The Blancpain Endurance Series travels to the Ardennes Forest this weekend (23-27 July) for the Total 24 Hours of Spa, and McLaren GT will be represented with six examples of the 12C GT3. Customer teams ART Grand Prix and Boutsen-Ginion Racing will both enter two car line-ups, while British-based Von Ryan Racing and MRS-GT are confirmed for one-off entries into the championship with one car each.
Alongside the high octane action on the track, McLaren GT will also showcase the 650S GT3 in the paddock. The new model will debut on GT grids around the world from next year. Von Ryan Racing, owned and run by former McLaren Formula 1 sporting director Dave Ryan, has again put together a strong driver trio, with an extremely strong and experienced line-up set to pilot the 12C GT3. McLaren GT factory driver Rob Bell returns from racing in Asia this season to lead the team alongside 2012 Barcelona 24-hour race winner Tim Mullen and Shane van Gisbergen. The New Zealand racer van Gisbergen is no stranger to endurance racing in a McLaren, having contested the Bathurst 12-hour earlier this season, when the 12C GT3 made its debut at the famous Australian event.
The Boutsen-Ginion Racing team returns to the Total 24 Hours of Spa with the 12C GT3 for the third consecutive season with two cars. Heading to the team’s home race, the Blancpain Endurance Series regulars will continue with the driver trios that contested the last round in Paul Ricard. Oliver Grotz, Karim Ojjeh and Frederic Vervisch will be at the wheel of the #15 car, while the sister #16 McLaren will be piloted by Alex Demirdjan, Shahan Sarkissian and Chris van der Drift. The line-ups will be completed with current International GT Open champion Giorgio Pantano joining the #15 car, and Belgian Michal Schmetz taking the final spot in the #16 car.
The 24 Hours of Spa is one of the most demanding challenges on the motorsport calendar, and the three teams return to the famous Belgian circuit looking to build on the experiences of the last two seasons having all contested the twice-round-the-clock battle of endurance. Early championship contenders ART Grand Prix retain the Pro driver line-ups who currently lead the team championship.
Source : CarDekho
