Great Porsche success at Spa: Victory and four 911 GT3 R in the top ten

The trio crossed the finish line first after 527 laps on the 7.004-kilometre Formula 1 racetrack in Belgium and secured the second straight overall victory for the GT3 vehicle from Weissach. After a fierce battle, Italy’s Matteo Cairoli and the two Germans Sven Müller and Christian Engelhart conquered the third podium step in the identical car fielded by the Dinamic Motorsport squad.

Fritz Enzinger, Vice President Porsche Motorsport: “To win under such difficult conditions cannot be appreciated highly enough. Plus positions three and four – what a super performance. My congratulations and huge thanks to the winning team of Rowe Racing and to all other Porsche customer teams as well as the engineers from Porsche Motorsport. They all did a tremendous job at Spa.”

Close competition during changeable weather

The endurance race in the Ardennes was contested under difficult conditions with changeable weather and an often slippery racetrack. Many incidents including rain during the night resulted in a total of 18 full course yellows and 14 safety car phases. In the close competition among the 55-strong GT3 field from eleven manufacturers, the lead spot changed almost by the hour. The victorious Porsche 911 GT3 R from Rowe Racing swept into the lead for the first time early Sunday morning, after the 2015 outright Le Mans winner Tandy turned heads as the fastest driver in the field on a gradually drying track. After his teammates Bamber und Vanthoor put in impressive stints, it was again the Briton who took the limelight in the final hour. After perfect tactical decisions by the seasoned customer squad, at the wheel of his ailing car, Tandy outpaced the No. 66 Audi in a gripping final sprint. After 24 hours, he crossed the finish line with a mere 4.687-second advantage – his racing car, making alarming noises due to lack of transmission oil, would very likely not have managed another lap.

Matteo Cairoli also impressed in the final minutes of the long-distance classic. The Italian made optimal use the Porsche 911 GT3 R’s traction advantage on the wet track and fought his way up to third place shortly before the chequered flag. The No. 12 racer fielded by GPX Racing with works drivers Mathieu Jaminet, Patrick Pilet (both France) and Matt Campbell (Australia) reached the finish line in fourth place after an equally strong charge through the field, with the No. 40 sister car finishing on eleventh. The maiden Spa outing for the Frikadelli Racing team with Porsche ambassador Jörg Bergmeister as one of the driver-crew concluded the marathon in position eight.

The KCMG customer team, however, was plagued by bad luck in this year’s race. The No. 21 car retired early due to persistent vibrations at the rear of the Porsche 911 GT3 R. The sister car of last year’s winners Michael Christensen from Denmark, Kévin Estre from France and Richard Lietz from Austria lost five laps due to a wheel carrier defect and ultimately finished on 13th place. The Herberth Motorsport squad, which had at times led both the Pro-Am and Am-categories, lost both vehicles in accidents. The No. 56 entry from Dinamic Motorsport and the Rowe Racing’s No. 99 car also had to retire early.

Comments on the race

Sebastian Golz (Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R): “It was an extremely exciting finish – our hearts were racing at full revs. The last hours were simply nerve-wracking. Huge congratulations to Rowe Racing and the drivers who achieved the absolute maximum. On top of the overall victory, we also have one of Dinamic Motorsport’s cars on the podium and GPX Racing on fourth place. That underlines the strong partners we have at our side when the Porsche 911 GT3 R goes racing.”

Nick Tandy (Porsche 911 GT3 R #98): “I’ll never forget this finale. Our victory was hanging by a thread when loud noises suddenly started coming from the rear of the vehicle in the penultimate lap. It almost sounded as if small bombs were exploding. I got a fright and at the same time, the rear axle was sliding around on a trail of oil. What I didn’t realise was that the oil was coming from our car. I still can’t quite believe that the Porsche 911 GT3 R got us over the finish line. The relief and joy are indescribable.”

