Mercedes-AMG Motorsport secured promising grid positions for the 24-hour race in today's Superpole individual time trials at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Jules Gounon (AND) set a lap time of 2m 15.527s in the #17 Mercedes-AMG GT3 on his second lap. This means that the Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed will start from second position tomorrow.
Two further Mercedes-AMG GT3s competing in the PRO category at this year's edition of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa finished just a few tenths of a second behind. Local hero Maxime Martin (BEL) qualified in third position for the home race of his team Boutsen VDS. Lucas Auer (AUT) completed the cohesive team performance and finished fifth on the grid with the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER.
The 20 participants in Superpole had two flying laps at their disposal. The session was temporarily stopped for around 20 minutes due to an accident and the subsequent need for repair work on the track barriers.
>> Superpole
Thursday: Several interruptions characterise eventful qualification
The three Mercedes-AMG GT3s secured their place in Superpole in Thursday’s four-part qualifying. During the evening session, which was interrupted a total of four times by a red flag, the fastest combined lap time from the segments determined the starting position and entry into Superpole. As only three drivers take turns at the wheel of the PRO cars, the top class drivers did not participate until the second qualifying segment.
The best-placed Mercedes-AMG GT3 after the top 20 Superpole entrants was the #57 from Winward Racing, which qualified in 24th place overall and thus fourth in the GOLD class. Another Mercedes-AMG GT3, the #0 from GoodSmile Racing (P30), made it into the top 30, while the #3 from GetSpeed (P9 SILVER), the #10 from Boutsen VDS (P10 SILVER) and the #4 from CrowdStrike by SPS (P6 PRO-AM) all achieved a top 10 grid position in their respective class.
Winward Racing's #81 was unable to take part in qualifying due to necessary repairs after pre-qualifying. Like the #611 of Nordique Racing, which hit the barriers of the Raidillon section in Q1, the car will be back in action in time for the start of the 24-hour race tomorrow at 4:30 pm CEST. Before then, the teams and drivers will have another opportunity to gather final experience and data for the endurance classic in the 30-minute warm-up this evening, starting at 8:20 pm CEST.
>> Qualifying
Wednesday: Unique atmosphere with over 10,000 visitors at the drivers' parade
The event weekend in the Belgian Ardennes once again opened with the traditional parade this year, leading from the racetrack to the centre of Spa. On Wednesday evening, more than 10,000 fans welcomed the participants of the 77th edition of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa on the Place Royale. The GT2 and GT4 racing cars from the supporting series were also part of the event, which took place in perfect weather conditions and lasted until 9:00 pm CEST.
Facts, Data, Figures
Superpole conditions:
- Participants: 20 (18 PRO, 2 GOLD)
- Cloudy and dry, Air temperature 18-19 degrees Celsius
- Track temperature 26-30 degrees Celsius
Track Facts Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps:
- Length: 7.004 km (Layout since 2007)
- Turns: 20 (9 left, 11 right)
- Opening: 1921
- First 24h-race: 1924
Further schedule CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa 2025 (CEST):
- Friday, 27 June, 8:20 – 8:50 pm: Warm-up
- Saturday, 28 June, 4:30 pm: Race start
- Sunday, 29 June, 4:30 pm: Finish
Mercedes-AMG grid positions:
P2: #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed
P3: #9 Boutsen VDS
P5: #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER
P24: #57 Winward Racing
P30: #0 GoodSmile Racing
P51: #3 GetSpeed
P52: #222 2 Seas Motorsport
P53: #10 Boutsen VDS
P56: #6 GetSpeed
P71: #4 CrowdStrike by SPS
P73: #611 Nordique Racing
P75: #81 Winward Racing
“As expected, we saw an exciting and thrilling qualifying session. In the end, it wasn't enough for pole position. Nevertheless, our grid positions put us in a very good starting position for tomorrow's race. We gave our all and showed a cohesive team performance. That's how we want to start the race as well.”
Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing
“We made a good start to the weekend, qualifying on Thursday went quite well for us. Fifth place on the grid - and therefore the third row - is a solid starting position. I hope that we get off to a good start tomorrow, make up a few places right at the beginning and get through the 24 hours without any major incidents. I feel very comfortable on the track and am looking forward to the race.”
Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER #48
“The Superpole is one of the highlights of the weekend. No traffic, no tyre management, simply perfect conditions for our Mercedes-AMG GT3. Second place on the grid is an excellent result. It's always an advantage to start from the front. In 2022, we started the race from pole and won. Last year, we started from third place and unfortunately retired.”
Jules Gounon, Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #17
“It's always fun to drive a lap without traffic at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and get the maximum out of the Mercedes-AMG GT3. Third place on the grid is a good result, but in the end we obviously want to be at the top at the end of the race. A 24-hour race is a long one, so we are now continuing to concentrate fully on the best possible preparation. And of course, I'm hoping for a strong result for us on Sunday.”
Maxime Martin, Boutsen VDS #9
