GT World Challenge Europe 2023

[N Martin]

Drama for the leader. What a shame. This has blown the race wide open

[N Martin]

Looks like it's done. Oh gutted

[rika]

Rotten luck for Feller.

Stupid Pirelli tire broke!

[N Martin]

On target to equal the distance record at the halfway mark

[rika]

Another Pirelli tire broken!
Now it is Caldarelli

[rika]

It the tires keep breaking like this then i think will be no finishers in Spa !

[v8supes]

This was some stint from Marciello.

The attrition rate for this race is absurd, there weren't any major incidents or rain so whats going on? It feels like this has become par for the course now with these GT3 cars?

[N Martin]

Distance record was beaten by a lap 183 laps were completed. 1056km was completed in 1000km race.

[chunterer]

Porsche were nowhere last weekend.

I thought after Monza they hadn't been BOP"d out of it after all?

Are they saving the true form for Spa?

What was with all the Lamborghini issues too?

[v8supes]

Braking issue apparently but to be honest reliability of GT3 cars seems pretty bad in GTWC races this year.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by v8supes

Braking issue apparently but to be honest reliability of GT3 cars seems pretty bad in GTWC races this year.

But what of the Porsche sloath?

[v8supes]

Just a small thing. I wish they would change the name of "Bronze Cup". The name is confusing as hell. To me it indicates that it would be for all Bronze lineups but nope.

[v8supes]

Additional SPA 24 hours Audi entry by Scherer Sport PHX - https://sportscar365.com/sro/world-c...van-der-linde/

Not sure if this means theres now 73 cars or somebody has dropped out since this entry wasnt on the entry list.

[NaBUru38]

The Spa 24h has 71 entries: 20 in Pro, 7 in Gold, 12 in Pro-Am, 10 in Silver, and 22 in Bronze.

https://sportscar365.com/sro/world-c...car-spa-entry/

[NaBUru38]

Pro entries:

Ferrari

• #51 AF Corse: Alessio Rovera, Robert Shwartzman, Nicklas Nielsen.
• #71 AF Corse: Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, Antonio Fuoco.

Porsche

• #54 Dinamic GT Huber: Ayhancan Güven, Sven Müller, Christian Engelhart.
• #92 Manthey EMA: Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre, Julien Andlauer.
• #96 Rutronik: Thomas Preining, Laurin Heinrich, Dennis Olsen.

Audi

• #11 Comtoyou: Christopher Haase, Gilles Magnus, Fréderic Vervisch.
• #17 Sxherer Sport PHX: Luca Engstler, Kelvin Van der Linde, Nicki Thiim.
• #25 Sainteloc Junior: Christopher Mies, Patric Niederhauser, Simon Gachet.
• #40 Tresor Orange1: Ricardo Feller, Mattia Drudi, Dennis Marschall.

BMW

• #32 WRT: Dries Vanthoor, Sheldon van der Linde, Charles Weerts.
• #46 WRT: Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin, Augusto Farfus.
• #98 Rowe: Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann, Nicholas Yelloy.
• #998 Rowe: Daniel Harper, Neil Verhagen, Max Hesse.

Mercedes-AMG

• #87 Akkodis ASP: Lorenzo Ferrari, Thomas Drouet, Maximilian Götz.
• #88 Akkodis ASP: Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gougnon, Timur Boguslavskiy.
• #777 AlManar: Lucas Auer, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller.
• #999 GruppeM: Maro Engel, Mikael Grenier, Daniel Juncadella.

Lamborghini

• #6 K-Pax: Sandy Mitchell, Marco Mapelli, Franck Perera.
• #63 Iron Lynx: Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli, Jordan Pepper.

McLaren

• #159 Garage 59: Nicolai Kjaegaard, Benjamin Goethe, Marvin Kirchhöfer.

[Bcarr6]

My gut feeling is it'll be one of these 6 from your list below that gets the win. But it Spa, so who could make a solid guess..


