The 25th edition of theHankook 24H BARCELONA is this weekend!
GENNEP (10 September, 2024) – CREVENTIC is ready to celebrate the 25th edition of the Hankook 24H BARCELONA - Trofeo Fermí Vélez with a star-studded line-up of drivers, including former series champions, former world champions and Le Mans legends, 24H SERIES record setters, and even a multi-time contender at the Indy 500.
Organized for the first time as the 24 Horas de Barcelona de Automovilismo 27 years ago, Barcelona’s largest 24-hour motor race has been held every year bar two since then, and hosted 12 times, so far, by CREVENTIC since being revived by the Dutch promoter in 2011. Without question, the 25th edition of this illustrious event, which also closes out the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook in 2024, could be among the most competitive yet, given the talent on the grid.
2017 Overall GT Teams’ ‘Continents’ champion Herberth Motorsport (#91), one of three former outright winners of the Hankook 24H BARCELONA on this year’s grid, could secure a record-extending fourth victory this weekend.
Should the Bavarian team do so, Ralf Bohn, set to compete with fellow GT3 Drivers’ standings leaders Jason Hart and Scott Noble, plus Dustin Blattner, could become only the second driver to take a fourth outright win at the Hankook 24H BARCELONA, following his victories with Herberth in 2016, 2018 and 2021. Spain’s Òscar Nogues currently holds the record, having won overall between 2002 and 2004, and again in 2009.
2017 Overall GT Teams’ ‘Europe’ champion Hofor-Racing took its first overall 24H SERIES win in Barcelona in 2013, and will be looking for another strong performance, and potentially another podium, in 2024. The Swiss team closes out its European season with Alexander Prinz, Maximilian Partl and 2017 Overall GT Drivers’ ‘Europe’ champions Michael Kroll, Chantal Prinz and Kenneth Heyer.
Spain’s E2P Racing (#90) is on course to take a second title in the 24H SERIES with current GT3-PRO/AM standings leaders Pablo Burguera, Antonio Sainero and Álvaro Parente. The trio will be joined aboard the Porsche 991.2 GT3 R by E2P Group CEO Javier Morcillo.
Fresh off its first overall 24H SERIES win in Misano, the Saintéloc Junior Team (#18) will be looking to secure a second consecutive victory with 2022 GT3 Drivers’ ‘Europe’ champions Michael Doppelmayr, Pierre Kaffer and Elia Erhart, Christer Jöns, who took class victory with the trio last year in Estoril, and series newcomer Stephane Tribaudini.
Land Motorsport (#34), the GT3-AM winner last time out in Misano, was also victorious in-class last year in Barcelona. Fittingly, the 2009 24H DUBAI has confirmed its winning line-up from last year – Dr Johannes Kirchoff, Ingo and Tim Vogler, and Wiggo Dalmo – alongside the returning Elmar Grimm aboard its Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II.
Red Camel-Jordans.nl (#9), which finished 3rd overall at this past weekend’s inaugural 992 Endurance Cup, will make a rare appearance in the 24H SERIES’ GT3 field. The Dutch team has entered an Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II in collaboration with Juta Racing, and has confirmed Breukers father-sons trio Ivo, Luc and Rik aboard the ‘Red Camel by Juta Racing’ Audi with 2019 Overall TCE Drivers’ ‘Europe’ champion Fabian Danz.
This marks the Dutch team’s first outing with an Audi R8 since the Hankook 24H DUBAI in 2015.
Juta Racing has also entered a standalone Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II (#71) for Lithuanian countrymen Arunas Geciauskas, Aurimas Jablonskis and Sigitas Ambrazevicius. Estonia’s Martin Ryba, back for his first race since Monza in 2020, and New Zealand’s Francois Beziac complete the line-up.
Poulsen Motorsport (#14) made its 24H SERIES return after a seven-year hiatus at the Hankook 24H BARCELONA in 2022, and went on to finish 4th overall. The Danish team will look to take that elusive podium with team owner Roland Poulsen, Kristian Poulsen, Alfred Nilsson, and BMW works driver Jens Klingmann.
Optimum Motorsport (#4) is gearing up for its first 24H SERIES event in three years, and its first European outing with CREVENTIC since 2017. The British team has registered the only McLaren 720S GT3 EVO in the field for Todd Coleman, Aaron Telitz, Robert Megennis and Frederik Schandorff.
