{"id":8122,"date":"2025-05-08T10:25:40","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T14:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/?p=8122"},"modified":"2025-05-10T10:27:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T14:27:35","slug":"belgium-bound-fia-wec-field-ready-to-ride-ardennes-rollercoaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/08\/belgium-bound-fia-wec-field-ready-to-ride-ardennes-rollercoaster\/","title":{"rendered":"BELGIUM-BOUND FIA WEC FIELD READY TO RIDE ARDENNES ROLLERCOASTER"},"content":{"rendered":"

American drivers look to keep hot streak going in LMGT3<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

8 May 2025–The FIA World Endurance Championship is Spa-bound for round three of its 2025 campaign on 8-10 May, but far from relaxing in a sauna or hot tub, protagonists can expect an exhilarating and exhausting high-speed rollercoaster ride from start-to-finish.<\/p>\n

A staple on the FIA WEC calendar since the series\u2019 inception back in 2012, the iconic 7.004km, 20-turn Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps \u2013 whose illustrious history stretches back more than a century \u2013 is a firm favourite amongst competitors and fans alike. Nestled deep in Belgium\u2019s\u00a0Ardennes forest \u2013 famous for its unpredictable weather \u2013 its undulating, technical and demanding layout unfailingly generates drama, surprises and spills.<\/p>\n

Corners such as Eau Rouge, Blanchimont and La Source are indelibly etched in motorsport legend, and Hypercars hit top speeds of approximately 315km\/h, travelling with a fully open throttle for 58 per cent of the lap. Of the 104 drivers on the grid this weekend \u2013 across both categories, Hypercar and LMGT3 \u2013 28 have previously conquered Spa\u2019s formidable challenge to triumph either overall or in-class.<\/p>\n

The 2024 edition of the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps went down in the record books, as Hertz Team JOTA became the first privateer to win a race outright in FIA WEC\u2019s Hypercar era. Having since joined forces with automotive giant Cadillac, the squad is returning in search of a repeat result.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning as a customer team was a really special moment for us as JOTA,\u201d reflected Will Stevens, one of the architects of that milestone performance. \u201cIt was a chaotic race with the red flag and everything that went on, but I think we executed a good strategy, so it will be cool going back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a circuit that we love driving, and it\u2019s a track where we know the Cadillac has run strongly before. Having been resurfaced last year, the high-grip nature that we are expecting should suit the V-Series.R pretty well, so we head into the weekend with confidence that we are going to turn up with a better package [than at Imola] and be competitive and at the front again.\u201d<\/p>\n

HOME HEROES<\/p>\n

In order to prevail, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA will need to overcome the likes of Ferrari AF Corse \u2013 the Prancing Horse having dominated proceedings so far in FIA WEC in 2025 \u2013 and local favorite BMW M Team WRT, the Li\u00e8ge-based outfit buoyed by a second-place finish last time out at Imola.<\/p>\n

Ferrari is in a fine vein of form indeed, and could arguably be toasting two straight podium lockouts had circumstances played out differently, while BMW is edging ever-nearer to its maiden victory in the series. The Bavarian manufacturer goes into the event off the back of four consecutive top five results with its BMW M Hybrid V8 \u2013 the highest step of the rostrum is surely not far away.<\/p>\n

Although BMW M Team WRT\u2019s regular driver Dries Vanthoor will not be competing due to a clashing commitment, the Belgian\u2019s older brother, Laurens Vanthoor, will take to the track for Porsche Penske Motorsport. Hailing from Hasselt, just an hour up the road from Spa, the reigning world champion has endured a difficult start to his title defense but will be keen to ignite his bid on home soil.<\/p>\n

Kortrijk native Stoffel Vandoorne will similarly be hoping for better fortunes than he enjoyed in Qatar and Italy, as the Team Peugeot TotalEnergies star enters the weekend chasing his first points of the season.<\/p>\n

TOO CLOSE TO CALL<\/p>\n

The LMGT3 division has already witnessed two nail-biting finishes in 2025 \u2013 the closest to-date at Imola, where a scant 0.316 seconds separated the top two. Six different crews have ascended the podium over the opening couple of races, making picking a favorite an impossible task, but two drivers who will be particularly fired-up to shine are home heroes Tom Van Rompuy and Maxime Martin.<\/p>\n

Behind the wheel of his Corvette, the former is eager to replicate the results of the sister TF Sport trio, who arrive at Spa at the summit of the standings, while the latter \u2013 the only Belgian to have won at the circuit in FIA WEC, in 2019 \u2013 will be aiming to take a step forward in Iron Lynx\u2019s Mercedes-AMG LMGT3, a newcomer to the field this year.<\/p>\n

KEY INFO<\/p>\n

The on-track sessions will begin with free practice on Thursday, 8 May. Qualifying \u2013 and the all-important Hyperpole top ten shootout \u2013 starts at 14:40 CET on Friday, 9 May, with the race getting underway at 14:00 CET on Saturday, 10 May.<\/p>\n

For further information, including the full event timetable and entry list, click\u00a0HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch every moment of the action, live or on demand, via the official FIA WEC TV app \u2013 your full-access pass to the FIA World Endurance Championship, including the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans. For further information, click\u00a0HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

American drivers look to keep hot streak going in LMGT3   8 May 2025–The FIA World Endurance Championship is Spa-bound for round three of its 2025 [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8123,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-fia-wec"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8122"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8124,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122\/revisions\/8124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}