WEC Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps this Saturday

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TF Sport will roll into Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps this week intent on maintaining its championship lead, winning its second race of the FIA World Endurance Championship season and readying itself for the biggest race of the year in a month’s time.

Two of TF Sport’s Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are set for Saturday’s Six Hours of Spa and third round of the WEC year. Both Corvettes are coming off points-paying finishes – one of three manufacturers to do so in the LMGT3 class – the last time out at Imola.

Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating in the No. 33 Corvette will carry an 11-point lead (and the mandatory success handicap weight) into Spa-Francorchamps. After winning the season-opening race in Qatar, the trio finished a solid seventh in LMGT3 at Imola after starting 16th.

The No. 33 Corvette finished one spot behind its sister entry, the No. 81 Z06 GT3.R of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy.
Their Imola race was a solid rebound from a DNF at Qatar, and the lineup is back at Spa for the second year in a row with hopes of continuing its climb back into the championship picture.

This is the fifth straight year for the Corvette program at the Six Hours of Spa with a best result of runner-up in the 2023 GTE Am class, an entry that Keating was part of.

As is the case every year, Spa is a key race for WEC teams as it is the final dress-rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Corvette Racing as a program has nine class victories at the French classic, and TF Sport is anxious to use Spa as one last competitive test before this year’s 24 Hours.

The Six Hours of Monza is scheduled for 8 a.m. ET / 2 p.m. CET on Saturday.
Full live streaming coverage of Free Practice 3, qualifying and the race will be available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will stream audio coverage of Friday’s final practice and qualifying, plus Saturday’s race.

DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We come to Spa still leading the championship, which is a big positive considering the challenges we faced at Imola. But again TF Sport did a great job with our Corvette… no mistakes and no errors. We will need more of that at Spa, which is a great circuit and one of my favorites.
I enjoyed getting to race it last year as part of the WEC for the first time. The goal this year is to maximize our opportunities and our points plus get through the weekend without any issues so we can be best prepared for Le Mans.”

JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m looking forward to Spa in the Corvette. It’s a track that I really like. So far we have been doing a good job of not making mistakes, great strategy and executing our plan for the event.
If we can do the same thing at Spa, we should have another good weekend where we can maximize our potential and our points, which is all we can ask.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It is always a pleasure to drive at Spa. The last time I was there was in a Corvette. We had a great weekend and a great fight for second with TF Sport. That was my third consecutive runner-up finish, so I would really like to win this race! It will be very challenging for us, just as it was at Imola. But we were able to overcome things there with no mistakes, no penalties and maximizing our time on track. We did it then, and we will try to do it again at Spa.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We have good momentum going into Spa. It’s one of my favorite tracks in the world and a race where I’ve had a lot of success, so I definitely want to keep that going. I think we’re progressing well at just the right time. Spa is an important race for the championship and to point us in the right direction for Le Mans. So it’s a big weekend for those two reasons, and I’m excited to follow up on our positive run at Imola with Rui and Tom.”

RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It was nice to bounce back and come away with a positive result at Imola.
We need to keep working at it in order to maximize our points here at Spa and of course at Le Mans. I feel like our team continues to get better and stronger together. That’s a good sign heading into two critical races.”

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“The next race is my home race in Spa! Hopefully we can replicate this performance and get on the podium. That would be nice for my home fans and my family. I have high hopes.
The car is working really well and everything in the team is fine. If we are in a good position with the Corvette again, I’m sure we can get a good result.”

 

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For the two practice sessions
The Corvettes would have done better if they stayed home, as the fastest they placed was 36th ion their class :-(

 

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Second practice, TF Sport Corvettes sucked

in LMGT3, Zacharie Robichon was fastest in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 (2:18.326). He was less than 0.1s ahead of the No. 87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 driven by Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid and Jose Maria Lopez (2m18.378s).
The No. 54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 driven by Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castelacci and Davide Rigon took third place, half a second behind the fastest LMGT3 with its 2m18.881s.

The top five was completed by the No. 10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 (2m18.931s) and the No.88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 (2m18.998s).
But the big headlines from the session came from three red flags, which led to lengthy delays and an extension to the session.
The first stoppage came at the very start of FP2 when Antonio Giovinazzi went off at Raidillon in the No. 51 Ferrari 449P. The car suffered rear bodywork damage, but it was repaired in time to complete a few laps before the checkered flag was shown.

