CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa set for record-breaking edition

Since celebrating its centenary in 2024, the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa has never felt so young and dynamic! The field for the 77th edition, which will take place from 25–29 June, is set to establish a new record, with 76 GT3s expected on the starting grid.

 

In the wake of the centenary festivities, SRO Motorsports Group has continued to invest in the public side of the event to improve the experience for all spectators, including families. This Tuesday and Wednesday (13/14 May), the Prologue – which is free for all fans to attend – provides an excellent taste of what's to come, with two days of official testing taking place at Spa-Francorchamps.

 

Tuesday’s presentation to the press and public (streamed live on the GTWorld YouTube channel) also provided an opportunity to get to the heart of the story. With 43 days left before the parade to the city of Spa, advance tickets are being offered at a very attractive price. Here are the key takeaways!

1. A new record entry list

A true automotive festival, the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa is also the biggest GT race in the world – a fact proven beyond doubt by the entry list for the 77th edition. With 76 cars, the record for the GT era (set at 72 in 2019) is expected to be broken when the race gets underway at 16:30 on Saturday 28 June. In addition to the quantity, the quality is also impeccable. Indeed, with a very good balance of entries across the five classes (Pro, Gold Cup, Silver Cup, Bronze Cup, and Pro-Am), we should witness one of the finest editions of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.

At the end of June, competitors will travel from around the world, with representatives from GT World Challenge Europe, as well as from the continental series organised by SRO in Asia, America, and Australia. To complete this record grid, there are also competitors from the Intercontinental GT Challenge, and a handful of crews entered solely for the twice-around-the-clock race.

 

Thanks to the return of Corvette, 10 manufacturers will be at the start this year. Mercedes-AMG will be the best-represented brand with 12 cars, ahead of BMW and Porsche (11 cars each) and Ferrari (10). Multi-car entries from Aston Martin, McLaren, Audi, Lamborghini, Corvette and Ford will complete the record grid.

 

To tame these superb GT3 cars, the field will feature more than 280 drivers representing over 40 nationalities and spanning five continents. There are 15 former winners among them, including the trio of Marco Sørensen, Mattia Drudi, and Nicki Thiim, who will defend their 2024 victory aboard the Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin. They will be up against the world's best GT drivers, including GT World Challenge powered by AWS regulars and stars from further afield.

In addition to MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, former Formula 1 drivers Kevin Magnussen and Kamui Kobayashi will also be on the starting grid, the Japanese ace returning after his participations in 2017 and 2020. Arthur Leclerc, a reserve driver for Scuderia Ferrari in F1, now represents the Prancing Horse in GT racing. Sim racing stars Jann Mardenborough (whose life was chronicled in the biopic Gran Turismo) and Chris Lulham (who will drive for his mentor Max Verstappen's Verstappen.com Racing team) should also draw plenty of support.

 

Champions of GT World Challenge and Intercontinental GT Challenge; winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, and the 12 Hours of Bathurst; World Endurance Champions, DTM champions; even a Prince of the Malaysian royal family: they will all meet at Spa-Francorchamps at the end of June for an event that confirms its status as the biggest GT race in the world.

ENTRY LIST

2. Spa Experience

Spa is much more than a race: it's a 10-day automotive festival that attracted nearly 100,000 spectators in 2024. In the wake of the centenary festivities, SRO Motorsports Group has continued its efforts to offer even more to the tens of thousands of spectators who will flock to the Ardennes circuit at the end of June.

 

Following SRO Speedweek, which features a selection of races (including the FFSA French GT Championship and British GT) the previous weekend (20-22 June), the GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club and the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa (including the Bronze Test) will take to the track for their first practice sessions on Tuesday 24 June.

 

The parade through the town of Spa will be the main event on Wednesday 25 June. Starting at 18:00, all of the GT3 cars competing in the 24 Hours, as well as competitors from the support series and some other exceptional vehicles, will travel from Spa-Francorchamps to Spa town centre via the national road, which will be lined with spectators. Once on display in town, the cars will be displayed to the public while the drivers sign autographs and pose for selfies. The atmosphere is unparalleled; this unique moment of communion between fans and participants is an aspect of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa that simply must be experienced.

Synonymous with celebration, the grand fireworks display and music will be even more prominent than in the past. Four concerts, spread across three different stages, are planned. A lively atmosphere will be guaranteed in the paddock on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, in addition to the traditional electro concert on the main stage at the foot of the Raidillon on Saturday evening. With Kungs, Kid Noize, Alex Germys, DJ Vicky Kristine, Konfluence, Loulou Players, Be 80's, and Lady Cover, fans will be able to party at no extra cost – it’s all included with a general admission ticket.

 

Spectator reception also includes more grandstands (11), more giant screens (15), more food and drinks outlets (43) and bars (32), more restrooms, more internal shuttles to travel between the different entrances, and the karting track. For fans staying on-site for several days, the campsite has also been expanded, with several spots now offering a view of the track.

The Fan Village at the foot of the Raidillon is expanding with entertainment and stalls of all kinds. Within this Fan Village, children have not been forgotten with the return of the Kids Zone. The Red Paddock, accessible to paddock ticket holders, will once again feature several exhibitions of exceptional cars and areas with simulators.

 

To follow events at the track, SRO will offer Qualifying, Super Pole, and the full CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa on its YouTube channel GTWorld (over 715,000 subscribers) and on RTBF Auvio. In addition to English, eight other languages will have their own streams, including French, Dutch, German, Italian, Chinese, and Portuguese. Partners of GT World Challenge will also offer versions in Japanese, Polish, Ukrainian, Croatian, and more.

 

On-track, there will be non-stop entertainment with high-quality support races such as the GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club, the GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, and McLaren Trophy Europe. In total, nearly 200 GT cars will take to the track between Thursday and Sunday.

3. A Strong Belgian Presence

The CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa also retains a strong Belgian flavour through its participants. Three teams, all of which are competing full-time in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, have made the race one of their priorities: Comtoyou Racing, which won last year’s centenary edition; Team WRT, overall winner in 2011 and 2014; and Boutsen VDS, which carries the same ‘feline’ livery that triumphed in 2015. We must also mention Haas Racing Team, which competes with an Antigua and Barbuda license but is based in Belgium.

 

The black, yellow, and red flag will also be very well represented among the drivers, with 22 Belgians on the entry list. They span the generations, from highly experienced competitors such as 2016 winner Maxime Martin and Stéphane Lémeret (who will be celebrating his 24th participation) to many who will contest their home event for the first time. The fans will have no shortage of local stars to cheer for!