Earl Bamber (Porsche 911 GT3 R #98): “It’s simply incredible. That was a real team effort. Everyone gave their utmost and never gave up. At the beginning, our chances didn’t look good but with tremendous determination we made it to the front. This victory feels just wonderful. We’ve experienced a lot of bad luck this year. The triumph at Spa helps us forget all about that. It’s a dream come true!”

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 911 GT3 R #98): “This brings me to tears. The 2020 year for us was often difficult because luck was never on our side. At some point, I’d almost written the season off in my mind. And then of all things to win at my home race in Spa-Francorchamps. I can’t describe the emotions. First I have to let it all sink in.”

Sven Müller (Porsche 911 GT3 R #54): “I’m super happy with position three. Around the midway mark in the race and after the bad luck with two penalties, we didn’t at all expect a podium result would be possible. But Matteo simply put in a sensational final stint and the team also did a wonderful job.”

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 911 GT3 R #12): “Position four is a good result, but I’m still disappointed. More would’ve been possible. At times we were running in the lead. Our pace was consistently good, but it still wasn’t enough for a podium spot. Minor things hampered us, and sometimes our strategy wasn’t totally perfect. It’s of course a great day for Porsche. Victory and another car on the podium – it hardly gets better than that.”

Dennis Olsen (Porsche 911 GT3 R #22): “First and third place for Porsche – congratulations to the boys! The race was a bit more difficult for us, we lost two laps during the night. We did everything we could and made up a lap, but it didn’t work with the second lap because there were too few yellow phases at the end. I’m a little disappointed, of course, because our Porsche ran perfectly and everyone did a solid job.”

Race results

1. Tandy/Bamber/Vanthoor (GB/NZ/B), Porsche 911 GT3 R #98, 527 laps
2. Drudi/Niederhauser/Vervisch (I/CH/B), Audi R8 LMS #66, 527 laps
3. Cairoli/Engelhart/Müller (I/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #54, 527 laps
4. Campbell/Pilet/Jaminet (AUS/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #12, 527 laps
8. Bergmeister/Olsen/Makowiecki (D/N/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #22, 527 laps
11. Dumas/Deletraz/Preining (F/CH/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R #40, 525 laps
13. Christensen/Lietz/Estre (DK/A/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #47, 522 laps
29. Werner/Andlauer/Bachler (D/F/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R #99, 495 laps
37. Allemann/Bohn/Renauer/Renauer (CH/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #991, 375 laps
43. Liberati/Burdon/Imperatori (I/AUS/CH), Porsche 911 GT3 R #21, 247 laps
46. Häring/Konstantinou/Joos/Seefried (D/GR/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #918, 158 laps
48. Rizzoli/de Leener/Pedersen/Sbirrazzuoli (I/B/DK/MC), Porsche 911 GT3 R #56, 149 laps

Full results on www.total24hours.com/results.

Interim report 2

Porsche still has three irons in the fire in its bid for overall victory as the 24-hour classic at Spa-Francorchamps heads into the final quarter of the race. Rowe Racing’s No. 98 Porsche 911 GT3 R is currently in second place after 18 hours. The two reigning IMSA champions Earl Bamber from New Zealand and Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium share the cockpit of the car with their works driver teammate Nick Tandy. The British racing driver had at times taken the lead after strong stints during the night.

Currently in third place overall, last year’s winning team, GPX Racing, still has excellent chances of success in the Ardennes with its No. 12 racing car. The 911 fielded by Dinamic Motorsport (#54) is also running in the same lap as the leaders. The night was eventful in Belgium, with several showers and numerous safety car phases due to accidents. Many vehicles had to relinquish all hopes for victory during the night including the number 47 contender campaigned by the KCMG squad from Hong Kong. The Porsche 911 GT3 R, driven by the 2019-winning trio Christensen/Estre/Lietz, lost five laps after long stretches in the lead with a defect on the wheel carrier.

