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Audi’s last GT3 car delivery marks the end of an era, but will F1 push be worth it?


As Audi looks ahead to its ambitious Formula 1 project in 2026 with Sauber, it is simultaneously leaving behind its history in other disciplines of motorsport. The German manufacturer has pulled the plug on every single one of its racing programmes in order to redirect its focus on F1, even though its swathe of fans don’t associate the brand with single-seater or formula racing.

A picture showing Audi’s customer racing boss Chris Reinke handing over the delivery of the last-ever R8 LMS GT3 to Austrian businessman and amateur driver Michael Doppelmayr perfectly encapsulates Audi’s pedigree in motor racing. While the bare carbon fibre R8 LMS is proudly positioned in the centre, the photograph also shows a large number of Audi’s Le Mans Prototypes and Group B rally cars at Audi Tradition, the company’s mobile museum.

One would have to look very hard to spot a Silver Arrow with which the brand then known as Auto Union competed in grand prix racing in the 1930s. If there is any image that shows what Audi Sport stands for, it is this one.

It’s why the decision to gradually curtail the GT3 programme is particularly sad for both Audi and the wider motorsport world. The R8 is one of the most famous cars in the GT3 arena and easily one of the most successful, with victories in all major endurance events including Bathurst 12 Hour, Nurburgring 24 Hours and Spa 24 Hours. In all, Audi produced 310 examples of the car across multiple generations, winning 125 drivers’ titles and 197 other championships since 2009.

Audi has promised to provide technical support and spare parts for the R8 LMS GT3 until 2032, but it’s unlikely the car will be seen in action at the start of next decade. Audi no longer provides factory backing to its customer support teams, while its pool of factory drivers was also disbanded at the end of 2023. The four drivers that remained on its roster in 2024 are also set to leave as their contracts expire this year, meaning any team with an R8 would have to source drivers on their own and pay their salaries.

Then there is the small matter of the car becoming outdated in the face of newer models and Evo versions introduced by rivals. Slowly all existing outfits will be left with no option but to move to newer cars from other manufacturers. Even Abt Sportsline, a team whose relationship with Audi stretches back 25 years, has been forced to call it quits and switch to Lamborghini for its two-car DTM attack in 2025. The days of the R8 LMS GT3 on the track are numbered, at least in professional motorsport.

Audi took its seventh win in the Nurburgring 24 Hours this year, but more success is harder to foresee

Audi took its seventh win in the Nurburgring 24 Hours this year, but more success is harder to foresee

Photo by: Gruppe C GmbH

“It is the end of an era, but it was a personal privilege for me to be able to play a very prominent role in this for Audi,” Audi’s Reinke told Donaukurier. “I had this privilege once before as overall project manager in the LMP project, and when that ended, you also had a feeling of emptiness because you had identified very strongly with it.”

It is reported that a total of 101 people work at Audi’s customer racing division. It is unclear what will happen to them now that Audi has ceased production of the R8 LMS GT3, but Reinke hopes they will be able to continue working on motorsport-related projects away from competition.

It’s easy to see why Audi was lured by the pull of F1, which is now in a better shape than ever before. But it’s the high opportunity cost that makes people question whether it is worth the gamble.

Audi’s decision to put all its eggs in one basket would still have been understandable if its F1 project was running smoothly. But if the last six months are anything to go by, things have been anything but

In the last five years, Audi exited Class One-based DTM, pulled out of Formula E, put an end to a stillborn LMDh project, killed off a Dakar Rally team after just three years and ceased the production of its long-running GT3 car. Of course, some of these decisions were announced long before it laid out its ambition of entering F1, but it has still left far too many championships in such a span of time.

Customer racing — which also includes GT4 and TCR racing — was one area where Audi could have continued with limited investment, given the revenue it generates directly by selling cars and spare parts to independent teams. Of course, at some point Audi would have had to introduce a successor to the R8 LMS — and find a base model in its road car range for the same — but it’s a hurdle it could have overcome with relatively limited investment. After all, it didn’t need to necessarily build its next GT3 car around a thoroughbred racer like the R8 and could have opted for a sedan as a base model, similar to rival manufacturer BMW’s M4 GT3.

Audi’s decision to put all its eggs in one basket would still have been understandable if its F1 project was running on track. However, if the last six months are anything to go by, things have been anything but smooth.

Audi went from wanting to own no more than 75% of Sauber to taking over the entire ownership of the company, only to then sell a ‘significant minority’ stake to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. One should laud Audi for turning up the wick, after realising that progress on the chassis side of the operation was slower than it had expected. But it’s equally a worrying sign that it needed to raise fresh investment from an external source with just over a year left before its new car/engine hits the track for the first time.

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has bought into the F1 team amid financial worries at Audi parent brand VW

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has bought into the F1 team amid financial worries at Audi parent brand VW

Photo by: Audi

Perhaps of more concern is the management upheaval at Audi. Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann were axed in the summer in favour of former Ferrari F1 team principal Mattia Binotto and current Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. The two have a big job in their hands to steady the ship and make sure Audi is in the best possible shape for 2026.

PLUS: The detail focus that will make Audi’s Red Bull hire a hit team boss

But it certainly won’t be an easy task and the team’s inability to attract a star driver — with Carlos Sainz choosing Williams over partnering Nico Hulkenberg — shows the grid doesn’t believe it will be able to hit the ground running when the new regulations kick in in a little over 12 months.

