This weekend, the best GT3 drivers in the world go head to head in the Ardennes. When the legendary 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps takes place in Belgium from 28th to 31st July, 66 cars from nine manufacturers will line up in five different classes. 25 drivers from the ADAC GT Masters alone will be at the wheel of a GT3 car at the 74th staging of the endurance classic. NITRO TV expert Nico Menzel will also swap his microphone for a steering wheel, as he tackles the 7.004-kilometre circuit in the Ardennes.
In the top Pro-Cup class, Arthur Rougier, Jack Aitken and Albert Costa Balboa start for the Emil Frey Racing team in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo. Marco Mapelli lines up at the 24-hour marathon in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 for the Orange1 KPAX Racing team. Maximilian Götz will guide a Mercedes-AMG GT3 round the Ardennes Rollercoaster for AMG Team GetSpeed, while fellow Mercedes-AMG drivers Raffaele Marciello, Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon will be at the wheel for AMG Team Akkodis ASP.
Ricardo Feller, Markus Winkelhock and Dennis Marschall share the cockpit of an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II fielded by Audi Sport Team Attempto. Audi Sport Team Sainteloc has turned to Patric Niederhauser and Christopher Mies, while Christopher Haase and Mattia Drudi line up for Audi Sport Team Tresor. Nicky Catsburg has his sights set on a top result with Rowe Racing in a BMW M4 GT3. The same goes for Sven Müller, who will contest the 24-hour marathon in a Porsche 911 GT3 R run by Toksport WRT.
Herberth Motorsport fields a Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Pro-Am class, to be driven by Jaxon Evans and TV expert Nico Menzel, who covers the German GT Championship as a commentator for NITRO. Ayhancan Güven lines up for Allied-Racing in the Gold Cup in an identical car. In the Silver class, Frank Bird and Jannes Fittje will drive a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Haupt Racing Team, while Ezequiel Perez Companc (Madpanda Motorsport) and Fabian Schiller (Al Manar Racing by HRT) will also be at the wheel of a car with a star on its bonnet. Joel Sturm starts for Allied-Racing in a Porsche 911 GT3 R, Konsta Lappalainen takes on the circuit in the Ardennes in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo run by Emil Frey Racing.
Another highlight of the 24 Hours of Spa weekend are the two “SRO 30th GT Anniversary by Peter Auto” races on Saturday and Sunday. They will feature many classics, including the two yellow Corvettes of Toni Seiler, which started in the ADAC GT Masters for many years.
A free livestream is available on the GTWorld YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/gtworld