Heavy rain is forecast for the final phase of the long-distance classic in Belgium’s Ardennes region. The website https://www.intercontinentalgtchallenge.com shows the 24-hour race via a free live stream, as does the YouTube channel of the race organiser SRO (https://www.youtube.com/user/gt1world). The live timing of all sessions is available on https://www.gt-world-challenge-europe.com.

Comments on the race so far

Sebastian Golz (Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R): “The night was extremely eventful. Many vehicles dropped out of the top group after accidents or technical defects. We managed to get many but not all Porsche 911 GT3 R through this difficult phase. Unfortunately, the number 47 car of KCMG lost a lot of ground due to a defect. One of Herberth Motorsport’s cars is completely out of the race. Still, we’re definitely fighting for the overall victory with three cars in the leading lap and another one in the top ten.”

Nick Tandy (Porsche 911 GT3 R #98): “We made it through the night unscathed. That was the most important thing. Many cars got caught up in accidents in the dark and lost contact with the top group. Luckily we didn’t. The rain complicated things. There were several brief showers – which always raises the question of whether to switch to wet tyres or somehow stay with slicks on the damp track. Our team made perfect decisions in this regard, and our Porsche 911 GT3 R is running like clockwork. Still, I’m expecting the final phase of the race to be fierce.”

Patrick Pilet (Porsche 911 GT3 R #12): “The conditions during the night were really crazy at times – sometimes we got showers, then a downpour. At one point the track stayed wet for a long time then it dried up extremely quickly. It was difficult to always make the right strategic decisions in this phase. Our team did this excellently, so we’re well-positioned heading into the final hours of the race.”

Interim report 1

Porsche’s customer teams are lying in promising positions after the first four hours of the endurance race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. In the early stages of the 24-hour class in the Ardennes, last year’s winner Michael Christensen from Denmark, Austria’s Richard Lietz and Frenchman Kévin Estre have made particularly impressive progress. After the first four stints, their No. 47 Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by the KCMG squad has advanced to third place. The gap to the leader is just 4.8 seconds.

The start of the 24-hour race was delayed by 30 minutes due to repair work on the guardrails. When the race finally took off on a dry track at 4 pm, Thomas Preining turned heads in GPX Racing’s Porsche with the starting number 40. The Austrian made some remarkable overtaking manoeuvres and then handed the car off to his French teammate Romain Dumas in third place. Shortly after the driver change, a short rain shower made conditions difficult. Running on slicks, Dumas struggled with a lack of grip on the wet track and fell back to tenth place. After four hours of racing, the Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Frikadelli Racing (#22), Dinamic Motorsport (#54) and Rowe Racing (#98) are running in positions 11, 12 and 13.

Comments after the initial stage of the race

Sebastian Golz (Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R): “We’re where we ought to be after four hours of racing – among the frontrunners. Almost all Porsche 911 GT3 R have worked their way forward. The pace of the cars makes me very confident. Our first-class customer teams have mastered the challenges with the rain and the growing darkness excellently. There are many more hours of racing ahead of us. I hope we manage to stay out of any trouble and continue making our way forward.”

Kévin Estre (Porsche 911 GT3 R #47): “I was really fast at the start of my stint. I overtook several cars and was ploughing my way through. Then a brief shower came. The conditions turned tricky because we stayed on slicks. The track was super slippery for two or three laps, but I managed to make up more ground because our Porsche 911 GT3 R has an awesome setup. Unfortunately, the gap to the top grew again. When a caution phases was announced, the driver in front of me pressed his speed limiter a few seconds too early. That cost a lot of time. Still, we’re going really well in the race. A safety car phase has put the gaps back into perspective.”

Thomas Preining (Porsche 911 GT3 R #40): “I headed into the starting phase somewhat cautiously because, as always, the first laps are always incredibly hectic. I simply wanted to get through unscathed. It worked. I then pulled out all stops and charged through the field from sixth to third place. Our Porsche 911 GT3 R is running beautifully and the team is doing a flawless job. It can go on like this.”

