All-time record entry list counting 62 cars
Supporting the legendary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa as part of the world's biggest GT-racing event
GT4 Scandinavia Powered by Pirelli joins the grid once again with eight cars
All classes up for exciting battle as mid-season approaches
With a weekend full of suspense and that dramatic last lap at Circuit Paul Ricard now almost one month ago, the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club prepares for the next round at Spa-Francorchamps on June 30th and July 1st. It will do so in style, with a record-breaking grid of 62 cars heading into the mid-season weekend in Belgium.
Silver: Xwift Racing Events #8 Toyota aiming to follow up on stellar performance
The images of Antoine Potty slithering across the line to take the win in that torrential downpour at Circuit Paul Ricard will be a long-lasting memory for all racing fans. It crowned a strong weekend for the Xwift Racing Events #8 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO, bringing Potty/Cheli up to second in the rankings. That will be a fiercely contested place come Spa-Francorchamps, with the Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport #2 BMW M4 GT4 (Schrey/Piana) leading the Toyota by 18 points, and another BMW M4 GT4, the Borusan Otomotiv #12 (Besler/Edgar) following a mere two points behind in third place.
But will it be all about BMW and Toyota in Spa? Chances are slim, as overall victories last year went to Alpine and Audi teams. Lariche/Consani in Team Speedcar's #3 Audi R8 LMS GT4, currently fourth in the championship, will certainly be eager to reproduce that kind of result for the German brand. And after a very regular performance (and even a fight for the podium that went down to the wire before spinning in the rain during that last lap at Circuit Paul Ricard) the BCMC Motorsport powered by EastSide Motorsport #3 Mercedes-AMG GT4 (De Fulgencio/Lenerz) will also want a piece of the action at Spa-Francorchamps.
Racing Spirit of Léman's #74 Aston Martin (Lachenauer/Weyrich) has had an up-and-down start to the season and would love to add to their outright win from the third race of the campaign. Finally, many more outsiders in Porsche, Alpine, Chevrolet and McLaren machinery will be looking for a first occasion to really shine in this season's Silver class. Where better to do that than on the world's biggest GT-racing stage at Spa-Francorchamps?
Pro-Am: Saintéloc Junior Team and Code Racing Development go head-to-head
With no fewer than 24 Pro-Am cars lining up on the Spa-Francorchamps grid (thanks to six guest-cars from GT4 Scandinavia ), there will be intense competition for the GT4 European Series' Pro-Am points.
Heading the ranks is the Saintéloc Junior Team #42 Audi R8 LMS GT4 of all-french crew Guilvert/Hamon. But, having also scored two class wins this season, the Code Racing Development #36 Alpine A110 GT4 EVO of Leclerc/Villiger is all set to provide strong opposition.
Further down the Pro-Am field, the W&S Motorsport #30 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS of Still/Kronberg finally scored some big points at Circuit Paul Ricard and will be looking for more in Belgium. And after the unfortunate season start, W&S Motorsport hopes to do the same with their second Porsche, the #442 car shared by Gustavo Xavier and Taylor Hagler, who first joined the series last month and can now build on the experience gained in France.
Am class: Can Varutti continue a perfect winning streak?
What to say about the AVR-Avvatar #10 Porsche 718 Cayman of Alban Varutti and Julien Piguet? With four straight 25-point scores on the board – as a duo at Monza and with Varutti flying solo at Circuit Paul Ricard – the French squad has dominated this season's Am class. As such, the goal must be to go for more glory at Spa-Francorchamps.
But that will be by no means an easy challenge! Autosport GP LS Group Performance has been performing very regularly with their #55 Alpine A110 GT4 EVO in the hands of Laurent Hurgon and Alain Ferté. GPA Racing's #72 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 has done the same with Kévin Jimenez and Florent Grizaud currently a strong third in the championship. Even with a clearly defined leader heading into the next round, all will be to fight for in Am-class at Spa-Francorchamps.
GT4 Scandinavia Powered by Pirelli makes second guest-appearance of the season
Eight cars from six different Sweden-based teams join the grid again, competing with race numbers in the 200-range. As was the case at Circuit Paul Ricard, the GT4 Scandinavia runners will fight for their own championship within the GT4 European Series' Spa-Francorchamps event. Alfab Racing's #288 McLaren Artura GT4 (Roos/Behrens) leads the way in the Scandinavian Pro-Am category, while it's all tied in GT4 Scandinavia's Am-class with Race Team Gellerasen's #278 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS (Bard/Skoog) and the RMS #221 Mercedes-AMG GT4 (Ricknas-Ward) heading to Spa-Francorchamps with an identical 86 points each.
Where to watch the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club round at Spa
The season's third round has a particularly busy timetable. An official paid test session will kick off the action as early as Tuesday, June 27. Wednesday evening hosts the legendary parade between the Spa-Francorchamps track and the town centre of Spa.
Two free practice sessions will run on Thursday June 29 (14.00 and 20.05 CEST, 1 hour each), followed by qualifying on Friday at 11.30 CEST. Race 1 starts that same Friday at 18.00 CEST and the event will reach its final stage on Saturday July 1st with Race 2 scheduled for 13.15 CEST.
Both qualifying and the races will be streamed live in English, French and German via the GT4 European Series website and the GTWorld YouTube channel.
