• Entries: 18 cars from nine brands
• Line-Up: Maximum of three drivers with no limit on categorisation
• 2025 Winner: Grasser Racing – Lamborghini Huracán EVO2
At 16:30 on Saturday 27 June, a 69-car field will set off for the 78th CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Among this huge grid, 18 Pro crews will be gunning for victory in the Ardennes. Each can count on world-class professional drivers, while the teams represent the very best in the business. It is near certain that the overall winner will come from this class; so, who will be the latest to add their name to Spa's roll of honour?
Numerically, the advantage lies with BMW, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche, each of which has three Pro cars. If you had to single one of them out, BMW enjoys a slight edge in that both of its teams are former winners; indeed, between them Team WRT and ROWE Racing have amassed five victories since 2011.
That being said, WRT is on a long winless streak, at least by its own sky-high standards. The local squad last triumphed in 2014 and despite a few near misses – who can forget 2021 – Vincent Vosse's squad is still chasing its third win.
The chief hope of putting that right is the #32 crew of Charles Weerts, Kelvin van der Linde and Jordan Pepper. That's last year's Sprint Cup champions – both also multiple podium finishers at Spa – alongside the defending winner. The sister #46 brings together Valentino Rossi, who's set for his fifth attempt at this race, alongside rapid young BMW stars Max Hesse and Dan Harper. Don't count them out either.
And you definitely shouldn't discount ROWE Racing. The German squad has three overall wins since 2016, while no other team has more than one victory during the same period. So the #98 BMW – which includes 2022 winner Raffaele Marciello – has to be considered a serious threat.
Mercedes-AMG is on a roll this term with wins at the Bathurst 12 Hour and the 24h Nürburgring; it also leads the GT World Challenge standings courtesy of Winward Racing's Team Mann-Filter crew. None of this line-up – not even the ultra-successful Maro Engel – have won at Spa, but that could certainly change in 2026.
AMG has two more very serious challengers. Verstappen Racing brings a pair of former winners in Jules Gounon (2017 & 2022) and Dani Juncadella (2022), as does GetSpeed with Maxime Martin (2016) and Maxi Götz (2013). Everything is in place for the Affalterbach marque to continue its run of big-race victories.
Porsche has started this season in strong form, though the results have not quite matched the potential. Lionspeed GP has one of the fastest line-ups on the grid with Ricardo Feller, Thomas Preining and Bastian Buus, so the question is more about going the distance than having the pace. Local squad Boutsen VDS has its best chance at a Spa win and counts Belgian star Alessio Picariello among its top-class crew.
The Weissach marque is alone in fielding an extra Pro car – and it's a potential winner. Run by Schumacher CLRT, this 911 will be driven by Frédéric Makowiecki, Ayhancan Güven and Matt Campbell. It's a one-off, but it can definitely fight at the front.
Having waited 76 years between its victories in 1948 and 2024, Aston Martin is very keen to get win number three in the bag. It has a real heavyweight in 2024 winner Comtoyou Racing, which will field the unchanged crew of Nicki Thiim, Marco Sørensen and Mattia Drudi. They were in the mix last year before technical problems struck and we can expect another serious challenge this weekend.
In contrast, fellow Aston Martin squad Walkenhorst Motorsport was not in the fight last year after a practice crash scuppered its chances before the race began. This term, the natural elements by Walkenhorst Motorsport entry will aim for redemption with a crew that includes 2018 Spa winner Christian Krognes.
Ferrari hasn't been a major factor in GT World Challenge Europe since finishing third at this race in 2025, but do not sleep on the Prancing Horse. Winner in 2021, the Italian marque has been on the podium at the past two editions – including the infamous defeat in 2024. It can count on two Pro cars from AF Corse, with the #51 of Alessio Rovera, Tommaso Mosca and 2021 winner Nicklas Nielsen looking especially promising.
McLaren is the only brand competing in this year's race without an overall win to its name; indeed, we're yet to see the British marque score a podium. Garage 59 has the best chance yet of putting that right with its crew led by Marvin Kirchhöfer, who took Superpole last year and has been performing at an extremely high level in recent seasons.
Before Monza, we might not have considered HRT Ford Racing a serious contender for the top positions. But a sensational pole position in Italy changed perceptions, and although it did not get a chance to convert that pace into a result, we shouldn't ignore its Pro car. Arjun Maini will hope to become the first Indian driver to claim overall victory at Spa.
Eastalent Racing has two former winners in Christopher Haase and Markus Winkelhock; indeed, the latter is one of only two double winners on the grid this year (Gounon is the other). They share with rookie Simon Reicher and will drive the evergreen Audi R8, which last won this race (with Haase and Winki among the drivers) in 2017.
We'll finish with last year's winning brand – and the only completely new car on the grid. Lamborghini realised a dream by triumphing with Grasser Racing, which returns under the TGI Team by GRT banner. They beat Porsche squad Rutronik Racing to the win, and the German outfit has now joined the Lambo camp.
The Temerario GT3 is still in its development phase, but with a stellar line-up of drivers – including defending winners Mirko Bortolotti and Luca Engstler at GRT and Rutronik respectively – you can't rule Lamborghini out. The first objective will be to ensure that the new car goes the distance in its first 24-hour race.
It's been the case for several years that predicting an overall winner is basically impossible. Perhaps we could narrow it down to 10 leading contenders, but even then a surprise is possible. The only solution is to watch the race live on GT World and find out who prevails in 2026.