Saintéloc Racing led the first day of the 2025 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Prologue, topping both the morning and afternoon sessions at Spa-Francorchamps. Contenders for this summer's 77th edition enjoyed eight hours of running on the 7km track, with warm and sunny conditions throughout allowing them to gather significant data.
The morning session ran from 09:00 until midday and was topped by 2017 race winner Saintéloc with its #25 Audi. Belgian ace Gilles Magnus posted a 2m16.223s to put the French outfit 0.006s clear of the #58 Garage 59 McLaren of Dean MacDonald, with the sister #188 McLaren driven by CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa debutant Tom Fleming in third, 0.084s shy of Magnus' benchmark.
Verstappen.com Racing was fourth with its Aston Martin, followed by the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG. BMW and Lamborghini also featured in the top 10 thanks to Rowe Racing and Grasser Racing respectively.
There was even more time available after the lunch break, with cars on-track from 13:00 until 18:00. Saintéloc was again at the top of the order, this time with its #26 Audi. Wyatt Brichcek set the time – a 2m16.331s – as he builds towards his maiden appearance at the 24 Hours.
The considerably more experienced Fabian Schiller was second in the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed entry, followed by another driver set to make his first appearance in 2025, Mikey Porter (#5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren).
Tuesday also saw the full entry list for the 77th CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa revealed to the public. A 76-car field will contest the twice-around-the-clock race, setting a new record for the GT era.
The grid features each of the 10 brands competing full-time in the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup and is led by a 12-car entry from Mercedes-AMG. BMW and Porsche are close behind with 11 each, while Ferrari will be represented by 10 crews. Multi-car entries from Aston Martin, McLaren, Audi, Lamborghini, Corvette and Ford will complete this record grid.
There were a handful of red flag stoppages during the first day of running, with the #8 Mercedes-AMG, the #66 Audi, the #911 Porsche and the #35 BMW among those involved. The latter suffered significant damage after crashing at Raidillon during the afternoon session.
The Prologue features most but not all of the contenders set to chase glory at the 2025 edition. A total of 69 cars set a representative time in the morning session, while 70 did so in the afternoon. A second day of running is planned for Wednesday, with the same schedule in place.