Audi could probably take encouragement from the way it turned around its Dakar programme to win the prestigious rally raid on its third attempt in 2024. The Ingolstadt-based marque made a respectable debut in 2022 with the RS Q e-tron but went backwards in its second year of service, as reliability niggles left it without a shot against the mighty Toyota Hiliux. That prompted its rally arm to go back to the drawing board and fix the car’s inherent weaknesses, those efforts allowing it to finally win the big prize in January this year with Carlos Sainz Sr.

However, while Audi’s hybrid Dakar challenger was nothing short of a technological marvel, its powertrain was derived from the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine it pioneered in the DTM and paired with the electric motor it developed in Formula E. While the knowledge it gained in the DTM, Formula E and Dakar will be immensely valuable, it has to build an F1 power unit from a clean sheet of paper, which would be the biggest challenge in its sporting history. Even the diesel-powered R18 wouldn’t match the complexity of the hybrid engine that will power its first-ever F1 car.

Until a month ago, Audi was set to be the only new manufacturer team to enter F1 in 2026, and hence was set to be a focal point. But with Cadillac’s entry now being accepted, it means the eyeballs will be split between the two giants of the automotive world, slashing its return on investment.

One can hope that Audi, with all its might, would eventually be able to become a proven force in F1. However, it would be foolish to assume that it would hit the ground running straight away. Even if Binotto and Wheatley are given the freedom to run Audi’s grand prix operation as a sleek F1 team, without excessive control from the board, it would take several years before it will be able to regularly challenge for victories and championships.

Having an existing racing programme, like in GT3s, would have helped Audi shift the focus away while it cut its teeth in F1. Unfortunately, having decided to scrap its involvement elsewhere, Audi would have nowhere to hide when it steps up to the big game in 2026.

Success for Audi in customer racing would be a handy distraction if its F1 programme falls flat, but that luxury won't be available in 2026

Success for Audi in customer racing would be a handy distraction if its F1 programme falls flat, but that luxury won’t be available in 2026

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

In this article

Rachit Thukral

Formula 1

GT

Audi Sport

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Aston Martin wins after Ferrari blocked at pit entry


Aston Martin stole a dramatic last-gasp victory at the Spa 24 Hours to claim a first win at the Belgian enduro since 1948. 

The Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 shared by Nicki Thiim, Marco Sorensen and Mattia Drudi jumped into the lead of a race affected by heavy and prolonged rain and no fewer than 17 safety cars with less than 50 minutes left on the clock. 

They moved to the front of the field in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup blue riband when the race-leading factory AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 with Alessandro Pier Guidi at the wheel found its path into the pits blocked. 

The lead AF entry Pier Guidi co-drove with Davide Rigon and Alessio Rovera lost just over 50s stationary behind the broken down Silver Cup class entry from the Grasser Lamborghini team in the narrow section of the pitlane between the Bus Stop chicane and the Formula 1 pitboxes . 

Pier Guidi led by just over 10s from the Aston when he ducked into the pits for his final stop, the delay before the Lambo was towed away handing Aston the victory in a race that also counted towards the Intercontinental GT Challenge. 

Drudi crossed the line in the best of the new-for-2024 evolution Vantages GT3s ahead of Pier Guidi. 

The stroke of luck on the part of Aston Martin allowed the British marque, a stalwart of the GT scene since 2005, to claim its second outright victory at Spa, 76 years after St John Horsfall and Leslie Johnson triumphed in the first post-war edition. 

Thiim, said: “What a crazy race with what happened all the way through the night with the rain — and now this! 

“Actually I feel a bit sorry for the Italians, but this means a lot to me. 

“This is the last one on my bucket list,” added a driver who has taken victory at the Nurburgring 24 Hours and class honours at Le Mnas. 

“It’s awesome.”

#51 AF Corse - Francorchamps Ferrari 296 GT3: Alessandro Pier Guidi, Davide Rigon, Alessio Rovera

#51 AF Corse — Francorchamps Ferrari 296 GT3: Alessandro Pier Guidi, Davide Rigon, Alessio Rovera

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

Pier Guidi recovered to second in the centenary running of the Spa enduro, moving past David Pittard in the #34 Walkenhorst Aston and then the Rutronik Porsche 911 GT3-R with Julien Andlauer at the wheel, which still needed to make its final stop for fuel. 

That put Pier Guidi third behind the Rowe BMW M4 GT3 of Max Hesse, Dan Harper and Augusto Farfus, which had to come into the pits with two minutes to go after what should have been its final pitstop was brought forward by a slow puncture. 

That dropped the car to sixth in the final order, but BMW still claimed a podium in a race it won last year courtesy of the WRT team.

Dries Vanthoor crossed the line in fourth place in the M4 he shared with Sheldon van der Linde and Charles Weerts but immediately moved up a place ahead of the Walkenhorst Aston of David Pittard, Henrique Chaves and Ross Gunn. 

Pittard was docked 10s for contact with Pier Guidi when the Italian came past at Les Combes as he charged back after his delay. 

Franck Perera, Jordan Pepper and Marco Mapelli took fifth in the Grasser Racing Team’s lead Lamborghini Huracan GT EVO2 the first-named had put on pole position. 

Ferrari looked set to reprise its 2021 victory at Spa with an AF-run 488 GT3 Evo entered under Iron Lynx banner and driven by Pier Guidi, Nicklas Nielsen and Come Ledogar. 

Pier Guidi was aboard the car when the race turned in the favour of the Italian marque. 