Super Pole

Porsche customer teams have secured solid starting positions for the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. In the Super Pole, a shootout over two flying laps of the 20 fastest cars from the qualifying, the Porsche Young Professional Thomas Preining was fastest at the wheel of a 911 GT3 R. The 22-year-old Austrian lapped the 7.004-kilometre Ardennes circuit in 2:32.990 minutes and takes up tomorrow’s race from the sixth grid spot in the No. 40 vehicle of GPX Racing. Preining shares the cockpit of the GT3 racer with the French works driver Romain Dumas and Louis Delétraz from Belgium.

As darkness fell on a slightly damp track, the No. 47 entry fielded by KCMG was the second fastest Porsche 911 GT3 R. Posting the tenth fastest time, Kévin Estre from France was a good tenth of a second quicker than his compatriot and factory driver teammate Patrick Pilet in the No. 12 GPX car. Julien Andlauer (France) and local hero Laurens Vanthoor achieved positions 13 and 20 with Rowe Racing’s two vehicles. The Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki planted the No. 22 car fielded by Frikadelli Racing on P14, with Matteo Cairoli from Italy right behind him with the GT3 racer from Weissach campaigned by the Italian squad Dinamic Motorsports.

Comments on the Super Pole

Sebastian Golz (Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R): “After the good results on a wet track in qualifying and the night practice, we’d hoped do to a little better with our seven Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Super Pole. Now we’ll put our heads together with our customer squads to look into this and prepare meticulously for the upcoming endurance race. I’m certain that we’ll experience an exciting race. We’ll do everything to get our cars as far to the front of the field as possible. Preferably to first place again.” 

Thomas Preining (Porsche 911 GT3 R #40): “I’m very happy and satisfied with our result. The track conditions continued to improve over the course of the Super Pole, so that those who went out on the track later in the session had an advantage. I set my lap times relatively early on. I am very pleased that I managed sixth place under these conditions. Now I’m really looking forward to the upcoming 24-hour race. It’ll be a very interesting competition with many vehicles on an equal footing.”

Kévin Estre (Porsche 911 GT3 R #47): “The track was a bit wet and there was a light shower every now and then. The conditions were very difficult. I guess that the drivers who tackled the session in the later stages found the track conditions a bit easier. On my two fast laps I gave everything. Still, I couldn’t make it as far to the front as I’d hoped. But tenth place should be okay. Last year we took up the race from eleventh on the grid and ended up at the top of the podium.”

Patrick Pilet (Porsche 911 GT3 R #12): “Despite the damp track I had quite good grip during my warm-up lap. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the same when I tried to put in a quick lap. It turned out to be difficult to keep the car on the fastest line in order to cut down my time. Well, eleventh on the grid is an okay position to take up this race. We just have one goal: Win at Spa and set another highlight later this late in the year.”

Super Pole result

1. Marciello/Boguslavkiy/Fraga (I/RUS/BR), Mercedes-AMG GT3 #88, 2:32.166 minutes
2. Bortolotti/K. van der Linde/Rast (I/ZA/D), Audi R8 LMS GT3 #31, +0.220 seconds
3. Engel/Stolz/Abril (D/D/F), Mercedes-AMG GT3 #4, +0.356 seconds
6. Dumas/Deletraz/Preining (F/CH/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R #40, +0,824 seconds
10. Christensen/Lietz/Estre (DK/A/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #47, +1,238 seconds
11. Campbell/Pilet/Jaminet (AUS/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #12, +1,375 seconds
13. Werner/Andlauer/Bachler (D/F/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R #99, +1,602 seconds
14. Bergmeister/Olsen/Makowiecki (D/N/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #22, +1,614 seconds
15. Cairoli/Engelhart/Müller (I/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #54, +1,953 seconds
20. Tandy/Bamber/Vanthoor (GB/NZ/B), Porsche 911 GT3 R #98, +3,380 seconds

The Qualifying

Porsche’s customer teams showed excellent form during qualifying for the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. At the rainy session in Belgium, seven 911 GT3 R made it into the Super Pole. The 20 fastest vehicles from today’s qualification will take part in Friday’s final shootout for the top grid spots, which begins at 6:20 pm (CEST). The 24-hour race takes off on Saturday at 3:30 pm.

