24H Spa: Wednesday Paddock Notes

Spa city parade wows crowds

DSC was on hand for the annual Spa 24 Hours road run to the city centre this afternoon.

The turnout was huge, with thousands of fans making the most of the opportunity to see the drivers and the 200+ cars that took part up close.

The first of over 200 GT cars arrive in Spa city centre #spa24h #crowdstrike #fanatecgt #gtworldcheu #igtc #thebiggestgtraceintheworld pic.twitter.com/g4H5CKGakJ

— CrowdStrike 24Hours of Spa (@24HoursofSpa) June 28, 2023

DSC’s editor was fortunate enough to take in the parade from the cockpit of an Audi R8 LMS GT2, driven by the head of Audi Sport customer racing Chris Reinke.

.@24HoursofSpa parade fun – running from the circuit down to Spa
With @audisport boss Chris Reinke in the mighty R8 GT2 LMS pic.twitter.com/UmTxgPIuOg

— Graham Goodwin (@dsceditor) June 28, 2023

Mercedes group shot

Mercedes assembled its fleet of GT3 and GT4 cars racing this week at Spa for a rather impressive photoshoot at Eau Rouge-Raidillon.

This year Mercedes has 15 AMG GT3s entered for the Spa 24, across 10 teams and 54 drivers representing more than 20 nations.

In addition, its nine GT4s on-site are featured in the image. The AMG GT4s are entered in the GT4 European Series and Scandinavia races, which feature a record 62-car field.

Ford reveal

Ford’s new Mustang GT4 was revealed today at the circuit. The car is set to make its global race debut in customer hands next year.

Demand, DSC is told, has been “exceptional”.

The car is being built by Multimatic and is powered by a Coyote-based V8 engine.

Among those on hand for the presentation was Ford Performance motorsport head Mark Rushbrook and Multimatic special projects boss Larry Holt.

Drivers assemble

In addition to the long list of team and manufacturer photoshoots scheduled for today, SRO gathered every driver on the entry list for a huge group photo and drone video.

Getting the #Spa24h family together again at Eau Rouge #crowdstrike #fanatecgt #gtworldcheu #igtc #thebiggestgtraceintheworld pic.twitter.com/4UlFfuSHkT

— CrowdStrike 24Hours of Spa (@24HoursofSpa) June 28, 2023

Fleet street

The Spa 24 Hours paddock is alive, with all the teams ready and eager to hit the track in practice tomorrow morning.

DSC’s tour of the Grand Prix pits this afternoon included stops at some very well-presented garage setups, including AF Corse, Iron Lynx, Dinamic GT and Garage 59.

ST Racing Ferrari colours

The Pro/Am-entered ST Racing by Rinaldi Ferrari 296 is set to compete with a head-turning blue and yellow livery featuring the outline of the #112 1964 Targa Florio Ferrari 250 GTO on its sides.

It looks great both in person and in the renders, DSC can confirm!

New Optimum livery

Optimum Motorsport’s #5 McLaren 720S GT3 is set to run in a ‘Chrome Zebra’ livery inspired by the 2009 title-winning McLaren MP4-23.

Audis in the paddock

Audi Sport has a real presence at the circuit this year, with a fine selection of machinery scattered throughout the paddock this week that will not take part in the race.

In the F1 pit lane an old-gen Audi R8 LMS Ultra has a grage to itself, decorated in Comtoyou Racing colours. The Jean-Michel Baert-owned car is being used for guest tours and will not turn any demo laps during the meeting.

In the lower paddock meanwhile, there is a ’40 years of Audi Sport’ display featuring the 1400bhp S1 ‘Hoonitron’ and RS 6 GTO Concept.

Image credits: SRO, Mercedes-AMG & Optimum Motosport