With the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (29-30 June 2024), the fourth important endurance classic in the 2024 racing calendar awaits starting today after Daytona, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring and Le Mans. The race on the Belgian Formula 1 circuit celebrates its 100th birthday this year and will be held for the 76th time.
A special feature compared to the other 24-hour races: In Spa, only racing cars from the globally popular customer sport class ‘GT3’ are taking part. The 66 cars in the starting field come from nine brands: Audi (8), BMW (6), Mercedes-AMG (14), Porsche (12), Lamborghini (5), Ferrari (7), Aston Martin (7), McLaren (6) and Ford (1). The teams start in five categories (Pro, Gold Cup, Silver Cup, Bronze Cup, Pro-Am) and only differ in their respective FIA driver classifications.
24h Spa 2024 today: Schedule and TV broadcast: Who is broadcasting the 24-hour race?
| session | When? | time | Where? |
|---|---|---|---|
| free training | Thursday | 11:20-12:50 | YouTube GTWorld |
| Pre-Qualifying | Thursday | 16:30-17:30 | YouTube GTWorld |
| Qualifying | Thursday | 20:35-21:56 | YouTube GTWorld |
| Night training | Thursday | 22:25-23:55 | YouTube GTWorld |
| Super Pole | Friday | 15:45-16:15 | YouTube GTWorld |
| Warm-Up | Friday | 20:10-20:40 | YouTube GTWorld |
| Race start | Saturday | 16:30 | Motorsport-Magazin.com, YouTube GT World, skysport.de, Sky Sport App (free) |
| Finish line | Sunday | 16:30 | Motorsport-Magazin.com, YouTube GT World, skysport.de, Sky Sport App (free) |
24h Spa 2024 today with a large supporting programme
The 24 Hours of Spa are the highlight on the Ardennes circuit, but the supporting program also offers spectators a lot: racing series such as the GT4 and GT2 European Series, the McLaren Trophy Europe, the Heritage Touring Cup and the Endurance Racing Legend ensure a packed schedule that extends over a total of six days.
The 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps are part of both the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC), which has also included the 24 Hours of Nürburgring since this year. At the highlight of the GT World Challenge racing calendar, drivers and vehicles receive points for the championship rankings after six, twelve and 24 hours.
24h Spa: Superpole qualifying determines starting grid
For all participants of the 24h Spa 2024, the race will start on Thursday, 27 June with a 90-minute Free practice at noon. The one-hour Pre-Qualifying in the evening serves for further preparation, but can theoretically also be decisive for the starting grid if the other qualifying sessions are cancelled.
Divided into four individual sessions, Qualifying begins on Thursday evening at 8:35 p.m. and lasts until after sunset. One driver per team will start in each of the 15-minute qualifying sessions. Teams that only have three drivers instead of four will have to forego Q1. The average lap times ultimately result in a ranking from which the top 20 qualify for the Superpole shootout. Night training On Thursday, all drivers must complete at least two flying laps.
Friday in Spa is all about the Superpolewhich decides the final starting grid for the 24-hour race. This year, the Superpole begins at 3:45 p.m. Each of the qualified teams nominates a driver who is then allowed to complete two fast laps. The runs take place one minute apart so that traffic on the track is avoided as much as possible. After four Mercedes poles in a row from 2019 to 2022, Huber-Porsche broke the AMG series last year.
24h Spa 2024: Race start on Saturday afternoon
After a final Warm-Up on Friday evening, the big action begins on Saturday, June 29th. The Race start to the 24h Spa takes place at 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon. The race will be broadcast in a free live stream on the YouTube channel ‘GT World’ and on the pay-TV channel Sky.
24 hours later on Sunday at 16:30 the Finish line on the course near the German border. BMW is the record holder with 25 victories and is aiming to defend its title.