With the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the world’s biggest race exclusively reserved for GT cars, starting tomorrow, here is a practical guide to enjoy all aspects of the event.
City Parade
It is a unique event in the whole of the motorsport world: all the cars entered in the Total 24 Hours of Spa will take part in the traditional parade on Wednesday 23rd July. The GT3 machines will use the public roads, starting from the endurance pitlane at the circuit to drive to the scenic Spa town centre and back again! The parade will be followed by a huge party in the heart of the city with music, autographs sessions, podiums and driver interviews.
Giant screens
This year, no fewer than six screens will be set up to the delight of the spectators. These will be facing the Endurance grandstand, opposite the F1 grandstand, at Les Combes, in the Village, in the Endurance paddock, and facing the Raidillon Café on top of the Raidillon.
Autograph Sessions
If you want a close up look at the cars and drivers of the Total 24 Hours of Spa, be sure not to miss the pit walks. The pits will be open to all members of the public on Thursday and Friday evenings as well as at midday on Saturday. Autograph sessions will be held on each of these days.
Also, during the 24 hours' race week, many events will be organised for fans who can enter the ‘backstage’ of the event to get even closer to their heroes. Many teams will open their garages on Wednesday morning from 10:00 to 12:00 and will welcome enthusiasts to view the cars, talk to the drivers and engineers, as well as giving insight into decoding a GT3 car, finding out about the strategy of the team, the refuelling procedure and much more.
Regarding the organisation side of the event there will be a chance to visit race control, timekeeping, the Pirelli race support area and the Total competition petrol station in a rare chance to understand how the most beautiful GT-race in the world works. Make your bookings on endurance-info.com or turbo.be.
Close to racing
Even during the race you will be able to get a close up look at the action. One pit boxe in the F1 pitlane will open to the holders of a paddock pass. The ideal location to watch the team crews in action during the pitstops. Owning a paddock pass holds other advantages as well: this year, the terraces of the F1 pit building will be open to the public, providing the fans with a unique view of the pitlane and the track.
RACB GT Parade
On Friday evening and Saturday at noon, time for the Supercars! The track will be taken over by the most beautiful cars in the world. The prestigious “GT Club by RACB” will complete the exhibitions in the paddock with Bentley, Ferrari, McLaren, Jaguar, Audi, Nissan, Ford, Porsche and BMW displays. Be sure to bring your camera!
Village
The Lotto Village will be bigger and better this year, with the famous Car Wash Show, the setting up of a Kid's Village (500 m² reserved for children from 2 to 14 years), manufacturers’ exhibitions, more shops than your wallet can bear, fairground amusements and hot air balloons.
Concert
On Saturday Night the village becomes the scene of the now traditional concert. After three years of success thanks to highly motivated artists like Bob Sinclair, Faithless and Milk Inc., this year we can introduce a line-up of internationally renowned DJ’s: Belgian Mix My Day-residents Ice Kream, Swiss star Quentin Mosimann (voted best DJ in 2014), Belgian hit machine Yves V and World Music Award nominee Joachim Garraud, an internationally renowned DJ from France. The concert starts at 21:00 and the DJ’s will move the dance crowd until the early hours of Sunday morning.
See the future first
The Nismo GT Academy has produced some fine young GT racers in recent history, with some of them even taking part in the Total 24 Hours of Spa itself. Each year the GT Academy is looking for new ‘gamers-turned-racers’ and one of the final qualifying rounds before the European Race Camp in Silverstone will be held on Saturday evening. The best Belgian, Dutch and Luxemburg candidates will be given a final chance to get one of three wild cards to travel to Great Britain and join the finals. Come and watch these future stars of racing in action!
Virtual 24 hours in GT-Nismo Challenge
At the same time teams of three or four drivers will compete in the GT-Nismo Challenge, a virtual Total 24 Hours of Spa. SRO Motorsports Group will be represented as well, by these four youngsters: Régis Gosselin (grandson of the 1964 Spa winner), Guillaume Mondron (recent winner of the 25 Hours Fun Cup), Timo Van Impe and Samuel Lay (both were finalists at the Virtual GT3 challenge earlier this year). Their race starts at 16h30 on Saturday… and ends on Sunday at the same time!
Go-Kart track: Time to move up a gear
The Royal Automobile Club of Belgium go-kart track, close to the race track at Blanchimont, has been completely revamped. It will be open throughout the week of the Total 24 Hours of Spa. Connected to the village by a shuttle, the go-kart track will allow all fans to live out their passion, whilst the cars of the Total 24 Hours of Spa pass by only a couple of metres away.
Dinner with a view: Raidillon Café
If you want to enjoy a good meal whilst admiring one of the most iconic views of the legendary Spa circuit, come and visit the Raidillon Café at the famous corner bearing the same name. The Total 24 hours of Spa restaurant at the top of the world’s famous corner is open to everyone. At this magical place you will have the opportunity to recharge your batteries and not miss a second of the race.
