Only a few weeks after the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, the motorsport world is already expecting the next highlight of the season with the TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa (25-28 July). As usual, the event (71st running) has gathered almost the entire "Who's Who" of the international sports car scene and invites the teams to fight for the podium on its seven-kilometre race track. This year, a record number of 73 cars will start at the Belgian classic race, whose course resembles a unique roller coaster ride due to the combination of cornering, downhill and uphill sections. Especially around Eau Rouge, a world-famous high-speed-uphill passage, a real myth has arisen over time that provides pure adrenaline for drivers and spectators alike.
Since the spectacular class victory of the 300 SEL 6.8 AMG at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in 1971, the race in the Ardennes has been an integral part of the DNA of Mercedes-AMG. For the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach, the TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa are therefore associated with high expectations - so the goal for this year's race is clear: after 2013, when the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 triumphed against the competition, the next overall title is to be clinched on the last weekend of July 2019.
Top-class line-up
A total of ten Mercedes-AMG GT3s will compete in the 24-hour race at Spa in order to finally bring the overall victory back to Affalterbach and secure valuable points for the Blancpain GT Series and the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Last year, Mercedes-AMG presented almost all champions in the two race series - these titles are to be defended in 2019. Among the ten cars this year there are a total of four with extended factory support: The top-staffed performance cars will be used by the Mercedes-AMG Teams BLACK FALCON, Strakka Racing, AKKA ASP and GruppeM Racing. The team is rounded off by six customer racing vehicles, whose drivers can justifiably hope for an excellent class result.
Mercedes-AMG line-up
Nr.
Team
Driver
00
Goodsmile Racing
& Type Moon
Adam Christodoulou (GBR)
Tatsuya Kataoka (JPN)
Nobuteru Taniguchi (JPN)
4
Mercedes-AMG Team
BLACK FALCON
Yelmer Buurman (NED)
Maro Engel (GER)
Luca Stolz (GER)
6
BLACK FALCON
Abdulaziz Al Faisal (UAE)
Patrick Assenheimer (GER)
Hubert Haupt (GER)
Gabriele Piana (ITA)
43
Strakka Racing
David Fumanelli (ITA)
Jack Hawksworth (GBR)
Richard Heistand (USA)
Christina Nielsen (DEN)
44
Mercedes-AMG Team
Strakka Racing
Gary Paffett (GBR)
Tristan Vautier (FRA)
Lewis Williamson (GBR)
74
RAM Racing
Darren Burke (GBR)
Christiaan Frankenhout (NED)
Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR)
Remon Vos (NED)
88
Mercedes-AMG Team
AKKA ASP
Vincent Abril (MON)
Raffaele Marciello (ITA)
Fabian Schiller (GER)
90
AKKA ASP Team
Nico Bastian (GER)
Timur Boguslavskiy (RUS)
Felipe Fraga (BRA)
133
Scuderia Villorba Corse
Mauro Calamia (SUI)
Ivan Jacoma (SUI)
Stefano Monaco (SUI)
Roberto Pampanini (ITA)
999
Mercedes-AMG Team
GruppeM Racing
Lucas Auer (AUT)
Maximilian Buhk (GER)
Maximilian Götz (GER)
The TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa are not just a prestigious race as a single event, one that every team and every driver would like to win. At Spa, entrants are also competing for valuable points in the Blancpain GT Series and the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Particularly for the drivers who are currently second in the Blancpain GT Series standings, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz, it is also important to keep an eye on the additional points that are on the line after six, twelve and 24 hours. Together with their teammate Yelmer Buurman, they also have chances of a top result in the Endurance Cup. In the Silver Cup, the situation is similar: Nico Bastian and Timor Boguslavkiy are currently leading the standings and, together with Felipe Fraga, they also want to defend their Endurance Cup points’ lead.
The trio of Mercedes-AMG drivers Maximilian Buhk, Maximilian Götz (#999) and Raffaele Marciello (#888), who are all racing with different cars at Spa, intend to maintain its top position in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. As a result, there is much at stake in the TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa: the classic endurance race can be equally decisive for several prestigious achievements.
Official Test Days
The countdown to the TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa traditionally kicked off at the beginning of July with the official test days of the endurance classic. In preparation for the mega event lasting several days, drivers and teams could determine their current performance level on the track in the Belgian Ardennes. This year, the test days took place on 2-3 July – with more than 60 vehicles and pleasing results for Mercedes-AMG. Goodsmile Racing and Strakka Racing were able to achieve top ten results on the first day of testing. RAM Racing took second place in the second test run on Tuesday. In order to prepare as best as possible for the 24-hour marathon, the protagonists now have until 25 July to precisely analyse their performance from the test runs and take any necessary precautions. The race weekend will begin with the official parade of the GT3 cars to Spa city on Wednesday before Free Practice starts on Thursday (see timetable).
Throwback
Triumph in 2013 and win of the “Grand Slam”
At the 65th running of the TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa in 2013, Mercedes-AMG achieved historic success: The 100th victory of an SLS AMG GT3 since the start of the customer sports programme in 2010 crowned the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach for the first time as winners of Spa-Francorchamps. After winning the GT long-distance classics of Dubai and Bathurst as well as the victory at the Nürburgring, the success in the Belgian Ardennes represented the fourth title in a GT3 long-distance classic within only one season. Maximilian Buhk, Maximilian Götz and Bernd Schneider (all GER) from the AMG customer team HTP Motorsport secured the win of the so-called “Grand Slam”: After starting driver Götz had taken third place in the race, starting number 84 was able to take the lead after a safety car phase just five hours before the end of the race and then crossed the finish line first with a commanding lead. With a time of 2:21.861 minutes, Schneider also managed to set the fastest lap.