He was running a close third in the 20th hour when he stopped one lap before the two cars ahead, the Rowe BMW and the Comtoyou Aston. 

Pier Guidi’s pace on the outlap gave the Ferari the lead ahead of the battling BMW and Aston in the respective hands of Harper and Thiim. 

Thiim then made it past Harper at the Bruxelles hairpin three laps later but was unable to do anything about the Ferrari, which edged away into a lead that stood at a little more than 3s at the next round of stops. 

The lead continued to go up over a run to the flag interrupted only by one further caution period, a quick-fire Full Course Yellow with just under an hour to go. 

Mercedes, a two-time winner of the Spa enduro in the GT3 era, could finish no better than seventh with the Getspeed team’s #777 that took Gold Cup class honours with Mikael Grenier, Philip Ellis, Dominik Baumann and Al Faisal Al Zubair. 

The #48 Winward Racing Merc in which Lucas Auer qualified second and led early on retried in the 13th hour as a result of accident damage, while the #2 Getspeed entry driven by Jules Gounon, Luca Stolz and Fabian Schiller was withdrawn with front left hub issues during the night. 

Porsche took eighth and ninth positions, the SSR Herberth 992-shape 911 GT3-R of Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet and Frederic Makowiecki beating the Rutronik entry of Julien Andlauer, Sven Muller and Patric Niederhauser. 

Audi rounded out the top 10 with the Bronze Cup-winning R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Attempto drivers Max Hofer, Dylan Pereira, Aleksei Nesov and Andrey Mukovoz.

 

Rank Car Class TeamDriver Lap Pit Stops
1 7 PRO Comtoyou Racing (Aston Martin) 478 31
2 51 PRO AF Corse — Francorchamps Motors (Ferrari) 478 30
3 32 PRO Team WRT (BMW M) 478 32
4 34 PRO Walkenhorst Motorsport (Aston Martin) 478 30
5 163 PRO GRT Grasser Racing Team (Lamborghini) 478 34
6 998 PRO Rowe Racing (BMW M) 478 32
7 777 Gold AlManar Racing by GetSpeed (Mercedes-AMG) 478 31
8 92 PRO SSR Herberth (Porsche) 478 31
9 96 PRO Rutronik Racing (Porsche) 477 31
10 66 Bronze Tresor Attempto Racing (Audi) 477 32
11 159 PRO Garage 59 (McLaren) 477 33
12 99 PRO Tresor Attempto Racing (Audi) 477 31
13 52 Bronze AF Corse (Ferrari) 477 31
14 72 Bronze Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini) 477 35
15 25 Gold Sainteloc Racing (Audi) 476 30
16 93 Bronze SKY — Tempesta Racing (Ferrari) 476 28
17 77 Gold Haupt Racing Team (Mercedes-AMG) 476 27
18 9 PRO Boutsen VDS (Mercedes-AMG) 476 30
19 64 PRO Proton Competition (Ford) 475 29
20 11 Bronze Comtoyou Racing (Aston Martin) 475 33
21 27 Bronze Optimum Motorsport (McLaren) 475 31
22 80 Bronze Lionspeed X Herberth (Porsche) 475 32
23 5 Bronze Optimum Motorsport (McLaren) 475 28
24 46 PRO Team WRT (BMW M) 475 35
25 3 Silver GetSpeed (Mercedes-AMG) 474 30
26 23 PRO Phantom Global Racing (Porsche) 473 30
27 55 Silver Dinamic GT (Porsche) 473 33
28 57 Silver Winward Racing (Mercedes-AMG) 473 31
29 4 PAM CrowdStrike by Riley (Mercedes-AMG) 472 35
30 88 Gold Tresor Attempto Racing (Audi) 472 29
31 90 Silver Madpanda Motorsport (Mercedes-AMG) 471 32
32 21 Silver Comtoyou Racing (Aston Martin) 470 30
33 991 Bronze Century Motorsport (BMW M) 470 35
34 26 Silver Sainteloc Racing (Audi) 462 30
35 78 Bronze Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini) 460 31
36 16 PAM Uno Racing Team with Landgraf (Mercedes-AMG) 457 25
37 19 Silver GRT Grasser Racing Team (Lamborghini) 456 32
38 158 Bronze Garage 59 (McLaren) 454 23
39 188 Bronze Garage 59 (McLaren) 451 28
40 10 Silver Boutsen VDS (Mercedes-AMG) 448 30
41 100 PAM Team RJN (McLaren) 445 29
42 60 Gold 2 Seas Motorsport (Mercedes-AMG) 430 27
43 8 Bronze Kessel Racing (Ferrari) 366 24
44 35 Silver Walkenhorst Motorsport (Aston Martin) 364 25
45 74 Bronze Kessel Racing (Ferrari) 348 24
46 911 PRO Pure Rxcing (Porsche) 307 23
47 30 Bronze OQ by Oman Racing (BMW M) 295 28
48 2 PRO M-AMG Team GetSpeed (Mercedes-AMG) 283 24
49 130 PRO Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing (Mercedes-AMG) 276 22
50 28 PRO Haas RT (Audi) 273 22
51 71 PRO AF Corse — Francorchamps Motors (Ferrari) 236 18
52 36 Bronze Walkenhorst Motorsport (Aston Martin) 231 21
53 48 PRO Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER (Mercedes-AMG) 222 21
54 111 Gold CSA Racing (Audi) 174 16
55 91 Bronze Herberth Motorsport (Porsche) 121 11
56 63 PRO Iron Lynx (Lamborghini) 120 13
57 888 PAM Triple Eight JMR (Mercedes-AMG) 114 10
58 22 PRO Schumacher CLRT (Porsche) 89 7
59 992 PRO HubAuto Racing (Porsche) 88 8
60 12 Silver Comtoyou Racing (Aston Martin) 79 4
61 333 Bronze Rinaldi Racing (Ferrari) 78 3
62 61 PAM EBM (Porsche) 76 5
63 54 Bronze Dinamic GT (Porsche) 74 4
64 38 PAM Haas RT (Audi) 73 7
65 98 PRO Rowe Racing (BMW M) 71 4
66 97 Bronze Rutronik Racing (Porsche) 18 2



