Finally - the Total 24 Hours of Spa begins!!

Monday, October 19, 2020

Three months later than usual and still battling against the effects of the global pandemic sees the Total 24 Hours of Spa finally get the track this week as part of the SRO’s somewhat shortened Speed week.

Joining the GT3 cars from the GT World Challenge Europe and Intercontinental GT Challenge Series that will make up the fifty six car entry for this years event will again be the GT4 European Series as each Series reaches their penultimate round of the season in Belgium after their fragmented start to the season because of the virus.

Garage 59 remains the sole Aston Martin Racing contingent this year with one AMR Vantage GT3 entered into both Pro-Am and Silver Cup classes. After the last round of the Endurance Cup series from the Nürburgring at the beginning of September, #199 Pro-Am car of Alex West, Chris Goodwin and Jonny Adam presently rest in third place within the Driver’s Championship whilst the #159 Silver Cup car of Andrew Watson and Valentin Hasse-clot each top that table with third man James Pull slightly further back and all alone in P3 after he wasn’t available to compete with the team at the opening round at Imola in July.

To bolster the team’s efforts in Spa, each car will be re-joined by a driver who served with them way back in late January 2020 at the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge at Bathurst, Australia with AMR WEC Factory driver and local man Maxime Martin racing with the #188 Pro-Am crew whilst IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship Heart of Racing AMR Vantage GTD racer Roman De Angelis re-joins Watson aboard the #159 car.

What will be monumentally different this year will be the fact that the event will this year be held from behind closed doors – no public trip down to the town centre for the annual ‘meet and greet’ and no party like atmosphere from within the public areas around the circuit.

The most immediate issue that teams will have to face will be the lower track temperatures, increased hours of darkness and of course the weather – something that is particularly unique at the forest surrounded racetrack in the Ardennes. Rain is forecasted for the week and we all know that when it rains at Spa – it rains!!!

The GT4 European Series (whilst they have yet to confirm their entry list) are scheduled to be first out on track tomorrow (Tuesday) for the first of three Private Testing sessions for the GT runners before a non-track day on Wednesday before Free Practice, Qualifying and night practice on Thursday. Both AGS Events Racing Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4’s are expected to be at Spa this week as each car aim to progress their Am and Silver Cup Class Championship hopes with Hasse-Clot again being on double duty between his GT3 and GT4 commitments!

Photo credits – GTWCE / GT4 European / Garage 59 / AGS Events