24H BARCELONA | Race preview

This weekend marks the third annual edition of the Barcelona 24 Hours held under the joint auspices of the Real Automobil Club de Catalunya and the Dutch based Creventic Organisation. The roots of the race go back much further but it was elevated in 2011 to a new found international status thanks to this collaboration.
For those not familiar with the Creventic events, it is not a “cup” or “championship” series, but rather a loose affiliation of increasingly well organized and well subscribed endurance races—not always 24 hours in length. Their crown jewel is the season opening Dubai 24 Hours.
In Barcelona 60 team will start, an increase from 51 last year. The race features a mix of GT, Touring, and Silhouette categories, as is the case with the other 24 Series rounds. Also very much in the spirit of the Creventic approach, it is friendly yet competitive gathering of well-known professional endurance racers and enthusiastic amateurs. Among the features of Creventic races is the highly effective “Code 60” system of race neutralization. They also incorporate a unique BOP system that involves not only the car’s specific characteristics but also “breakout” minimum lap times and lowered maximum fuel loads for the fastest classes. The overall effect makes for a great mix of strategy amidst conviviality.

Last year’s race saw a rare endurance victory by a McLaren MP4-12C while the 2011 edition featured a win by a Schubert entered BMW Z4. Neither car type is represented this year but the entry is headlined by a trio of Mercedes-Benz Gullwings which means that we may see a result similar to Dubai where a Black Falcon run SLS AMG won overall.

German team Car Collection Motorsport has perhaps the most hands on experience with the mighty Mercedes, although their principal rival, De Lorenzi Racing, also has a deep endurance background, albeit with other marques. Hofor Racing should not be discounted. The relatively new Swiss team has already enjoyed success with touring cars at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.


The Mercedes are running in the A6 class, effectively Creventic’s version of GT3. Three other marques are represented. Barwell Motorsport’s Aston Martin Vantage will probably capture most of the attention thanks to a driving lineup that includes sports car stars Stefan Mücke and Bruno Senna—the latter in good shape after famously jogging for half of a lap along the side of the Interlagos circuit this past Sunday, returning to the pits from his stranded car. Ronnie Bremer leads a Danish based Ferrari F430 and Stadler Motorsport, another famous name in endurance racing going back to the 1970s, has a Porsche 997 GT3 R to complete the top class.

The overall winner will likely come from A6, but two other classes could just as easily vie for top podium spots. SP2 is a catch-all class for Silhouettes and for GTs not conforming to the other groups. At the top of that list is the Callaway built Corvette of Guttroff Motorsport which finished fourth overall last year and always features well at other endurance races. There are two GCs in the class as well. These are the (usually) BMW body style silhouettes from Gomez Competition that utilize large block V8 motors. While fast (and loud), they are often fragile.

Porsche Cup cars are located in their own dedicated 997 class. The Creventic BOP rules and procedures give these very steady performers a decent shot at overall victory and certainly good overall placings. There are five teams entered, quite equally matched in terms of driver lineups and team experience. They are backed by two older 996 variants from Belgium’s Speedlover team.

The SP3 class is nearly equivalent to GT4. It has a healthy and diverse entry of three Ginettas, and one each from BMW, Lotus, and Aston Martin. Netherlands’ highly accomplished sports car man, Cor Euser, enters the Evora that nearly won overall at Silverstone a few years ago. The Audi R8 is a unique version of the car built by members of the Creventic group. The Vantage is from a new Danish team, Perfection Racing, and the M3 is from the well-known German team of Bonk Motorsport. Look for some of the fiercest racing to be within this class.

The Touring car category is divided into three petrol categories and two for diesels. The largest displacement set, A5, is also one of the largest classes in the race. All nine entries are BMWs, including several M3 variants as well as a potent 130i Cup from France’s LD Racing. The rest are a mix of veteran teams from Germany’s VLN Series and Britain’s Britcar championship.

Apart from a lone VW Scirocco, the A3T class consists wholly of Seat Leon Supercopas. Three home-grown Catalan teams are included and it should be noted that the Spanish based teams are happily beginning to return. After a good showing in 2011, last year’s edition saw almost no local teams—a testament no doubt to the economic crisis. It has eased enough that for 2013 we have nine Spanish teams and 28 drivers from the host country. Of course, the Barcelona 24 Hours is more international than ever. In addition to nearly every European country being represented there are teams and drivers from Mexico, Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, and South Africa.

The ten car A2 class should see a great battle between three distinct marques, the Mini, Renault Clios, and three Honda Civic. At least four of the A2 teams have ample experience at 24 hour racing, including Besaplast (Mini), Team Sally (Clio), Roadrunner (Clio), and VDS (Honda).

Spain’s Black Motorsport is the defending champion in D1 and they are returning with their very dependable Seat Leon 1.9 Tdi. Ranged against it are another Seat plus one Golf—thus accounting for VAG diesels, the distant cousins of the Audi R18! The other diesels are all BMWs, including the 2011 class winner, the 120d of Cor Euser Racing.

The Barcelona 24H race is set near one of Europe’s most beautiful cities and near many famed Mediterranean resorts, this should be another great blend of good company and good competition — very much the spirit of the Creventic series.

Special thanks to Janos Wimpffen, for writing the article.

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