Unsurprisingly Audi, winner of three of the last four Spa 24-hour races (2011, 2012 et 2014), will be fielding the highest number of previous Le Mans victors. All eyes will be on the R8 LMS #6 driven by André Lotterer and Marcel Fässler (three-time Le Mans winners), joined by Mike Rockenfeller, winner at Le Mans in 2010 and current distance record-holder. Stéphane Ortelli, victorious at Le Mans in a Porsche 911 GT1 in 1998, will be at the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS #2. Meanwhile Brit Guy Smith, who claimed victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours in a Bentley, alongside Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello, is still a factory driver for the British marque. He will be on the starting line at Spa, at the wheel of a Continental GT3. Christophe Bouchut, winner at his first Le Mans outing in 1993, will be racing a Mercedes at Spa-Francorchamps.

Belgian Laurens Vanthoor (Audi R8 LMS n°1), reigning champion at Spa-Francorchamps, will be out to defend his title after an impressive race at Le Mans, where he posted the fastest LM P2 class time on Test Day (31 May) in the JS P2 for OAK Racing. On his home track, he will again be teaming up with the two drivers who helped him to victory in 2014, Germans Markus Winkelhock and René Rast. Rast also excelled at Le Mans this year at the wheel of Audi’s third R18 e-tron quattro prototype. Two-time defending world champion GT drivers, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander are remaining loyal to the Ferrari 458 Italia and AF Corse. French squad TDS Racing are aiming for the European Le Mans Series title in both LM P2 and GTC, and will be fielding their BMW Z4, joined by Mathias Beche, who drives for Rebellion Racing (LM P1) in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Olivier Pla, now a Nissan factory driver, will be racing a GT-R NISMO GT3 alongside Gaëtan Paletou, Nissan GT Academy graduate, while Kevin Estre, Vanthoor’s team-mate at Le Mans, will be out on the track for McLaren, as one of their factory drivers.

Other faces from the 24 Hours of Le Mans set to appear at Spa-Francorchamps include Marco Bonanomi, Abdulaziz Al Faisal, Alex Buncombe, Rob Bell, Matt Griffin, Duncan Cameron, Davide Rigon and Nicki Thiim.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO
Translated from French by Clair Pickworth

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), PLACE DE LA REPUBLIQUE, SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2015, SCRUTINEERING AHEAD OF THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. Three-time winner at Le Mans and the WEC 2015 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Audi’s Marcel Fässler will be setting his sights on a second victory at the 24 Hours of Spa, after his 2007 win in a Corvette.