No fewer than 64 cars will be eligible to score points for the second round of the 2017 Intercontinental GT Challenge, the Total 24 Hours of Spa. After their win in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, Ferrari will travel to Belgium as the championship leader, but thanks to their podium finishes in Australia, Porsche and Bentley are not far behind.
Due to the rule change at the beginning of the 2017 Intercontinental GT Challenge, all GT3 cars in the Total 24 Hours of Spa are now eligible to score points for the global GT3 series. Mercedes-AMG, absent at the opening round in Australia, will try to make up for lost ground by bringing the largest delegation of all eleven manufacturers to Spa: there will be 13 GT3 cars with the three-pointed star on the grid.
However, Ferrari will be in a good position to defend its lead. Not only because several of their teams will enter a full professional line-up, but also because there are eleven Prancing Horses at the start, increasing Ferrari’s chances to score valuable points. Their closest competitors in the Intercontinental GT Challenge manufacturer standings – Porsche and Bentley – will have three representatives each.
In the driver standings, Marc Lieb is the highest placed driver who will be taking part in the Total 24 Hours of Spa. The German driver finished second in Bathurst and will be co-driving the #911 Herberth Motorsport Porsche in Spa. Three points down the standings are Bentley Boys Steven Kane, Guy Smith and Oliver Jarvis, sharing the #7 Team M-Sport Continental GT3.
After retiring in the opening round, defending Intercontinental GT Challenge driver champion Laurens Vanthoor hopes to score important points in his home race, at the wheel of the #117 KÜS Team75 Bernhard Porsche.
Please note that in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, points will only be scored at the end of the Total 24 Hours of Spa. There will be no points distribution at the 6- or 12-hour mark. Only the first two cars of each manufacturer will score points.