After two practice sessions in dry and partly sunny conditions, the teams were confronted with completely different conditions in the evening qualifying. Shortly before the start of the session, heavy rain set in. The qualifying was divided into four segments, with the average time of each driver crew determining the ultimate result. Facing extremely slippery track conditions during the second segment of the hunt for top times, Matt Campbell was in particularly strong form in the No. 12 Porsche run by last year’s winning team GPX Racing. The young Australian works driver turned the quickest lap of his qualifying segment in 2:35.013 minutes – with a gap to the second fastest car of just over 0.7 seconds. His French teammates Patrick Pilet and Mathieu Jaminet also set fast lap times. The No. 12 vehicle concluded the overall timed practice as the best Porsche in second place.

GPX Racing’s No. 40 sister car finished the session on seventh. The two 911 GT3 R fielded by Rowe Racing as well as solo entries of the customer teams Dinamic Motorsport, KCMG and Frikadelli Racing also made it into the Super Pole. Driving for the German Frikadelli squad, Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister delivered a remarkable performance: The seasoned specialist from Langenfeld in Germany stepped in for his brand colleague Timo Bernhard at short notice. Without any preparation and not a single practice lap so far during the race week, Bergmeister set the eleventh quickest time in the No. 22 car. For the race, he shares the cockpit with the Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki and Dennis Olsen from Norway.

Qualifying quotes

Sebastian Golz (Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R): “From Porsche’s point of view, that was a terrific qualifying. We have seven 911 GT3 R in the Super Pole, which makes us the manufacturer with the most cars in the shootout for the top grid spots. The collaboration with our customer squads works extremely well. The technicians are doing great work and the drivers are tapping the full potential of the car. What Jörg Bergmeister achieved in the rain and the dark is almost inconceivable: he hasn’t driven the Porsche much this year and he isn’t at all familiar with the tyres. It’s almost impossible to appreciate his performance highly enough.”

Matt Campbell (Porsche 911 GT3 R #12): “Everything ran perfectly for us in the qualifying. My lap was flawless, the team gave our car the perfect setup and my teammates were incredibly strong. Second is a great result. Tomorrow it’s about chasing the final grid spots for the race. We’re tackling the Super Pole feeling very confident. It’ll certainly be an exciting shootout.”

Jörg Bergmeister (Porsche 911 GT3 R #22): “That was definitely the craziest thing I’ve ever done – I hadn’t turned a single lap in the Frikadelli-Porsche at Spa-Francorchamps before taking part in the first qualifying. That was quite an intense experience in the dark and the rain and on totally unfamiliar Pirelli tyres. Eleventh in the session is not bad at all. I’m very happy with that result. Hopefully, I’ll get some laps in during the night practice before the start of the 24-hour race on Saturday.”

Further comments to the qualifying you can find in the press release.

Qualifying result

1. Vanthoor/Mies/van der Linde (B/D/ZA), Audi R8 LMS GT3 #31, 2:35.097 minutes
2. Campbell/Pilet/Jaminet (AUS/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #12, +0.185 seconds
3. Drudi/Niederhauser/Vervisch (I/CH/B), Audi R8 LMS GT3 #66, +1.152 seconds
7. Dumas/Deletraz/Preining (F/CH/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R #40, +1.501 seconds
9. Tandy/Bamber/Vanthoor (GB/NZ/B), Porsche 911 GT3 R #98, +1.544 seconds
10. Christensen/Lietz/Estre (DK/A/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #47, +1.634 seconds
11. Bergmeister/Olsen/Makowiecki (D/N/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #22, +1.681 seconds
12. Cairoli/Engelhart/Müller (I/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #54, +1.792 seconds
19. Werner/Andlauer/Bachler (D/F/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R #99, +2.416 seconds
23. Liberati/Burdon/Imperatori (I/AUS/CH), Porsche 911 GT3 R #21, +2.679 seconds
35. Allemann/Bohn/Renauer/Renauer (CH/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #991, +4.366 seconds
40. Rizzoli/de Leener/Pedersen/Sbirrazzuoli (I/B/DK/MC), Porsche 911 GT3 R #56, +5.044 seconds
54. Häring/Konstantinou/Joos/Seefried (D/GR/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #918, +10.096 seconds

