Photo: Group C Photography
Stephane Ratel, founder and CEO of SRO Motorsports Group, described next year’s packed June schedule as a “one-year problem” and stressed that “there is nothing we can do” if there were three 24-hour races on three consecutive weekends.
SRO confirmed on Friday the date for the next CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa as part of a five-round Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar, with the event set to take place on June 28 and 29.
The 53rd edition of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, also an IGTC race, will take place the week before on June 21 and 22, while the 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for June 14 and 15.
This means that all three major 24-hour races will take place on consecutive weekends, which presents significant logistical and personnel challenges for many teams and manufacturers.
While Le Mans is traditionally held in mid-June, next year’s N24 will fall in the same month due to the Corpus Christi holiday, which falls on June 19th.
The Eifel long-distance classic is traditionally always held around this holiday in order to ensure enough marshals and enable the event to take place.
Ratel, meanwhile, pointed out that the SRO’s hands were tied regarding the date for the 24 Hours of Spa, as it was in close proximity to the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, which will be held from July 25 to 27 next year.
“It’s a problem,” said Ratel. “But I was with our friends from the Nürburgring again and there’s nothing we can do. We have this appointment.”
“The gap between Spa and Formula 1 is exactly the same. We have these four weeks and that’s what they need.”
“We were even pressured to vacate the paddock very quickly on Monday and Tuesday (last year) because preparations for Formula 1 were starting there.
“There’s nothing we can do about it. Of course we would have liked to push it forward for ourselves, but that was impossible.”
“We have a very limited calendar. We have created three calendars from the WEC calendar and the ADAC and DTM that do not overlap. This is a great advantage for the manufacturers and drivers who can drive in these different championships.”
“If we were to move too, there would be a collision with the Norisring. That is a domino effect. It is very complicated to change the traditional rhythm.
“The important thing is that the Nürburgring 24 have published their calendar for the next four years… But we know that for the next three years, 2026, 2027, 2028, they will come out in May.”
“It’s a one-year problem.
“I don’t know if it was directly our fault, I heard it’s NBC too, but we are very happy that there is no collision with IMSA (at Watkins Glen).
“I know it’s not ideal, but I think we can do it.”
Ratel stated that a change in the date of the Spa 24 Hours was unlikely, as the SRO date at the end of June already represented a deviation from the event’s previous schedule, which has since been adopted by Formula 1.
“We have already deviated from our traditional date at the end of July,” he said. “We want to set this in stone and we really agree with the management of the race track on this.”
“It’s a perfect rhythm. The WEC takes place in May, the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in June and Formula 1 in August. They are three wonderful months with three fantastic events. They are the right reasons.”
When asked by Sportscar365 if he was concerned that the compact schedule could force manufacturers to scale back their involvement in the IGTC rounds, Ratel said: “Where there’s a planing, there’s a shaving.
“We hope not, but we had no choice. We will not go into September.”
“We’re building the event. Presales (for this year’s race) are up 25 percent. Look at the parade, you see this event is growing. We have one main goal.
“I’ve always said that the 24 Hours of Spa is the best 12-hour race in the world. That means everyone came on Saturday morning and left after the party.
“Our aim and our efforts are to make this a four-day event. We rely heavily on camping. With the small concerts on Thursday evening and Friday evening, we want to create an atmosphere that is no longer a one-day event, but a four-day one.
“It takes time and if you want to build up an event over a longer period of time, you shouldn’t postpone it until September.
“We have to stay there. It’s an investment for us. We have advertised in the north of France and in Germany and will continue to do so.”
“We have set ourselves the goal of doubling the number of tickets sold over the next three years compared to last year. Last year we had 80,000 fans over the four days. But the vast majority come on Saturday.”
John Dagys contributed to this report
