Almost every motorsport fan knows the 24 Hours of Spa. Over five hundred laps, day and night, rain, hail, or shine around Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. That’s over 3,500km, 10,000 gear shifts, or 40,000 calories burned per car and driver. But what you don’t often see are the 120 hours of support racing that leads up to the world-famous Belgian race.
Earlier this summer, I joined Aston (RennCurator) in Belgium for what was both our first time at Spa and three days of track time. It all kicked off on Wednesday with a few laps in what might be the ultimate practice car: the Manthey Racing 997 4.2.
For Aston, Wednesday was all about getting familiar with the circuit before being thrown straight into the deep end. Time to figure out what Spa, and, most importantly, its iconic first corner, Eau Rouge, was all about.
Mastering the high-speed section takes a certain blend of brains and balls, especially in a rear-engined Porsche. But with each lap, Aston’s commitment grew and confidence in the car followed; the next 18 corners were a breeze by comparison.
After this brief introduction, it was time for Aston to jump into the big leagues, and the real reason we’d travelled to Spa for the week: the GT3 Legends support race.
Just a couple of months prior, Aston had picked up a 2012 997 GT3 R. The former GT300 machine wasn’t entirely new to him, as he’d had a quick run in the car at race two of the series, Donington Park. However, a 24-Hour weekend at Spa was a big jump in pressure.
Before the race, however, was the annual Spa City Center takeover. Two hundred and 50-plus race cars and tens of thousands of spectators filled the small town of Spa for one night. While this was, for the most part, a great excuse to drink beer at a local bar, seeing all of these cars outside their usual circuit habitat was a real spectacle.
Thursday arrived, and with it, free practice. Jumping out of the MR 997 and into the GT3 R was a real step up for Aston. Not only that, it was time for some door-to-door experience. Standing trackside along pit lane as the GT3 Legend cars blew past was totally incomparable to the street cars the previous day. I’m not sure there’s a better motorsport spectating spot anywhere in the world.
After a handful of laps and some wise words from Aston’s co-driver, Ollie Bryant, we fast-forward to Friday for Qualifying. While GT3 Legends is more of an enthusiast series, the competition remains fierce. Many of these chassis are now over 10 years old, yet they still run close to the current Spa 24-Hour race pace.
Friday and Saturday were race days; crowds had multiplied, and the grid held a nerve that qualifying and practice didn’t. Shooting on the starting grid in front of thousands of spectators, staring down the straight of one of the world’s most famous motorsport corners, was easily one of my photography career highlights so far.
While Aston missed out on a podium, we both came away with a motorsport experience for the books. Series like GT3 Legends aren’t necessarily about the result; they’re more about the spectacle for both the crowd and the driver. Many people consider these cars to be the peak of modern motorsport, and keeping them active is integral to preserving motorsport history.
Thank you, Aston and ERA Motorsport, for the incredible week. Till 2027!
