With the Official Test Day for the Belgian classic taking place on Wednesday June 24th, the entry list for the 2015 Total 24 Hours of Spa is nearing its finalisation. Big names from endurance racing will join the Blancpain Endurance Series regulars at the end of July, to take part in what will certainly be a historic edition.
With an unprecedented 28 cars entered in the Pro Cup, it is clear that the battle for the win in the 2015 Total 24 Hours of Spa will be fiercer than ever, especially since some important endurance specialists will take on the Blancpain Endurance Series stalwarts. Phoenix Racing has acquired the services of triple Le Mans 24 hours-winner André Lotterer, joining his long-time team-mate (and former Spa winner) Marcel Fässler and successful endurance driver Mike Rockenfeller in the #6 Phoenix Audi. The German team’s other car will see Spa newcomers Christian Mamerow and Nicki Thiim joining former Blancpain Endurance Series-champion Christopher Mies.
Markus Winkelhock has switched to Belgian Audi Club Team WRT for the Total 24 Hours of Spa. With him joining Laurens Vanthoor and René Rast at the wheel of one of the four new Audi R8 LMS, the 2014 winning combination being reunited for the first time since last year’s nail-biting finish to the Total 24 Hours of Spa.
Last year’s runners-up, BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS, is back with two BMW Z4 GT3. Judging by their strong performance in the Blancpain Endurance Series 1000 at Circuit Paul Ricard last weekend, the Belgian squad means business and is very determined to claim a first win in their home race.
Another Belgian has entered the Pro Cup searching for success: Nico Verdonck will join Adam Christodoulou and an as yet unnamed third driver at the wheel of the #29 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3. The Mercedes trio should certainly be considered as one of the outsiders for a podium finish.
In the 25-car strong Pro-Am Cup Australian team Lago Racing brings its Lamborghini Gallardo to Spa, with V8 Supercar-star Craig Lowndes (who took his 100th win last weekend) among the drivers.
British squad Motion Performance joins the field as well, entering an Aston Martin Vantage GT3, while AF Corse will bring a Ferrari 458 for the recently announced quatuor of Bruni, Pier Guidi, Lathouras and Lemeret, strong contenders for the class win.
The Pro-Am Cup also harbours the BMW Racing against Cancer-project of Pascal Witmeur, with which the Belgian wants to raise awareness for the illness, in the company of three drivers that together have won twelve editions of the Total 24 Hours of Spa: Eric van de Poele, Jean-Michel Martin and Marc Duez.
Lemeret is not the only Belgian driver aiming for class success in Spa, as Frederic Bouvy is aiming to do the same in Am Cup. Bouvy, celebrating his 21st participation, won the Spa classic twice during the Touring Car era and now will be part of the crew in the #30 Classic & Modern Racing BMW.
With a total of 66 cars on the entry list, the 2015 Total 24 Hours of Spa should see plenty of action in all three classes, providing entertaining race action all through the race. If you thought last year’s winning gap of seven seconds was unique and unrepeatable, you might have to reconsider come Sunday July 26th…
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Entry List
Pro Cup
Pro Am & Am Cup
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Practical information - Total 24 Hours of Spa
When: 21-26 July 2015
Tickets: from 15 €
General Entrance : 30 € (includes free entrance on Thursday and Friday)
General Entrance + paddock : 60 € (includes free entrance on Thursday and Friday)
VIP packages : from 180 €
Children aged 12 or under, accompanied by an adult, enter for free
Sales on : www.ticketmaster.be
Test Day: Wednesday June 24th
Race Week
Tuesday July 21st
Bronze test 15:00 – 18:00
Wednesday July 22nd
Parade Spa 16:00
Autograph session 17:00-18 :00
Thursday July 23rd
Free Practice 12:00-13:30
Pre-Qualifying 18:10-19:10
Qualifying 20:30-21:45
Night Qualifying 22:15-23:45
Friday July 24th
Super Pole 15:30-15:55
Saturday July 25th
Warm Up 09:05-09:25
Starting procedure & Grid walk 15:45-16:30
Start of the Total 24 hours of Spa 16:30
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Information & reservation : www.24hoursofspa.com / www.blancpain-gt-series.com
Facebook : Total 24 hours of Spa / Twitter : @24hoursofspa / @blancpaingt
Blancpain GT Series APP available on :
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Blancpain- Innovation is our Tradition
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 ten years, the Manufacture has indeed developed no less than 35 new calibres.
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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 - Official Sponsor of the Total 24 Hours of Spa
Energy is vital to economic development and improved standards of living.
Wherever it is available, energy is helping to drive progress, but sustainability requires changes in the way that it is used and managed.
This is the environment in which we conduct our business.
With operations in more than 130 countries, Total is a top-tier international oil company and a world-class natural gas operator, refiner, petrochemical producer, and fuel and lubricant retailer.
Our nearly 99,000 employees leverage their globally acknowledged expertise so that together they can discover, produce, refine and distribute oil and gas to provide products and services for customers worldwide.
We are also broadening our offering by developing energies that can partner oil and gas — today, solar energy and tomorrow, biomass.
As a responsible corporate citizen, we focus on ensuring that our operations consistently deliver
economic, social and environmental benefits.
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SRO Motorsports Group - The architect of modern GT Racing
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 2015, 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 Avon Tyres British GT Championship and the newly-created GT Sports Club and Ultracar Sports Club. SRO Motorsports Group has various franchise agreements, including the GT4 European Series.
SRO Motorsports Group runs also the SRO Race Centre by MMC, a high-level technical centre at the Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France.
SRO has offices in London, Paris and Liège.