RD Signs – Siauliai racing team (#69) makes its first start since Spa-Francochamps, and has confirmed that Audrius Butkevicius, Nicola Michelon, Paulius Paskevicius, Ramunas Capkauskas, and series newcomer Paulius Ruskys will race the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO. ARC Bratislava (#44) rounds out the GT3 entrants, and has also entered a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO for Miro and Adam Konopka, Zdeno Mikulasko, Andrzej Lewandowski and Petr Brecka.
Vortex V8 is on course to secure its second GTX Teams’ title with the brand-new Vortex 2.0, one year on from the model’s launch at the same event. The French independent will also hope to secure the 2024 GTX Drivers’ championships for Philippe Bonnel, Gilles Courtois and Lionel Amrouche (#701). For the first time in the 24H SERIES, Lionel will be joined in the Vortex 2.0 by his daughter, and 992-AM podium finisher, Solenn.
Lucas Sugliano, Cyril Calmon, Miguel Moiola and Pierre Fontaine (#702) will pilot the second Vortex 2.0.
Razoon – More Than Racing (#714), winner of the GTX Teams’ title in the 2022-2023 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy, took GTX class victory at last year’s Hankook 24H BARCELONA. Daniel Drexel, Artur Chwist and Christian Loimayr, part of the Austrian team’s winning line-up in 2023, will compete with Simon Birch in the KTM X-BOW GTX.
Ayrton and Yannick Redant, the 992 Drivers’ ‘Europe’ champions of 2022, continue their partnership with Kobe de Breucker in Barcelona (#903). Brent Verheyen and Peter Guelinckx meanwhile will team with Gavin Pickering for the first time this season in Red Ant Racing’s sister Porsche 992 GT3 Cup (#904).
RPM Racing (#907) is on course to secure its second successive 992-AM Teams’ title in Barcelona. Reigning 992-AM Drivers’ champions Tracy Krohn, Niclas Jönsson and Philip Hamprecht will team with Patrick Huisman.
RPM’s closest championship rival, Orchid Racing Team (#917), closes out its first full European endurance season with CREVENTIC with Antonio Garzon and Alexandre Mottet (currently 2nd and 3rd in the 992-AM Drivers’ standings), and team staples Laurent Misbach, and Jeremy Brodard.
Reigning TCR Teams’ champion Holmgaard Motorsport (#902), still in its first season with the new Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, has confirmed Holmgaard brothers – and reigning TCR Drivers’ champions – Magnus and Jonas will partner long-time Danish compatriot Martin vedel Mortensen, Michel Sallenbach, and two-time Hankook 24H DUBAI TCE winner Stéphane Perrin in Barcelona.
Fresh from its AM-class podium at this past weekend’s 992 Endurance Cup, Seblajoux Racing (#908) continues its affiliation with former 24H SERIES class champion DUWO Racing at Barcelona, doing so with team founder Sebastien Lajoux and Lauris Nauroy. The latter finished on the 992-AM podium with the team, on his debut, in Portimão.
After a bruising outing at the 992 Endurance Cup, Mühlner Motorsport (#918) is set to make its first 24H SERIES start since January’s Hankook 24H DUBAI. The Belgian team has so far confirmed Bryan Sircely, also back for his first race since Dubai, and series debutant Antal Zsigo.
Like Mühlner, MRS GT-Racing (#988) ran a three-car line-up at last weekend’s 992 Endurance Cup in Belgium, and will hope for better luck for Rolando Saca, Amadeo Quiros, Antti Rammo, Charlie Fonseca and Jukka Honkavuori in Barcelona.
Competing in its first 24H SERIES event in Europe this weekend, the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation continues its affiliation with HRT Performance (#931). ‘QMMF by HRT,’ AM winner at the 992 Endurance Cup, has registered Qatari compatriots Abdulla Ali Al Khelaifi, Ghanim Al Ali and Ibrahim Al Abdulghani alongside Julian Hanses. HRT Performance (#967) has also entered a stand-alone Porsche for David Holloway and Jon Kearny so far.
Fellow series staple NKPP by Bas Koeten Racing (#992) will run an identical line-up to last year’s Hankook 24H BARCELONA: Gijs Bessem, Harry Hilders (both class podium finishers at the event), Bob Herber, and Mark van der Aa.
The tellingly named ‘Road to Le Mans’ (#949), which contested last year’s race as ‘Escuderia Faraon,’ rounds out the 992 field. The Spanish team has confirmed Agustin Sanabria Crespo, Pablo Bras Silvero, Fernando Gonzalez Gonzalez and Pedro Miguel Lourinho Bras will drive alongside event legend Francesc Gutiérrez Agüi.