Car Position display
Obviously, you will also want to stay up to date on the race positions at all times. All cars will have a high luminescence LED display on the windscreen that indicates its current position in the race. This will make it as convenient to follow the event from the grandstands and spectator banks as on the internet or on live TV. Each category will be distinct through its own colour on the windscreen.
Radio
Classic 21 will broadcast live from the Total 24 Hours of Spa. On 106.5 FM you will find the official circuit radio, with the official circuit speakers/
Internet
Our website Blancpain-GT-Series.com is the only address you will need to keep up to date with the race. Entry list, results, galleries, it’s all there. During the race you can watch live streaming – with commentary in English, French and Dutch - and live timing.
Social Media
You can follow the race live on the Twitter accounts @BlancpainGT and @24hoursofSpa. On the Facebook pages 24 Hours Of Spa and Blancpain Endurance Series you will find the highlights and pictures of the Total 24 Hours of Spa.
Therefore the Total 24 Hours of Spa is not only the biggest GT race in the world, with top drivers at the wheel of fantastic cars, but is also the ideal setting to make next weekend unforgettable.
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Practical information - Total 24 Hours of Spa
When: 23 - 27 July 2014
Tickets: from 15 euros, 4-days pass : 30 euro general entry, 60 euro paddock entry
Children of 12 years old or younger, accompanied by an adult, will have free entry to the track.
New this year: a Family Pack, consisting out of four general entries and paddock for two adults and two adolescents (12-18 yrs.). One ticket for four persons, age will be checked at the entry gates.
Race Week
Wednesday 23 July : Parade, 16:00
Thursday 24 July : Pre qualifying, 18:40
Qualifying, 20:45
Night Qualifying , 22:30
Friday 25 July : Super Pole, 18:45
Saturday 26 July : Start of the Total 24 hours of Spa,16:30
Information and reservation: www.total24hours.com / www.blancpain-gt-series.com
Facebook : Total 24 hours of Spa / Twitter : @24hoursofspa / @blancpaingt
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Blancpain
Over 275 years of tradition in motion :
Founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, the watch brand bearing his name is the oldest in the world. Blancpain is currently engaged to the renewal of mechanical watchmaking and to passing on exceptional expertise from one generation to the next through constant investment in human resources, production facilities and research. This approach is its strength and the expression of our long-term vision, even though it goes against the tide of a certain tendency to seek immediate profit. From the creation of components through to watch design, Blancpain is distinguished by its ability to develop exceptional movements. Over the past nine years, the Manufacture has indeed developed no less than 32 new calibres.
Through its various models, Blancpain preserves its heritage of precision and elegance, while also displaying an innovative and occasionally provocative spirit. Its range encompasses the sportive L-evolution line, the legendary Fifty Fathoms diver’s watch, as well as the classic Villeret collection, the high complication from Le Brassus collection and the Women models.
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Pirelli – Official Tyre Supplier
Pirelli is a tyre manufacturer and world leader in the automotive industry. It has an exclusive relationship with over 50 racing series worldwide, including Formula One.
Pirelli has a long and illustrious history in endurance racing, and has also claimed a huge variety of class wins in GT racing all over the world. The design of the new Pirelli GT tyres meets the needs of GT racing while maintaining the performance characteristics that endurance drivers have appreciated in the past.The slick tyres used for GT racing are branded Zero: just like the slicks that have become a central feature of Formula One. The name P Zero is used in the highest categories of motorsport such as GT racing.
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Total
With operations in more than 130 countries, Total is a top-tier international oil company and a world-class natural gas operator, refiner and petrochemical producer. Our 97,000 employees leverage their acknowledged expertise to discover, produce, refine and convert oil and gas to provide products and services for customers worldwide. We are also broadening our offer by developing energies that can partner oil and gas — today, solar energy and tomorrow, biomass.
In Belgium, our Group possesses a long history as an energy supplier and is mainly active in the chemical and refining sectors, together with marketing and service activities, employing some 4500 people. As the market leader, Total Belgium is known to respond to its clients’ needs, and brings innovative solutions through its products and services. Total helps its clients to reduce consumption in a better and more efficient way, through a varied range of products like the Excellium fuel, the Fuel Economy lubricants, fuel oil and wood pellets for heating, aviation fuel, super, diesel, LPG, asphalt, lubricants…
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SRO Motorsports Group
SRO Motorsports Group was founded by Stephane Ratel and has specialised in the promotion, support and organisation of many national and international motorsport series since 1995.
In 2014, SRO promotes several championships and series, such as the Blancpain GT Series with the Blancpain Sprint Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series, including the iconic Total 24 hours of Spa, the Cooper Tires British F3 Championship, the Avon Tyres British GT Championship and has various franchise agreements including the GT4 European Series.
SRO has offices in London, Paris and Liège.
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