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How to watch the 2024 Spa 24 Hours: schedule, line-up and more


The Spa 24 Hours celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024, with a whopping 67 cars set to tackle the world-famous event renowned as one of the toughest in motorsport.

BMW squad Rowe Racing arrive as the defending event winner, after its M4 GT3 of Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly claimed victory by 11.1 seconds in 2023 ahead of the ASP team’s Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Rowe also took victory in the first GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup event of the year at Paul Ricard courtesy of Augusto Farfus, Dan Harper and Max Hesse in April.

But given the size of the grid and how long the race is, a back-to-back win at the event which forms part of both the Intercontinental GT Challenge and GTWCE Endurance is especially rare. The last time it occurred was in 2006, five years before the current GT3 era began.

It really is too close to call and the scene is set to be another thriller at Spa-Francorchamps. Here is how and when to watch the action.

Can Eng, Wittmann and Yelloly repeat their 2023 success for ROWE?

Can Eng, Wittmann and Yelloly repeat their 2023 success for ROWE?

Photo by: BMW AG

When is the 2024 Spa 24 Hours?

  • Date: Saturday 29 June — Sunday 30 June
  • Start time: 2:30pm GMT / 3:30pm BST / 4:30pm local time / 10:30am ET / 12:30am AEST (Sunday) / 11:30pm JST

The 2024 Spa 24 Hours starts on Saturday 29 June at 3:30pm in the United Kingdom and 4:30pm local time. It is then scheduled to finish at 3:30pm BST and 4:30pm local on Sunday 30 June to cap off four consecutive days of track action in Belgium.

It begins with free practice on Thursday 27 June, where drivers will start a 90-minute session at 10:20am BST (11:20am local time) before pre-qualifying that afternoon. Pre-qualifying is effectively another free practice, this time lasting for 60 minutes, however the results from this session will determine Saturday’s grid if qualifying for any reason cannot happen.

Thursday is set to be very busy, as pre-qualifying is just the second of four sessions happening that day. What follows is qualifying, due to start at 7:35pm BST (8:35pm local time) which will consist of four 15-minute sessions where one driver from each car will contest a different part. Three-driver crews skip Q1.

The average lap time across the sessions establishes the order, with qualifying determining who starts from 21st downwards as the top 20 fastest cars progress to Friday’s Super Pole Shootout.

Before then, however, is a 90-minute practice session at 9:25pm BST (10:25pm local) on Thursday which gives teams the chance to test their cars at night, often the most challenging part of the race given the reduced visibility and drop in temperature.

Friday is all about Super Pole. A 30-minute session beginning at 2:45pm BST (3:45pm) entails each team nominating a driver to set two flying laps, with the best time being recorded. This will determine the top 20 grid spots, while there is also a 30-minute warm-up session at 7:10pm BST (8:10pm local) on Friday evening before the race starts the following day.

#51 AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3: Alessio Rovera, Robert Shwartzman, Nicklas Nielsen

#51 AF Corse — Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3: Alessio Rovera, Robert Shwartzman, Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: Eric Le Galliot

What are the timings for the 2024 Spa 24 Hours?

Here are the full timings for this week’s Spa 24 Hours:

Date

Session

Start time

Thursday 27 June

Free practice

10:20am BST/11:20am local time

Thursday 27 June

Pre-qualifying

3:30pm BST/4:30pm local time

Thursday 27 June

Qualifying

7:35pm BST/8:35pm local time

Thursday 27 June

Night practice

9:25pm BST/10:25pm local time

Friday 28 June

Super Pole Shootout

2:45pm BST/3:45pm local time

Friday 28 June

Warm-up

7:10pm BST/8:10pm local time

Saturday 29 June

Race start

3:30pm BST/4:30pm local time

Sunday 30 June

Race ends

3:30pm BST/4:30pm local time

How can I watch the 2024 Spa 24 Hours?

The Spa 24 Hours is available to watch via Motorsport.tv, which will live stream qualifying, Super Pole, the race warm-up and the main event which means the practice sessions are not being broadcast. On Saturday, there will also be a one-hour build-up to the race while shortly after the 24-hour contest has finished, Motorsport.tv will upload highlights of the action.

Motorsport.tv‘s coverage is available worldwide — except for in Japan — and this year’s Spa 24 Hours can be watched via the platform for free.

