Spa, a Maserati-Corvette duel?

If the 24 Hours of Spa has the originality of bringing together "local" drivers, certainly fewer than before, and professional drivers, the main battle of this endurance race will be at the level of the premier category, the GT1. Accustomed to opposing each other in two-hour FIA-GT races, the Maseratis, Corvette and Saleen will this time compete for victory over a distance unlike any other event of the season. With three cars each, the Maseratis and the Corvettes will be the best represented, while there will only be one Saleen, and two cars in 2010 specification, the Ford GT and the Nissan GT-R.

For this not-to-be-missed event, the teams have recruited experienced drivers to expand their usual crews. At Vitaphone Racing, which enters two Maserati MC 12s, the triple pole-sitter (2007 to 2009) of 24 Hours of Le Mans and winner at Spa last year, Stéphane Sarrazin, comes to support the 2008 FIA-GT champion crew, Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini, with Alex negrao in support. The German team has also enlisted, for the No. 2 Maserati, Pedro Lamy and Eric Van de Poele, who join Miguel Ramos and Alex Müller. After three victories in Spa, Vitaphone Racing seems able to once again dominate the legendary Ardennes race. A third Maserati (Vitaphone Racing DHL team) will maximize the Italians' chances of victory.

Faced with the Maseratis, the Corvette C6.R will be formidable rivals. In FIA-GT, that of the Selleslagh team was able to improve its performances throughout the races, ranking 6th, 5th then 4th, at Silverstone, Adria and Oschersleben. With Bert Longin, James Ruffier, Maxime Soulet and Oliver Gavin, the crew can hope to aim for the podium. The Corvette from the PK Carsport team hopes to play for victory. Winner of the last race, at Oschersleben, Mike Hezemans and Anthony Kumpen will be accompanied by Jos Menten and Kurt Mollekens. The proximity of the starting crew, three points behind Bartels/Bertolini, in the world championship standings, could give wings to the PK Carsport team. The third Corvette, that of the Sangari team Bazil team, is prepared by the DKR Engineering team, seems to be a step below, with less experienced drivers (Enrique Bernoldi and Roberto Streit). However, they are joined by the Dutchman Xavier Maassen, usually fielded by the Luc Alphand Aventures team, and who collected good results at the start of the season.

Faced with these two heavyweights of the FIA-GT, the only Saleen competing at Spa seems very lonely, after the withdrawal of the K plus K team, which had nevertheless achieved very good results, especially at Silverstone (victory), with the very experienced Wendlinger/Sharp duo. However, it is an experienced crew (Monfardini, Hines and the van der Zwaan brothers) who will drive the only Saleen S7, that of Full Speed ​​Racing.

Alongside these seven cars, the two GT1 cars in 2010 specification will try to do well, even if the “GT1-2009” should be superior to them. The Nissan GT-R and the Ford GT are recent and have not accumulated as much experience as their predecessors but these 24 Hours of Spa, in the event of a full race, should allow them to make a big leap forward in view of the next GT1 world championship.