Full results on www.total24hours.com/results.

The preview

Porsche and its experienced customer teams contest the 24 Hours of Spa- Francorchamps with a large contingent. A total of eleven 911 GT3 R will fight for the prestigious overall victory on the challenging “Ardennes rollercoaster”. This makes Porsche the most strongly represented manufacturer at the tradition-steeped event in Belgium. The endurance classic is renowned as the world’s greatest GT3 race and counts towards two of this season’s championships: the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC). Dinamic Motorsport, GPX Racing, Herberth Motorsport, KCMG as well as Rowe Racing each field a pair of Weissach-developed GT3 racing cars, with Frikadelli Racing campaigning one. Porsche brand ambassador Timo Bernhard is one of the driver crew in Frikadelli’s GT3 R. Porsche supports its partners with engineers, consultants and a dozen works drivers plus two Young Professionals. Due to the coronavirus crisis, the 24-hour race is contested three months later than originally planned and without spectators at the track.

The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is located in the far east of Belgium close to the German border. Opened in 1921, the 7.004-kilometre racetrack features 21 corners and undulates through the Walloon countryside – thus it has been dubbed the “Ardennes rollercoaster”. Fast passages like Raidillon/Eau Rouge and Blanchimont are as notoriously famous as the La Source hairpin at the end of the start-finish straight. The inaugural 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was held in 1924, at that time on a 14.863-kilometre course between the towns of Malmedy, Francorchamps and Stavelot. In 1979, the race was held for the first time on the then new Formula 1 circuit. Porsche has celebrated seven overall victories in the long and illustrious history of the endurance classic for GT vehicles. Last year’s winner was the 911 GT3 R fielded by GPX Racing with works drivers Michael Christensen (Denmark), Kévin Estre (France) and Richard Lietz (Austria) at the wheel.

An overview of the Porsche teams and drivers

Eleven Porsche 911 GT3 R, six customer teams and a total of 36 racing drivers: This is by now the largest line-up of the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer at the 24-hour race in the Ardennes. Six vehicles can earn points towards the manufacturer’s classification in the IGTC: In addition to Frikadelli Racing’s No. 22 car, a nine-eleven from Dinamic Motorsport (#56), GPX Racing (#12), Herberth Motorsport (#991), KCMG (#47) and Rowe Racing (#98) are among the nominated racing cars. At the event in Spa-Francorchamps, the vehicles and their crews will receive points for the IGTC and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup after six, twelve and 24 hours.

Comments before the race

Sebastian Golz (Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R): “2020 – a year where everything is different. And the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is no exception. Because of the postponement to late autumn, we must expect very different conditions. The temperatures can plummet to low one-digit figures, especially at night, and we have to be ready for everything from rain to fog to sun. As such, the main challenge will be to get through the night safely. We have eleven 911 GT3 R, six experienced teams and 36 ambitious drivers, who will do their absolute utmost to help us defend the trophy.”

Mathieu Jaminet (GPX Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #12): “After clocking the best time in the pre-test, I’m hoping for a successful race weekend. The GPX Racing squad travels to Belgium well prepared and highly motivated. We’re aiming for the podium and victory. Plus, it’s important to earn as many points as possible towards the championship standings. We’re anticipating a tough race with challenging condi- tions, but we’re ready and we’ll fight really hard.”