Date

Session

Channel

Coverage from

Thursday 27 June

Qualifying

7:30pm BST/8:30pm local time

Friday 28 June

Super Pole Shootout

2:40pm BST/3:40pm local time

Friday 28 June

Warm-up

7:10pm BST/8:10pm local time

Saturday 29 June

Race

2:30pm BST/3:30pm local time

Race action

Race action

Photo by: AG Photo

Live stream links for the 2024 Spa 24 Hours

Here are the different links for each session that is available via Motorsport.tv:

Qualifying: https://motorsport.tv/gt-world/video/round-4-24-hours-of-spa-qualifying/192376 

Super Pole Shootout: https://motorsport.tv/gt-world/video/round-4-24-hours-of-spa-super-pole-shootout/192377 

Warm-up: https://motorsport.tv/gt-world/video/round-4-24-hours-of-spa-warmup/192375 

Spa 24 Hours: https://motorsport.tv/gt-world/video/round-4-24-hours-of-spa-race/192378 

Entry list for the 2024 Spa 24 Hours

The Spa 24 Hours is split across five categories: Pro, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Pro-Am. Eligibility is determined by the FIA grading system.

The Pro category, the highest-ranked class, has no restrictions on driver grading. But in the Gold class, a maximum of three gold-rated drivers must pair up with one silver; while the Silver class may comprise entirely of drivers with that grading. 

A maximum line-up of platinum-silver-silver-bronze is permitted in the Bronze Cup, while in the Pro-Am category, teams must field a driver line-up that consists of no more than two platinum and two bronze drivers.

#17 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II: Luca Engstler, Kelvin Van Der Linde, Nicki Thiim

#17 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II: Luca Engstler, Kelvin Van Der Linde, Nicki Thiim

Photo by: SRO

For this year’s Spa 24 Hours, nine manufacturers will be represented. Mercedes has the most cars entered with 14, ahead of Porsche on 12, Audi with eight and seven for Ferrari. Aston Martin, BMW, Lamborghini and McLaren all have six cars competing, while there is just one Ford Mustang GT3.

