The TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will feature the biggest entry of the World Endurance Championship’s premier Hypercar class so far.
A total of 13 Hypercar entries – along with 11 LMP2 and 14 LMGTE Am cars – will tackle the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit and attempt to win the final race before the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
Toyota has kicked the year off with two victories in the opening two races but is facing stiff competition amid a manufacturer boom within the WEC this year.
Ferrari’s maiden season in Hypercars has started strongly with its #50 entry finishing in third and second place so far this season.
And last weekend’s Portimao round proved Toyota’s supremacy is far from absolute with the #7 Toyota – winner of the season-opening 1000 miles of Sebring 1000 – finishing seven laps down after Toyota had to replace a torque sensor on the car.
That low score for the #7 allowed its Portimao winning team-mates in the sister #8 to take the lead in the Hypercar drivers’ championship with the trio in the #50 Ferrari now its nearest rivals ahead of the #7 Toyota crew.
There was also a first Hypercar podium for the Penske Porsche team with its #6 car completing the rostrum.
Alongside the two factory Penske Porsches, there will be an additional customer Porsche LMDh car run by the Hertz Team Jota squad that’s won the LMP2 class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times in the last decade.
Formula E champion Antonio Felix da Costa will pilot the car along with ex-Formula 1 driver Will Stevens and breakout sportscar ace Ye Yifei.
Cadillac will increase its Hypercar presence to two cars with Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande sharing the second car that will debut at Spa.
It bumps the Hypercar entry up to a record-breaking 13 cars with two Toyotas, two Ferraris, two Penske Porsches, two Cadillacs, two Peugeots, the Floyd Vanwall Racing Team entry, a sole Glickenhaus Racing car and a Jota-run Porsche.
It’s also been an exciting and typically highly-competitive start to the season in LMP2 with the #23 United Autosports entry of Oliver Jarvis and Josh Pierson bouncing back from their retirement at Sebring to win the LMP2 class at Portimao along with ex-F1 driver Giedo van der Garde.
The sister #22 United Autosports entry still leads the points standings by virtue of it completing a one-two for the team at Portimao.
In LMGTE Am, the #33 Corvette Racing entry of Nicky Catsburg, Nicolas Varrone and Ben Keating will be looking to make it three class wins from three after a superlative start to the season – including a staunch defence from Catsburg at the end of the Portimao race against a charging Alessio Rovera in the #83 Richard Mille AF Corse-run Ferrari that had to settle for second place.
Second win of the season in LMGTE Am for the #33 @CorvetteRacing.#WEC #6HPortimao pic.twitter.com/zsPErD4Fxq
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) April 16, 2023
You can find ticket information for the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – as well as the 6 Hours of Monza that will take place in July – on the WEC’s official website here.
The WEC has also released a brand-new app for fans who are unable to attend Spa or Monza to follow the action from at home.