Moments after the session resumed, a second red flag was waved when Stephen Grove went off at that same spot in the No. 60 Iron Lynx Mercedes AMG LMGT3. The front of his car was heavily damaged.
Finally, with less than 40 minutes left on the clock, Tom Gamble went off and hit the barriers at Pouhon in the No. 007 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie. All three drivers were unhurt.

 

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Qualify is completed
Both TF Sport Corvettes are at the back of the class in 11th and 17 places

Finn Gehrsitz takes a brilliant pole position for the LMGT3 class after hooking up an excellent lap of 2:17.732s in the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus
The young German took his first ever WEC pole position and the maiden top spot for Akkodis ASP in the WEC. Getting the car through in to the LMGT3 Hyperpole session was Arnold Robin

Gehrsitz’s early Hyperpole time was attacked by several competitors in the final moments of the session but held on for a memorable pole
Joining Lexus on the front row of the grid will be the #10 Racing Spirit of LeMan Aston Martin as Edoardo Barrichello gets to within 0.276s of the pole time

The #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 places third as Ben Tuck snatches a late quick lap to claim the team’s best qualifying of the season
Lining up fourth behind the Lexus, Spirit of LeMan Aston and the sister #77 Proton entered Mustang, will be the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang, as Stefano Gattuso qualifies and Giammarco Levorato completes a strong lap in the Hyperpole session

Aston Martins will start second and fifth as the Heart of Racing car sets a Hyperpole time of 2:18.314s with Zacharie Robichon setting the best time
The #54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari of Francesco Castellacci completes the top six

The initial qualifying session saw an incredibly tight battle that sees the top three covered by a mere 0.053s!
The #60 Iron Lynx Mercedes that was damaged in FP2 yesterday is readied but ends the qualifying session at the back of the 36 car grid despite the Herculean job by the team

The 2025 TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps is scheduled to begin at 14:00 CET on Sunday afternoon

Watch FIA WEC live or on demand via the official FIA WEC TV app – your full-access pass to the FIA World Endurance Championship, including the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans. Don’t miss a moment. For further information, check out the app.

Click HERE for the full qualifying times

 

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STAVELOT, Belgium (May 9, 2025) – TF Sport’s No. 81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will lead the two-Corvette attack on the Six Hours of Spa on Saturday after qualifying Friday for the third round of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship.

Tom Van Rompuy will start 11th in the 18-car LMGT3 field following the 15-minute initial qualifying session with a lap of 2:20.215 (111.723 mph). He missed getting into the 10-car Hyperpole session for the third straight race by a little less than a half-second.

He and teammates Rui Andrade and factory driver Charlie Eastwood are looking to continue their momentum from a sixth-place class result and its first finish in the points of the year last time out in Imola three weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the LMGT3 championship-leading No. 33 Corvette of Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating will start 17th in class after Friday’s qualifying. A winner at the season-opening round in Qatar, the No. 33 entry has started outside the top-10 at each round so far.

Despite being the heaviest car in class at all three races this season including by 51 pounds at Spa due to the class’s mandatory success handicap – the strategy and execution by the No. 33 team has offset that disadvantage, resulting in a victory to start 2025 and a seventh-place finish at Imola.

This is the fifth straight year for the Corvette program at the Six Hours of Spa with a best result of runner-up in the 2023 GTE Am class… an entry that Keating was part of.

As is the case every year, Spa is a key race for WEC teams as it is the final dress-rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Corvette Racing as a program has nine class victories at the French classic, and TF Sport is anxious to use Spa as one last competitive test before this year’s 24 Hours.

The Six Hours of Spa is scheduled for 8 a.m. ET / 2 p.m. CET on Saturday.
Full live-streaming coverage will be available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S., and Radio Le Mans also will stream audio coverage of the race live.

TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES

DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“This is always a nice track. I have some very good memories, love the track and love the place. Unfortunately, pace has been a little bit off all weekend.
We are missing a little bit of pace in general and running too much in the back in general. Hopefully in the race, we can find a way with strategy and benefitting from others’ mistakes.
If it’s a very clean race, I feel we will struggle to score (points). That would be the main goal for tomorrow.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“This is the best track in the world for me. The conditions have been amazing sunshine but still quite cool, so the track is fast.
We’re not as fast as we’d like to be, but at Imola we maximized the strategy and all three drivers showed up on the day. Hopefully we can push to the front with another perfect race. We’ll take things as they come.”

