24h Spa-Francorchamps: Stacked grid lines up for BMW’s 26th overall win

BMW M Motorsport rolls into the 2026 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with a single goal: score the manufacturer’s 26th overall victory at the Ardennes classic. The assault features eight BMW M4 GT3 EVO cars—four fielded by BMW’s works-supported teams ROWE Racing and Team WRT, and four more entered by customer squads—across Pro, Gold, Silver, and Bronze categories. The race also counts toward both the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup and the Intercontinental GT Challenge titles. BMW’s last Spa triumph came in 2023, when ROWE Racing delivered the marque’s record 25th win.

This season the same team already claimed third at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, while Team WRT has racked up pole and a runner-up finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the BMW M Hybrid V8, plus a maiden FIA WEC victory at Spa in May. ROWE Racing will field two M4 GT3 EVOs: the #98 Pro Cup entry shared by Augusto Farfus (BRA), Jake Dennis (GBR), and Raffaele Marciello (SUI), and the #998 Gold Cup entry piloted by Ugo de Wilde (BEL), Tim Tramnitz (GER), and Jens Klingmann (GER). Team WRT brings two Pro Cup cars: the #32 driven by Kelvin van der Linde (RSA), Jordan Pepper (RSA), and Charles Weerts (BEL), and the #46 shared by Dan Harper (GBR), Max Hesse (GER), and Valentino Rossi (ITA). Customer entries include two Silver/Bronze cars from Paradine Competition, a Silver Cup entry from Team WRT, and a Bronze Cup car from Oman Racing by Century Motorsport.

Race week kicks off with a private test on Tuesday 23 June, followed by the traditional Spa parade on Wednesday evening. Qualifying and Superpole sessions run Thursday and Friday, with the 16:30 local start on Saturday. BMW M Motorsport head Andreas Roos said the season’s podiums at Daytona, Nürburgring, and Le Mans have given the squad momentum heading into Spa. Team WRT principal Vincent Vosse targets a performance “every bit as strong” as the Le Mans outing, while ROWE Racing’s Hans-Peter Naundorf vowed to keep both cars up front and fighting for podiums after two near-misses in recent editions.