Car Number

Team

Car

Drivers

Pro — 24 cars

2

Mercedes-AMG Team

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Jules Gounon

Fabian Schiller

Luca Stolz

7

Comtoyou Racing

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo

Mattia Drudi

Marco Sorensen

Nicki Thiim

9

Boutsen VDS

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Thomas Drouet

Maximilian Gotz

Ulysse de Pauw

22

Schumacher CLRT

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Dorian Boccolacci

Ayhancan Guven

Laurin Heinrich

23

Phantom Global Racing

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Joel Eriksson

Jaxon Evans

Thomas Preining

28

HAAS RT

Audi R8 LMS Evo II

Simon Gachet

Jan Heylen

Dennis Lind

32

Team WRT

BMW M4 GT3

Sheldon van der Linde

Dries Vanthoor

Charles Weerts

34

Walkenhorst Motorsport

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo

Henrique Chaves

Ross Gunn

David Pittard

46

Team WRT

BMW M4 GT3

Raffaele Marciello

Maxime Martin

Valentino Rossi

48

Mercedes-AMG Team

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Lucas Auer

Maro Engel

Daniel Morad

51

AF Corse

Ferrari 296 GT3

Alessandro Pier Guidi

Davide Rigon

Alessio Rovera

63

Iron Lynx

Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2

Mirko Bortolotti

Matteo Cairoli

Andrea Caldarelli

64

Proton Competition

Ford Mustang GT3

Christopher Mies

Dennis Olsen

Frederic Vervisch

71

AF Corse

Ferrari 296 GT3

Vincent Abril

Thomas Neubauer

David Vidales

92

SSR Performance with Herberth

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Matt Campbell

Mathieu Jasmine

Frederic Makowiecki

96

Rutronik Racing

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Julien Andlauer

Sven Muller

Patric Niederhauser

98

Rowe Racing

BMW M4 GT3

Philipp Eng

Marco Wittmann

Nick Yelloly

99

Tresor Attempto Racing

Audi R8 LMS Evo II

Alex Aka

Ricardo Feller

Christopher Haase

130

Mercedes-AMG Team

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Ralf Aron

Daniel Juncadella

Frederik Vesti

159

Garage 59

McLaren 720S GT3 Evo

Tom Gamble

Benjamin Goethe

Dean MacDonald

163

Grasser Racing Team

Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2

Marco Mapelli

Jordan Pepper

Franck Perera

911

Pure Rxcing

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Klaus Bachler

Alex Malykhin

Joel Sturm

992

HubAuto Racing

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Kevin Estre

Patrick Pilet

Laurens Vanthoor

998

Rowe Racing

BMW M4 GT3

Augusto Farfus

Dan Harper

Max Hesse

Gold — 6 cars

25

Sainteloc Junior Team

Audi R8 LMS Evo II

Paul Evrard

Gilles Magnus

Jim Pla

Ugo de Wilde

60

2 Seas Motorsport

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Isa Al Khalifa

Frank Bird

Martin Kodric

Lewis Williamson

77

Haupt Racing Team

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Michele Beretta

Arjun Maini

Jusuf Owega

88

Tresor Attempto Racing

Audi R8 LMS Evo II

Glenn van Berlo

Lorenzo Ferrari

Leonardo Moncini

Lorenzo Patrese

111

CSA Racing

Audi R8 LMS Evo II

Romain Carton

Adam Eteki

Arthur Rougier

Steven Palette

777

AlManar Racing

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Al Faisal Al Zubair

Dominik Baumann

Philip Ellis

Mikael Grenier

Silver — 10 cars

3

GetSpeed

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Anthony Bartone

James Kell

Yannick Mattler

Aaron Walker

10

Boutsen VDS

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Sebastien Baud

Cesar Gazeau

Roee Meyuhas

Aurelien Panis

12

Comtoyou Racing

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo

Nicolas Baert

Erwan Bastard

Esteban Muth

Sebastian Ogaard

19

Grasser Racing Team

Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2

Hugo Cook

Baptise Moulin

Mateo Llarena

Haytham Qarajouli

21

Comtoyou Racing

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo

Charles Clark

Sam Dejonghe

Matisse Lismont

Xavier Maassen

26

Sainteloc Junior Team

Audi R8 LMS Evo II

Ivan Klymenko

Gilles Stadsbader

Marcus Paverud

Alban Varutti

35

Walkenhorst Motorsport

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo

Lorcan Hanafin

Romain Leroux

Maxime Robin

55

Dinamic GT

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Axel Blom

Marius Nakken

Theo Nouet

Jop Rappange

57

Winward Racing

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo

Daan Arrow

Colin Caresani

Tanart Sathienthirakul

90

Madpanda Motorsport

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo

Patrick Assenheimer

Karol Basz

Ezequiel Perez Companc

Alain Valente

Bronze — 21 cars

5

Optimum Motorsport

McLaren 720S GT3 Evo

Ben Barnicoat

Shaun Balfe

Sam Neary

Ruben del Sarte

8

Kessel Racing

Ferrari 296 GT3

Daniele Di Amato

David Fumanelli

Nicolo Rosi

Niccolo Schiro

11

Comtoyou Racing

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo

Kobe Pauwels

Dante Rappange

Job van Uitert

John de Wilde

27

Optimum Motorsport

McLaren 720S GT3 Evo

Rob Bell

Ollie Millroy

Mark Radcliffe

Fran Rueda

30

OQ by Oman Racing

BMW M4 GT3

Ahmad Al Harthy

Sam De Haan

Jens Klingmann

Calan Williams

36

Walkenhorst Motorsport

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo

Tim Creswick

Bijoy Garg

Ben Green

Mex Jansen

52

AF Corse

Ferrari 296 GT3

Andrea Bertolini

Jef Machiels

Louis Machiels

Tommaso Mosca

54

Dinamic GT

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Marvin Dienst

Guilherme Oliveira

Philipp Sager

Christopher Zochling

66

Tresor Attempto Racing

Audi R8 LMS Evo II

Max Hofer

Andrey Mukovoz

Alexey Nesov

Dylan Pereira

72

Barwell Motorsport

Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2

Patrick Kujala

Mattia Michelotto

Gabriel Rindone

Casper Stevenson

74

Kessel Racing

Ferrari 296 GT3

John Hartshorne

Chandler Hull

Phil Keen

Ben Tuck

78

Barwell Motorsport

Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2

Till Bechtolsheimer

Ricky Collard

Antoine Doquin

Sandy Mitchell

80

Lionspeed GP with Herberth

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Antares Au

Alexander Fach

Alessio Picariello

Martin Rump

83

Iron Dames

Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2

Sarah Bovy

Rahel Frey

Michelle Gatting

91

Herberth Motorsport

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Ralf Bohn

Alfred Renauer

Robert Renauer

Morris Schuring

93

Tempesta Racing

Ferrari 296 GT3

Eddie Cheever III

Chris Froggatt

Jonathan Hui

Lilou Wadoux

97

Rutronik Racing

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Dustin Blattner

Loek Hartog

Dennis Marschall

Zacharie Robichon

158

Garage 59

McLaren 720S GT3 Evo

James Baldwin

Nicolai Kjærgaard

Chris Salkeld

Mark Sansom

188

Garage 59

McLaren 720S GT3 Evo

Marvin Kirchhofer

Louis Prette

Miguel Ramos

Adam Smalley

333

Rinaldi Racing

Ferrari 296 GT3

Fabrizio Crestani

Felipe Fernandez Laser

Christian Hook

David Perel

991

Century Motorsport

BMW M4 GT3

Pedro Ebrahim

Darren Leung

Connor De Phillippi

Toby Sowery

Pro-Am — 6 cars

4

CrowdStrike Racing

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Colin Braun

Nicky Catsburg

Ian James

George Kurtz

16

Uno Racing Team

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Indy Dontje

David Pun

RIO

Kevin Tse

38

HAAS RT

Audi R8 LMS Evo II

Julius Adomavicius

Olivier Bertels

Armand Fumal

Brad Schumacher

61

Earl Bamber Motorsport

Porsche 911 GT3 R

Earl Bamber

Adrian D’Silva

Brendon Leitch

Kerong Li

100

Team RJN

McLaren 720S GT3 Evo

Alex Buncombe

Chris Buncombe

Josh Caygill

Jann Mardenborough

888

Triple Eight JMR

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo

Prince Jefri Ibrahim

Martin Konrad

Jordan Love

Alexander Sims



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The GT3 drivers we want to see at Le Mans next


This year’s Le Mans 24 Hours is the first for which LMGT3 cars will be eligible. Where in the previous GTE era professional drivers allied to manufacturers other than Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari and Porsche were frozen out, this year five new marques have been added to the aforementioned quartet, opening up opportunities for new names to shine. With the Hypercar class also seeing a boost to 23 cars for Le Mans, a plethora of top GT3 stars will get their long-awaited debut in endurance racing’s most famous event.

Christopher Mies (Ford), Kelvin van der Linde (Lexus), Daniel Juncadella (Corvette), Franck Perera (Lamborghini) and Valentino Rossi (BMW) are among the big names getting their first shot at Le Mans in GT3, while Edoardo Mortara (Lamborghini) will be joined by BMW trio Raffaelle Marciello, Sheldon van der Linde and Marco Wittmann among the contingent of high-profile rookies in Hypercar.

But which other top GT3 names yet to sample the 24 Hours would we like to see in future editions? Motorsport.com writers pick out some of the best.

Maro Engel: The Mercedes GT3 kingpin

Engel has been a leading light of the Mercedes GT programme for over a decade

Engel has been a leading light of the Mercedes GT programme for over a decade

Photo by: Edge Photographics

A long-time member of the Mercedes AMG GT3 roster, Engel has won most things worth winning in what until this season was an alternative code of GT racing outside the sphere of Le Mans 24 Hours organiser Automobile Club de l’Ouest.

Among his credits are a victory in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, a GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup title and no fewer than three wins in the big race on the streets of Macau. Yet this top performer in GT3 for so long knows that the opportunity might never come given that Mercedes is not one of the chosen manufacturers allowed to race in LMGT3 in the World Endurance Championship and therefore Le Mans.

It’s most definitely on his bucket list — and he even had a trip planned for this year in a RV to sample the atmosphere for the first time. Engel admits that it’s going to hurt if he finishes his career without racing on the Circuit de la Sarthe. It would be a loss for sportscar racing if Le Mans passes him by. Gary Watkins

Jack Hawksworth: IMSA champion waits in the wings

Defending IMSA GTD Pro champion Hawksworth has missed out on Le Mans opportunities afforded to team-mate Barnicoat

Defending IMSA GTD Pro champion Hawksworth has missed out on Le Mans opportunities afforded to team-mate Barnicoat

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

It’s one of the great anomalies that Jack Hawksworth, the reigning IMSA SportsCar GTD Pro champion has never raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The 33-year-old former IndyCar racer – who placed inside Autosport’s Top 50 drivers of 2023 – has been a GT class full-timer since 2017, when he joined the Lexus GTD programme. Originally run by 3GT, the project was elevated by Vasser Sullivan Racing since 2019 and the five-litre V8-powered RC F machine – which isn’t a true GT3 race car, more of a ‘Frankenstein’ design – has flown in Hawksworth’s hands.

He has a dozen class wins and 15 poles to his name, and although success in the Daytona 24 Hours has eluded him, he’s won the 12 Hours of Sebring twice, along with Petit Le Mans in 2022. And he’s stacked up well on pace with Lexus team-mate Ben Barnicoat, who has started Le Mans three times.

Lexus is expected to utilise Toyota’s true GT3 racer planned for 2026, which should open the door for Hawksworth to finally make that long-awaited Le Mans debut. If so, watch him fly. Charles Bradley

Ricardo Feller: Audi’s rising star

Feller has won twice in DTM with Abt-run Audis and is the reigning GT World Challenge Sprint Cup champion

Feller has won twice in DTM with Abt-run Audis and is the reigning GT World Challenge Sprint Cup champion

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Feller has made a big impact since throwing his hat into the GT3 arena as a 16-year-old after calling time on single-seaters after a solitary season. The Swiss, still only 22, was picked up by Audi for 2022 after winning the Silver Cup class in the GTWCE Endurance Cup at the wheel of an Emil Frey Lamborghini the previous year and has continued to impress as a factory driver.

Feller sealed the Sprint Cup title last year and put in a starring performance at the Spa 24 Hours, both with the Tresor Attempto team. Things happen when Feller gets behind the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2: he’s a real racer of the old school and a joy to watch. There are still some rough edges to be smoothed off, but he clearly has a big future ahead of him.

He’s remained part of the rump of the once-bulging Audi GT3 roster as the German manufacturer downscales its involvement in GT3, so his next step as that process continues will be crucial in his career development — and will determine if and when he gets to Le Mans. GW

Lucas Auer: Mercedes all-rounder

Auer came close to winning the DTM in 2022 and has been a leading light of the Mercedes GT programme in recent years

Auer came close to winning the DTM in 2022 and has been a leading light of the Mercedes GT programme in recent years

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

If Mercedes manages to gain an entry into Le Mans next year, it should look no further than Lucas Auer for its designated Pro driver.

Auer proved his mettle in both the Class 1 and the GT3 era of the DTM, establishing himself as a regular frontrunner. The way he strung together a title challenge in 2022 against the all-new BMW M4 of Sheldon van der Linde was mighty impressive, especially when you consider his unmatched speed in the second half of the year that earned him a place in Autosport’s Top 50.

Beyond DTM, Auer has raced in the GT World Challenge Europe and enduro events at Spa, Nurburgring and Daytona, making him a GT3 all-rounder. He also has another ace up his sleeve; the Red Bull-supported Super Formula campaign in 2019 during which he took a podium finish for the nascent B-Max/Motopark partnership.

And while some may consider him as being too loyal to Mercedes, he did spend a year with BMW in 2020 and attracted interest from Porsche in ‘22 before inking a fresh deal with the Three-Pointed Star. Rachit Thukral

Markus Winkelhock: Audi’s man for the big occasion

Loyalty to Audi may cause Winkelhock to miss out on a Le Mans opportunity

Loyalty to Audi may cause Winkelhock to miss out on a Le Mans opportunity

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Now 43, Markus Winkelhock is closer to the end of his career than the start. But given his glittering CV racing Audis in GT3 competition, the absence of a Le Mans start from a CV is the only really missing omission.

Victorious in the Spa 24 Hours and Nurburgring 24 Hours in the same year on two occasions (2014 and 2017), he claimed his latest win in a round-the-clock enduro in January’s Dubai 24. That was his sixth, having also won the Nurburgring 24 in 2012, the same year Winkelhock was crowned GT1 world champion with the All-Inkl Lamborghini squad after a controversial final-round crash at Donington with Yelmer Buurman’s BMW. He was temporarily a Daytona 24 Hours class winner in 2014 too, until a penalty handed to Alessandro Pier Guidi for edging Winkelhock onto the grass on the final lap was rescinded hours after the race.

That Winkelhock found his way into Audi’s GT roster via its DTM programme, rather than LMP1, explains why the one-time Grand Prix starter has never raced in the event won by his uncle Joachim in 1999. And opportunities for the German are seemingly slim even now LMGT3 cars are permitted, given his loyalty to a marque that has ditched its factory racing programmes outside Formula 1.

But should an Audi customer squad earn one of the prized entries to the world’s most famous endurance event, then it could do much worse than picking up a driver who has a knack for collecting results over sportscar racing’s most gruelling distance. James Newbold

Joao Paulo de Oliveira

Japan-based Brazilian de Oliveira has been a force in Super GT's GT300 class

Japan-based Brazilian de Oliveira has been a force in Super GT’s GT300 class

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

He may be a complete unknown to anyone who doesn’t follow the Japanese motor racing scene, but Joao Paulo de Oliviera’s success in both Super GT and Super Formula makes him an attractive option for any team looking for a left-field option.

De Oliveira was harshly dropped from Nissan’s factory GT500 programme at the end of the 2018 season, but it allowed him to have a new lease of life in Super GT’s secondary class. Joining the Kondo Racing team in a Nissan GT-R GT3 NISMO in 2020, the Brazilian won the GT500 title twice in the next four seasons — and finished second and third in the intervening years.

His ability to drag the car to the front in races where the success ballast is at the maximum has been a key to his recent success, and so has been his intricate knowledge of GT3 tyres thanks to the close relationship he enjoys with Yokohama. 

He has WEC experience too, having contested two events in the Vanwall Hypercar last season, and drove the similarly Kolles-run Lotus T128 LMP2 car at the Le Mans Test Day in 2013 albeit without starting the race. RT

Phil Keen: British GT benchmark

Keen has impressed in Mercedes machinery in British GT this season, having previously shown his credentials in Porsches and Lamborghinis

Keen has impressed in Mercedes machinery in British GT this season, having previously shown his credentials in Porsches and Lamborghinis

Photo by: JEP

Everybody who has set foot in a British GT paddock over the past decade or so knows of Phil Keen’s quality. Since his series debut in 2006, he has won a record-equalling 19 races outright, tied with Jonny Adam, is a three-time championship runner-up and has been competitive in Porsche, Lamborghini and Mercedes machinery.

He has regularly outpaced drivers who have previously taken class wins at the Circuit de la Sarthe — and those who are set to make their Le Mans debut this year. Yet a spot on the grid has always eluded the self-effacing 40-year-old.

He came close in 2015 by driving at the official Test Day, but his Gulf Racing squad never received a Le Mans entry that year. Keen has not been as close since, but nine years on from his last European Le Mans Series campaign with Gulf’s Porsche he returned to the series this season with Le Mans stalwart JMW Motorsport in a Ferrari 296, further underlining his versatility.

Should an opportunity at last come his way in the years to come, it would be richly deserved. Ed Hardy

Keen turned out in Gulf Porsche for Test Day in 2015 but didn't get to race

Keen turned out in Gulf Porsche for Test Day in 2015 but didn’t get to race

Photo by: Eric Gilbert



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Lamborghini motorsport boss Sanna departs


The 48-year-old has been replaced on an interim basis by Rouven Mohr, who will fulfil his new responsibilities alongside his duties as chief technical officer of the overall Lamborghini organisation.

The move was announced by the Italian manufacturer on Thursday in a short statement that gave no insight into the reasons for Sanna’s departure.

It follows Sanna’s absence from this month’s World Endurance Championship season-opener in Qatar, the debut of Lamborghini’s new SC63 LMDh prototype, for what was described at the time as personal reasons.

Sanna can be regarded as the architect of Lamborghini’s move to the pinnacle of sportscar racing with the SC63 developed in conjunction with Ligier Automotive.

His determination got the project across the line in the spring of 2022 after various false starts over the previous two years.

A plan to link up with Dallara Automobili on an LMDh is understood to have failed to get board approval in 2020 and then a proposed link-up with Volkswagen group LMDh project that resulted in Porsche’s 963 faltered.

The SC63, which will race in the full WEC this season and the IMSA SportsCar Championship enduros starting with this weekend’s Sebring 12 Hours, made a low-key debut at the Qatar 1812 km.

The car run by the Iron Lynx factory team was the slowest in qualifying of the cars fielded by major manufacturers in the Hypercar class.

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

It went on to finish the race in the hands of Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara and Daniil Kvyat in 14th position, five laps down on the winning Porsche.

Sanna began working for Lamborghini as a test driver for its road car research and development division in 2001 while still an active racing driver.

He joined the new in-house Lamborghini Squadra Corse motorsport department in January 2015 as its first boss.

Sanna went on to oversee the manufacturer’s successes with three versions of the Huracan GT3 as well as its activities with the one-make Super Trofeo racer.

His credits as a driver include title successes in the 2011 Italian GT Championship GT3 class driving a Lamborghini Gallardo for Team Imperiale and in GT Am in the 2014 Asian Le Mans Series with Emperor Racing, also in a Reiter Engineering-developed Gallardo.

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