70-car grid for Spa 24h 2026 as new qualifying format revealed
- Owen Bradley
- 15 minutes ago
- 3 min read
70 cars will contest the 2026 24 Hours of Spa, along with a brand new qualifying format that looks to shake-up the equilibrium of the event. 10 manufacturers will be represented at the iconic Belgian endurance race, with Porsche the most represented brand on the grid, with 16 entries. Meanwhile, MotoGP legend, Valentino Rossi will compete at the race for the fifth time with Team WRT.
The third round in the Intercontinental GT Challenge will take place at the end of June, boasting a 70-car grid full of Sportscar stars and iconic manufacturers. Mercedes have dominated proceedings in the IGTC so far in 2026, taking victories at the Bathurst 12 Hour and recently winning the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Crucially, Belgian driver Maxime Martin has been a part of both of those winning Mercedes squads, and will contest the Spa 24 Hours once again with the German manufacturer, driving the No.17 GetSpeed Mercedes alongside Fabian Schiller and Max Götz.
The event will feature 18 cars in the Pro class, consisting of three BMW's, three Porsche's, three Mercedes', two Aston Martin's, two Ferrari's, two Lamborghini's, one McLaren, one Ford and one Audi.
The grid appears to be very competitive, especially in the Pro class with many accomplished drivers racing for different teams and manufacturers. Notably, the No.3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes will be contesting, with Dani Juncadella, Chris Lulham and Jules Gounon at the wheel of the Mercedes which was driven by Max Verstappen at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Winners from the opening round of the GTWC Europe season, the No.007 ComToYou Aston Martin squad consisting of Mattia Drudi, Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim, will also be contesting the race. The Aston Martin squad have been strong in GTWC Europe proceedings so far this season, as they look to improve upon their ninth place finishing position from last year's race.
The No.22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche squad are also strong contenders, featuring a solid and competitive line-up of Lauren Heinrich, Matt Campbell and Ayhancan Güven. Additionally, the No.80 Lionspeed GP Porsche squad also seem competitive, with Bastian Buus, Thomas Preining and Ricardo Feller at the wheel. Porsche may stand a strong chance of winning, with such an experienced Sportscar driver line-up.
BMW are bringing three cars to the Pro class, with each of them standing a good chance of being strong at this year's Spa 24 Hours. The No.46 BMW, run by Team WRT, will feature MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, in his fifth appearance at this race, as the Italian hopes to finally secure a victory or at least a podium at one of the flagship Endurance races. Rossi was partnered with Kevin Magnussen and René Rast last year, and they only managed an 11th place finish.
Rossi's best result at the 24 Hours of Spa was a sixth place finish at the 2023 edition of the race. This year, he will be partnered with Dan Harper, who won the British GT championship back in 2023, as well as Max Hesse, who has won the 24 Hours of Daytona this season. The No.46 WRT BMW will likely be a fan favourite at the event, and with a solid driver line-up, they could very well be among the top competitors at Spa.
The sister No.32 WRT BMW is also poised for a strong chance, with a solid driver line-up consisting of Kelvin van der Linde, Jordan Pepper and Charles Weerts. This squad has frequently been in contention for podiums and top five finishes, but has often suffered misfortune in the overnight hours of the race.
The final BMW entry is from Rowe Racing, who have put Jake Dennis, Augusto Farfus and Raffaele Marciello in their No.98 BMW. This line-up is particularly strong, and the Rowe Racing squad have won the Spa 24 Hours relatively recently, in 2023.
With such a strong and competitive grid, the 24 Hours of Spa is set to be highly contested, with at least 10 of the 18 Pro entries having a realistic chance of taking the overall victory.
New Qualifying Format
Qualifying for the 24 Hours of Spa will be changing in 2026. Thursday evening's qualifying session will be split into three groups, judged by the FIA driver grading system. Each driver will have 10 minutes out on track.
On Friday, a knockout Superpole session will take place, featuring the 32 quickest cars from their average qualifying time across Thursday's three groups and drivers. The slowest 16 cars will be eliminated from the session after 10 minutes, with the next 16 cars continuing for another seven minutes.
The fastest eight cars from the end of that session will then continue on to a seven minute qualifying session, and the top four cars will then get one single lap each in a shootout-style session to set the grid.
