo.
When asked if the date for next year’s 24 Hours of Spa, currently scheduled for the 24th to 27th June, was set in stone, Ratel cryptically replied: “Everything is always provisional, so we never know.”
“Let’s wait for the F1 calendar. If there is something we can do, we will do [it], but we’re not going to run Spa in May, and we’re not going to run Spa in September.
“We have really built a popular success, which grows on its own year-on-year at this date, which I believe is the right date. It could move by a week up, a week down, but we have to say basically the window is three weeks. So if there was no F1 on one of these three weekends, maybe we could envision to move something.”
Ratel is well-aware of the ‘Verstappen effect’, and the potential benefit it could bring to his races, as a frequent attendee of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, which is a round of SRO’s Intercontinental GT Challenge. The Nürburgring 24 Hours recorded a record weekend attendance of 352,000 this year, over 70,000 up on the previous record.
“Having been in the pace car at the 24H Nürburgring two years ago, and this year, I know it has some effect,” he stated.
Image courtesy of Frozenspeed