 

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2 hours left of 6 hours race

 

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End of Race

Both TF Sport Corvettes finished in about last place and one lap down

 

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STAVELOT, Belgium (May 10, 2025)
TF Sport and its two Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are turning the page after a difficult Six Hours of Spa and focusing fully now on the 24 Hours of Le Mans the biggest race of the FIA World Endurance Championship season.

Both the No. 81 and LMGT3 championship-leading No. 33 Corvettes finished outside the top-10 and in non-points paying positions Saturday at Spa-Francorchamps. The No. 33 Z06 GT3.R of Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating was the highest-finishing Corvette in 13th place, followed by the No. 81 entry of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy.

The seemingly lone bright spot for the weekend is the No. 33 TF Sport Corvette will carry the Drivers and Teams points leads into Le Mans, which serves as a double-points race.

Both TF Sport Corvettes struggled for pace throughout the weekend. Neither made the top-10 in LMGT3 qualifying Friday, and that deficit played out in the race. Two safety car periods in the opening half Saturday brought differing strategies for the two Corvettes in an attempt to gain track position early.
It worked initially, with the No. 81 running as high as third near the three-hour mark before momentum shifted away from the TF Sport camp.

The only blemish for either car was a pitlane penalty for the No. 81, and the No. 33 squad ran a clean race throughout.

TF Sport’s next race in the FIA WEC is the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 14-15.
Their two Corvettes will be joined by AWA’s No. 13 Corvette from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

TF SPORT POST-RACE QUOTES

DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“A disappointing weekend. We had no chance at all to score points all weekend. I feel like we came in with some hopes but unfortunately this was not the way I wanted the weekend to go. There’s not much to say.
The team did a great job, my teammates drove well and I drove well. That seems it was good enough for P13. Hopefully things are different in Le Mans. If we keep this trend from the last couple of races, I’d be surprised if we have a chance to fight. So hopefully things turn around for Le Mans.”

JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“In terms of car balance, I feel everything was pretty good. Our tire degradation was pretty good as well, so everything felt good. But we’re missing a lot of lap times compared to the other cars and also acceleration. So it makes it pretty much impossible to overtake anyone, and then when there’s someone behind, it's almost impossible to defend.

It’s a shame for all of us drivers and the team. Going into the weekend, we knew it was going to be hard. We haven’t had any mistakes or penalties. We’re just missing pace. When it’s a long green-flag run, we just seem to drop back, which is a shame.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I would say this is not racing. This is driving around the course waiting for someone else to make a mistake. I feel like it’s a waste of time to be here, and I’m quite angry about it. We’ll run around and wait for bad things to happen to other people for another three hours. I’d really like to wish everyone well.
I don’t like to wish any harm or bad luck to anyone else. But that’s the only way we’re going to make up positions.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Not the weekend we wanted at all. It was somewhat expected, but maybe slightly worse than we thought. The positives, if you look at any, are that again the team has executed again a perfect race. Nothing wrong with pitstops and strategy. We just didn’t have the ultimate pace to go forward. The next one is Le Mans, and it’s the one where you have the most pitstops 24 or 25 stops.

For the team to go in with the pace that they’re doing on the tire changes and things, I know these guys can make the difference if we have pace on track. I’m looking forward to it, but happy to get this one behind us.”

RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It was difficult. I struggled a lot with the car balance. I got in with second-stint tires from Tom and that felt pretty good. Furthermore, I couldn’t maximize the new tires, though. Everyone around was being pretty aggressive, and we had a lot of contact, which was unfortunate. It was my fault on the penalty.
I just left the pitlane with the red light, and I saw it too late. We knew it was going to be a difficult weekend, but we kept on fighting.”

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It was a little tough, but I’m happy with my stint. We are struggling with the tires, but I think everyone was struggling a bit, too. The tire pressures are very high to drive with. All in all, I’m happy with my stint. I had to really focus to not make any mistakes. For where the car was, we have maximized things.”