Teams from the UK and Malaysia in their C8 Z06 GT3.R Corvettes complete the 24-hour race in Belgium
Both cars on the stage before the big race!
Steller Racing from the UK entered the # 24 Z06 GT3.R piloted by Matisse LISMONT, Daniel ALI, Lorcan HANAFIN and Olivier HART in the Silver Class.
Johor Racing from Maylasia entered the # 2 Z06 GT3.R piloted by Prince HH JEFRI IBRAHIM, Prince HH Abu Bakar IBRAHIM, Jordan LOVE and Alexander SIMS in the Bronze Class.
Seventy-five (75) GT3 cars from ten (10) manufacturers filled the grid, divided among five (5) classes based on drivers rated at the top PRO and descending through various AMATEUR ranks ending with SILVER.
The Steller # 24 Corvette completed 535 laps to finish 40th overall and 10th out of 17 cars in the in the Silver class.
Steller took delivery, tested but did not enter another # 424 Z06 GT3.R because it appears that time had run out to properly gear up.
The Johor # 2 Corvette completed 527 laps to finish 43rd overall and 15th out of 21 cars in the Bronze class.
Credit for this remarkable achievment, first time out, goes to GM and a wealth of experience of Aussie Program Manager, Jessica Dane; and more credit because nearly one-third of the field never make it to the finish.
Learn more from this 5-minute video of Corvettes at the SPA 24-hour race: https://youtu.be/yWQu-7ZBYKA
The race is sanctioned by the FIA under the SRO Motorsports Group, formerly the Stéphane Ratel Organization that holds World Challenge races in varying formats for GT3 cars in Europe, America and Asia. An estimated 100,000 fans enjoyed a parade into town that kicked off a lavish weekend.
The 4.35-mile SPA circuit is situated in the Ardennes region of Belgium (37 miles from Bastogne and the infamous WW II Battle of the Bulge).
Opened by the Walloons in 1923 (the same year as Le Mans) and traversing 9.3 miles over public roads between the towns of Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot, the great Jim Clark and Dan Gurney were the last in the mid-1960s to brave this daunting circuit; after which it was upgraded several times and shortened to make it safe for the Formula 1 rockets of today.
The overall winner was the # 63 Lamborghini Hurracan GT3 EVO2 fielded by the Austrian Grasser Racing Team, piloted by PRO drivers Jordan PEPPER, Luca ENGSTLER and Mirko BORTOLOTTI who completed 549 laps.
Photo credits SRO WC, Steller, Johor