Since the inaugural 24 Horas de Barcelona de Automovilismo in 1998, Francesc Gutiérrez has entered all of them, has raced at all but two of them, secured overall victory in 1998 and 2008, and took four additional class wins in 2000, 2011, 2014 and 2018.
2021 Overall GT Teams’ champion ST Racing (#428) makes its return to the 24H SERIES’ for the first time since last year’s Hankook 24H BARCELONA, and its first start in CREVENTIC’s GT4 category since its title-winning campaign. The Canadian team has entered its new ‘G82’ gen BMW M4 GT4 for 2021 Overall GT Drivers’ champions Samantha Tan and Jon Miller, BMW works driver Neil Verhagen, and Fabian Duffieux, winner of the GT4 Drivers’ title in the 2023-2024 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy.
Indy 500 star Pippa Mann, only the 10th female driver (of 11 to-date) to enter IndyCar’s biggest race at The Brickyard, joins ST Racing for her 24H SERIES debut.
Team Africa Le Mans (#455) similarly makes its return to the 24H SERIES in Barcelona. The South African outfit is set to make its first series start in seven years with a Ginetta G55 GT4, and will do so with team founder Greg Mills, record-setting three-time Hankook 24H DUBAI winner Jeroen Bleekemolen, five-time overall 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro, the latter’s son Cris, and 1988 Le Mans winner Jan Lammers.
GSR Motorsport (#405) has also entered a Ginetta for Barcelona (a G56 GT4), and reunites Mindaugas Liatukas, Rokas Kvedaras, Aras Kvedaras and Egidijus Gelūnas – four of its five-strong podium-finishing line-up at this year’s Hankook 24H PORTIMAO – for Barcelona. The Lithuanian quartet will be joined by compatriot Dovydas Ketvirtis.
2017 Hankook 24H BARCELONA winner NM Racing Team (#415) will be looking to secure a third win at its home event this weekend. The Barcelona-based team, which also took GT4 class victory in 2018, has entered a Mercedes-AMG GT4 for Manel Lao (the Spaniard has competed at the last three editions), series debutants Igor Sorokin, Guillermo Aso and Max Huber, and the USA’s Keith Gatehouse.
Lionspeed GP (#424) will look to close out its first full campaign as a standalone entry with, potentially, its fourth category podium of 2024. The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport will be driven by José Garcia, Patrick Kolb and Dennis Bohn – who have already taken three GT4 runners-up spots together this season– and Daniel Miller.
Apex MP Racing (#414) and Venture Engineering (#421) round out the GT4 entries for Barcelona. The Slovenian outfit has confirmed Milos Pavlovic, Petar Matic, Alessio Ruffini and Mihael Ambroz with drive its KTM X-BOW GT4, while the British outfit will run Neville and Chris Jones, and Matt George (British Endurance Championship class champions), and Owen Hizzey aboard its Mercedes-AMG GT4.
2020 Overall GT Teams’ ‘Continents’ champion SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#127) headlines the TCE field with its Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS. The German team has confirmed Henning Eschweiler and Benito Tagle, who secured 2nd in TCX at Spa, will team with Tommy Gråberg, back for his first CREVENTIC race since Dubai 2022, and series debutant Richard Jodexnis.
Two-time 24H SERIES class champion CWS Engineering (#178) has entered its traditional Ginetta G55, which will be driven by series mainstay, and two-time class champion, Colin White, Daniel Morris and Paul Buccini.
asBest RACING (#101) and J-Mec Engineering (#133) will make their maiden appearances with CREVENTIC in Barcelona. The former has entered a SEAT León Cup Racer for Junichi Umemoto and Nadir Zuhour, while the latter will run a BMW M3 E46 for James Collings, Kevin Clarke and Nigel Greensall.
Following optional CREVENTIC Track Days on the Wednesday and Thursday, official track action gets underway with Free Practice on Friday 13 September between 12.45 hrs and 14.15 hrs local time. This will be followed by two hours of qualifying later that same afternoon between 16.30 hrs and 18.30 hrs.
The 25th edition of the Hankook 24H BARCELONA gets underway at 12.00 hrs on Saturday 14 September, and is scheduled to run uninterrupted until 12.00 hrs the following day (Sunday 15 September). Following the 24-hour event, CREVENTIC will crown its new European champions with a celebratory prize-giving.
The action will be live with commentary from radiolemans.com on the official 24H SERIES YouTube channel. Regular updates will also be published on X (@24HSeries), Facebook (24H Series) and Instagram (24H Series). Further details can also be found at www.24hseries.com/races.