It’s time for the big one – the flagship race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS – the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa this weekend – and McLaren Factory Driver Ollie Wilkinson is looking for his first result in what is one of the most demanding races on the motorsport calendar.
Yorkshireman Wilkinson heads to the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, home to the Belgium Formula One Grand Prix, ready to make his 24 Hours debut with the Le Mans-winning JOTA squad aboard the McLaren 720S GT3. Teamed once again with fellow Factory Drivers Rob Bell and Ben Barnicoat, Wilkinson will be looking to build upon the positive progress made in their first Endurance Cup finish of the season in the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000km last month.
There the trio climbed from 19th to 11th of the 47-car field until a delay in the third round of pitstops dropped the JOTA McLaren down the order. Despite taking another enforced stop in the closing stages, the #38 car came home as the highest placed McLaren in 16th overall.
Since then, Wilkinson and Barnicoat also resumed their Sprint Cup duties at Misano, Italy, once again underlining their podium potential. Wilkinson’s epic first lap charge from 12th to seventh helped spur Barnicoat on to run as high as fifth and threaten the fight for third, before finishing eighth in race two.
Although his first Spa 24 Hours racing with the JOTA outfit, Wilkinson is no stranger to the Belgium circuit. He and Bradley Ellis took outright British GT victory there in 2019 in Aston Martin machinery. Wilkinson also claimed Pro-Am victory in the GT Open series the year prior – in only his second year of competition.
Preparation for the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa begins with free practice and pre-qualifying on Thursday, ahead of the all-important qualifying session, plus compulsory night practice. The top 20 qualifiers on Thursday then go through to Super Pole on Friday evening. The lights go green for 2021 TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa at 16:30, with live coverage throughout the race on the GT World You Tube Channel.
TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa – Provisional Schedule
Thursday, July 29th
10:50-12:20 – Free Practice Live timing at gt-world-challenge-europe.com
15:45-16:45 – Pre-Qualifying Live timing at gt-world-challenge-europe.com
20:50-22:11 – Qualifying Watch live
22:30-00:00 – Night Practice Watch live
Friday, July 30th
19:10-19:40 – Warm-up
19:50-20:20 – Super Pole Watch live
Saturday, July 31st
15:40-16:25 – Start Ceremony Watch live
16:30 – Race start (24 Hours) Watch live
Sunday, August 1st
16:30 – Race ends
All times CEST.
For further information visit www.totalenergies24hours.com