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Second only to Le Mans in terms of heritage and prestige, the 74th running of the Spa 24 Hours takes place over the weekend of 30-31 July 2022. Full coverage is via the GTWorld YouTube Channel and the Spa 24 Hours website. Here's the official trailer...



For a long time, the 24 Hours of Spa was the classic touring car race - Scalextric have certainly exploited a rich vein of wonderful Group 1 and Group A cars in recent years. Since 2001, the race has been for GT machinery and is now the pinnacle of international GT3 racing, attracting the very top teams and best GT drivers from around the world to tackle the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit and the infamous Ardennes weather.

Subject to last-minute changes, there are nine manufacturers, 66 cars and 235 drivers taking part - making it easily the biggest GT3 grid in 2022 and the second largest in Spa 24 Hour history. MotoGP megastar Valentino Rossi will be making his debut at the race in the #46 WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo II and is likely to draw huge crowds to the circuit, which has seen grandstands and facilities updated as part of an 80-million Euro redevelopment.

There have also been changes to the track run-off at Eau Rouge and Raidillon since last year - but the track layout remains exactly the same through possibly the most spectacular and famous part of any circuit in the world...



The action at Spa starts this weekend, with the traditional warm-up event - courtesy of the British GT Championship. You can watch the 2-hour race on Sunday morning via the GTWorld YouTube Channel or the British GT Championship website.

Spa town centre hosts a ceremonial parade on Wednesday afternoon and evening, before the teams have a full day and evening of practice and qualifying on Thursday. Superpole follows on Friday evening and the race begins at 4.45 local time (3.45 BST) on Saturday afternoon.

There's live coverage of qualifying, Superpole and the race. Expect plenty of fan videos of Wednesday's parade too.

The website has news, live timing and data, plus there'll be loads of images and stories on the 24 Hours of Spa Facebook page.

It looks like everything is set for another memorable 24 Hours of Spa.

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A hugely enjoyable 24 hour race with a wonderful ebb-and-flow, relatively few interruptions and some stand-out dramatic moments. 25 minutes of highlights doesn't do it justice, but captures some of the suspense and excitement of the final 5-6 hours.

For the second half of the race, it was a ten-car battle for the win - Ferrari, Aston Martin, Mercedes, Porsche, BMW and McLaren all having at least one car in with a shout. Audi had an uncharacteristic nightmare in the top class, but did win the Silver Cup. The Iron Dames made history with their Gold Cup win - the first time an all-female team has won their class at a major international GT race. Ferrari also claimed the Pro-Am victory, with the Bronze Cup won by a Mercedes driven by an amateur team including a woman Saudi driver.

There's something very healthy about GT3 racing at the moment - and the SRO's Balance of Performance is a big part of that. Eight cars and five manufacturers finishing a 24-hour race on the same lap after so much green-flag running is an utterly compelling spectacle. Lap times of the top cars are almost identical, although the different makes are stronger in different sectors. There are no overtaking gadgets - no DRS, KERS or push-to-pass - meaning it's all about driving skill and strategy. An hour sprint race is fun, the three and six hour races much more about strategy - and the Spa 24 hours is simply sublime.