[QUOTE=NaBUru38;4164905]Pro entries:

Ferrari

• #71 AF Corse: Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, Antonio Fuoco.

Porsche

• #92 Manthey EMA: Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre, Julien Andlauer.

Audi

• #17 Sxherer Sport PHX: Luca Engstler, Kelvin Van der Linde, Nicki Thiim.

BMW

• #32 WRT: Dries Vanthoor, Sheldon van der Linde, Charles Weerts..

Mercedes-AMG

• #999 GruppeM: Maro Engel, Mikael Grenier, Daniel Juncadella.

Lamborghini

• #63 Iron Lynx: Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli, Jordan Pepper.

[v8supes]

I dont really know anything about this but i noticed on the timetable for the event that before the race there will be a "Demonstration Moto GP VDS"

[NaBUru38]

VDS used to race in FIA GT1 and Blancpain, so it makes sense.

[v8supes]

The GT4 times are now at the same level as GT3 times from 2007.

[v8supes]

Bortolotti gave an interview where he was hoping that they could be competitive and get a decent result because in previous SPA 24 races they hadn’t had good results… what happens in qualifying? The car gets hit & can’t compete beyond the Q1 session. They’ll start almost last…

[Simmi]

Going to be a lot of strong cars starting from mid-pack after that qualy. Rain came after only the bronze guys had dryish conditions.

[v8supes]

Because of the average qualifying time system and the fact that the first session took place on a dry track while the other 3 sessions were on a wet track the grid for Saturday is very mixed up. For example the PRO Ferrari #71 starts in 47th the two PRO BMWs start 25th and 26th Marciello in the #88 23rd.

In the top 20 Superpole session only 7 of the 20 places are filled by PRO cars.

The first hour of the race will be crazy with so many people out of position.

Bortolotti and the #63 Lambo will start 62nd.

[TWRv12]

Resources:

Circuit
https://www.spa-francorchamps.be/en

Spa24h
https://www.crowdstrike24hoursofspa.com

event info
https://www.gt-world-challenge-europ...4-hours-of-spa

timetable
https://www.crowdstrike24hoursofspa.com/programme

noticeboard
https://www.gt-world-challenge-europ...meeting_id=204

timing
https://static.sportresult.com/feder...8-a30316495e6c

video
https://www.youtube.com/@GTWorld

hashtag
#Spa24h

[Simmi]

Thank you sir.

To which I will add, Spotters Guide:
https://www.gt-world-challenge-europ...23_updated.pdf

[Mike E]

Here is an explainer from DSC too.

https://www.dailysportscar.com/2023/...-24-hours.html

I found it useful for trying to understand the class structure.

PRO: The top category. Each crew is restricted to three drivers with no limitations on their driver rankings.

Pro crews have filled the overall podium every year since the current class structure was introduced in 2011.

GOLD CUP: This is where things get a little complex. The Gold Cup name was used last year, but this is effectively a new category. The maximum line-up is Gold-Gold-Gold-Silver, though the majority of the field will run with Gold-Gold-Silver trio.

In either case, the Silver driver must complete a minimum of four hours over the course of the race.

SILVER CUP: First introduced to the 24 Hours in 2018, the Silver Cup remains unchanged for 2023. Each crew consists of up to four Silver-graded drivers, with no extra limits placed on driving time.

The fourth driver is optional.

BRONZE CUP: This will be the biggest class at this year’s race. While the name has been used before, it is effectively last year’s Gold Cup category, with a maximum driver line-up of Platinum-Silver-Silver-Bronze. The Bronze must contribute a minimum of four hours during the race, which must include one hour within the first six. The Pro can contribute a maximum of eight hours.

PRO-AM CUP: A mainstay of the 24 Hours, having been part of each edition since GT3 rules were introduced in 2011. The maximum line-up is two Platinum and two Bronze-graded drivers.

In terms of driving time, a Bronze must be behind the wheel for a minimum of eight hours during the race, and for at least one hour during each six-hour period. This time can be shared between two the Bronze drivers.