Timo Bernhard (Frikadelli Racing Team, Porsche 911 GT3 R #22): “It wasn’t planned that I’d contest this year’s 24-hour race at Spa. But when Porsche asked whether I could help out again, I immediately said yes. At Porsche, we stick together and support one another. This is what defines our team spirit. The endurance classic in Belgium looks back on a long tradition and is one of the toughest races I know. But with such a great driver line-up and a top team like Frikadelli Racing, the event will be huge fun.”

Further comments before the race you can find in the press release.

Classifications

Pro classification
GPX Racing (Porsche 911 GT3 R #12)
Matt Campbell (Australia), Patrick Pilet, Mathieu Jaminet (both France)
KCMG (Porsche 911 GT3 R #21)
Edoardo Liberati (Italy), Josh Burdon (Australia), Alexandre Imperatori (Switzerland)
Frikadelli Racing Team (Porsche 911 GT3 R #22)
Timo Bernhard (Germany), Dennis Olsen (Norway), Frédéric Makowiecki (France)
GPX Racing (Porsche 911 GT3 R #40)
Romain Dumas (France), Louis Delétraz (Switzerland), Thomas Preining (Austria)
KCMG (Porsche 911 GT3 R #47)
Michael Christensen (Denmark), Richard Lietz (Austria), Kévin Estre (France)
Dinamic Motorsport (Porsche 911 GT3 R #54)
Matteo Cairoli (Italy), Christian Engelhart, Sven Müller (both Germany)
Rowe Racing (Porsche 911 GT3 R #98)
Nick Tandy (Great Britain), Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium)
Rowe Racing (Porsche 911 GT3 R #99)
Dirk Werner (Germany), Julien Andlauer (France), Klaus Bachler (Austria)

Silver Cup classification
Dinamic Motorsport (Porsche 911 GT3 R #56)
Andrea Rizzoli (Italy), Adrien de Leener (Belgium), Mikkel O. Pedersen (Denmark), Cédric Sbirrazzuoli (Monaco)

Pro-Am Cup classification
Herberth Motorsport (Porsche 911 GT3 R #991)
Daniel Allemann (Switzerland), Ralf Bohn, Robert Renauer, Alfred Renauer (all Ger- many)

Am-Cup classification
Herberth Motorsport (Porsche 911 GT3 R #918)
Marco Seefried, Jürgen Häring, Michael Joos (all Germany), Dimitrios Konstantinou (Greece)

24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – all outright Porsche wins:

2019 Lietz / Christensen / Estre (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
2010 Dumas / Bergmeister / Ragginger / Henzler (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR)
2003 Ortelli / Lieb / Dumas (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR)
1993 C. Fittipaldi / Jarier / Alzen (Porsche 911 RSR)
1969 Chasseuil / Ballot-Léna (Porsche 911)
1968 Kremer / Kelleners / Kauhsen (Porsche 911)
1967 Gaban / Van Assche (Porsche 911)

Live streaming of the event

The 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps takes off on 24 October at 3:30 p.m local time. The website https://www.intercontinentalgtchallenge.com shows the classic via a free live stream, as does the YouTube channel of the race organiser SRO (https://www.youtube.com/user/gt1world). The live timing of all sessions is available on https://www.gt-world-challenge-europe.com.

The schedule (all times CEST/from Sunday CET)

Thursday, 22 October
11:10 am – 12:40 pm: Free practice 1
03:15 – 04:15 pm: Pre-qualifying
06:55 – 07:10 pm: Qualifying 1
07:17 – 07:32 pm: Qualifying 2
07:39 – 07:54 pm: Qualifying 3
08:01 – 08:16 pm: Qualifying 4
08:35 – 10:05 pm: Night practice

Friday, 23 October
05:30 – 06:00 pm: Warm-up
06:20 – 06:50 pm: Super Pole

Saturday, 24 October
03:30 pm: Start 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

Sunday, 25 October
02:30 pm: Finish 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps