Four weeks ahead of the BlancPain GT-Series season-highlight, the organizers granted the 60 teams in competition a pre event test, to shake down their cars and drivers for the 24 hours on the ardennes-rollercoaster.
Throughout the day the test had to be interrupted several times, as teams exceeded the sound barrier of 107 dBa that has been imposed as a limit in belgium. Those issues were quickly resolved by the teams though.
By the end of the day the belgian BMW Marc VDS Team, with their drivers Maxime Martin and Augusto Farfus marked the fastest time at a blistering 2:19:083min beating the austrian Team Grasser Racing in their new Lamborghini Huracan by a tenth of a second.
The Top-10 fastest times of the day:
1. M. Martin/A. Farfus | Marc VDS Racing | BMW Z4 GT3 | 2:19,034 min
2. A. Palmer/F. Babini/J. Mul | Grasser Racing | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 | +0,109 s
3. M. Palttala/N. Catsburg | Marc VDS Racing | BMW Z4 GT3 | +0,324 s
4. A. Parente/P. Quaife | Von Ryan Racing | McLaren 650S GT3 | +0,372 s
5. S. Lemeret/P. Lathouras/A. Pier Guidi/G. Bruni | AF Corse | Ferrari 458 Italia | +0,515 s
6. L. Vanthoor/R. Rast/M. Winkelhock | W Racing Team | Audi R8 LMS | +0,555 s
7. F. Salaquarda/M. Bonanomi/F. Vervisch | ISR | Audi R8 LMS ultra | +0,672 s
8. M. Meadows/S. Mücke | Leonard Motorsport AMR | Aston Martin Vantage GT3 | +0,689 s
9. C. Mamerow/C. Mies/N. Thiim | Phoenix Racing | Audi R8 LMS | +0,828 s
10. S. Walkinshaw/M. Plowman/C. Dolby | Molitor Racing | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 | +0,871 s
Meanwhile the responsible SRO-Group has released the entry list for the upcoming 24 hours of Spa, containing an impressive field of 66 GT3 Racers, divided into three categories. 28 cars race in the PRO-class, 25 PRO-AM and 13 Teams in the Gentlemandrivers category. The wide spectrum of manufacturers is also unique in motorsports. Eleven (!) different brands are represented: Audi, Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, McLaren and Mercedes.
Another unique feature in the world of motorsports is the extraordinary project of Roal Motorsport in their specially modified BMW Z4 GT3. The car has been fitted with a special steering wheel to allow racing legend Alex Zanardi to compete in the world’s leading endurance GT championship after his horrific accident in the 2001 Indy car championship in which he has lost both of his legs. This steering wheel is fitted with a special ring Zanardi can use to operate the accelerator.