Impressive and record-setting 73-car entry list for the 24 Hours of Spa

The 24 Hours of Spa, the world’s greatest race for GT cars that will take place this weekend, already promises to be more competitive than ever before because it has the biggest ever grid in the GT era, featuring 73 cars/crews from all around the world.

History of 24 Hours Of Spa

The 71st edition of the 24-hour race at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the part of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and Intercontinental GT Challenge but the race is more than that, confirming its status as probably the most important GT endurance race in the world, gathering also teams and drivers that want to be a part of the special event.

Cars of the pre-race parade

All cars with the same specifications

There will be four categories on-track this year, all of which compete in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. One of Spa’s unique features is that its classes are based solely on driver categorisation (Pro, Silver, Pro-Am, Am), with all but one of the 73 confirmed cars conforming to the same GT3 regulations. So, from a technical standpoint, there is no difference between the car that starts on the pole and those that fill the final row of the grid.

The only exception is Juliet, an additional entrant that will compete as a guest. Carrying the number 53, the car is a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup MR that has been modified to resemble a Volkswagen Beetle, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Herbie movie from 1969, while also raising funds to support the VivaCité (RTBF) “Viva for Life” project and “Kinderarmoedefonds.be”.

Herbie Porsche during the parade

The biggest part of the grid – 36 cars – would be the Pro class drivers, including many of the world’s best GT drivers, and it’s easy to predict that some of those contestants will win the race. In the Silver Cup class, there will be thirteen cars with Junior Pro drivers, also capable to score top results.

Spa Circuit – a Mythical Place of World’s Motorsport

In the Pro-Am class, a maximum line-up of two Platinum and two Bronze-graded drivers is allowed. Eleven Pro-Am crews are confirmed for the race. The Am Cup line-ups consist of either three Bronze drivers or three Bronze and one Silver. There are twelve Am crews confirmed for this year’s race.

In addition to the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, the race also represents the marquee event for the Intercontinental GT Challenge, with twenty-eight nominated cars.

Spa 24 Hours drivers – class of 2019

2019 Spa 24 Hours entry list

Photos: Dirk Bogaerts, Patrick Hecq, Jules Benichou,