The opening qualifying round for the 2025 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa wrapped up Thursday night at Spa-Francorchamps, with GT World Challenge America powered by AWS entries delivering strong performances in a competitive and weather-affected session.
A total of 75 cars participated in the four-part qualifying format, with each driver completing one of four 15-minute sessions. Rain impacted the early stages of Q1 and Q2, creating mixed conditions that made tire strategy and timing crucial. Despite the challenges, several SRO America drivers rose to the occasion, with Canadian driver Mikaël Grenier earning a spot in Friday’s Super Pole shootout for the top 20 qualifiers.
Pro Class
Grenier delivered an impressive lap in Q2 amid improving track conditions to secure 18th in the Pro class and a coveted position in Super Pole. The Canadian driver will return to the track Friday evening to fight for a spot near the front of the grid commanding the No. 9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO that he co–shares with Maxime Martin and Maximilian Götz.
Gold Class
Tom Sargent set the pace early in Q3, setting the third-fastest lap during the session aboard the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). While the car eventually settled into 22nd overall and third in the Gold class, the Wright Motorsports entry continues to show the form that made them 2024 GT World Challenge America champions, as Tom is sharing driving duties with GT World Challenge America alumni Elliott Skeer and Adam Adelson.
Philip Ellis delivered a solid qualifying effort in tricky conditions, as he, Russell Ward, Indy Dontje and Daniel Morad placed the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO entry 24th overall and fourth in the Gold category.
Pro-Am Class
Anthony McIntosh, who is making his Spa 24 debut in the No. 100 Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO, put in a composed performance across the sessions to qualify second in Pro-Am and 63rd overall, an encouraging class result for he and teammates Andrew Howard, Valentin Hasse-Clot and Ross Gunn heading into the weekend.
GT World Challenge America co-drivers Matt Bell and Blake McDonald are sharing the No. 70 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, with series’ alumni Custodio Toledo and Pro driver Riccardo Agostini. The prancing horse crew will start 65th overall and third in class after a consistent showing through the ever-changing conditions in Q1 and Q2.
George Kurtz, Colin Braun, Iam James and Nicky Catsburg are proudly representing the title sponsor in their No. 4 CrowdStrike by SPS Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO. The 2024 24 Hours of Spa winners navigated a cautious qualifying session to place sixth in class and 71st overall, setting the stage for a strong race push on Saturday.
Bronze Class
Connor De Phillippi, Felice Jelmini, Federico Malvestiti and Marcelo Jover Tomasoni posted the 59th fastest overall time and 15th in the Bronze category in the No. 15 BMW Italia Ceccato Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, keeping the team in contention heading into race day.
Canadian driver Parker Thompson is part of the No. 222 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO lineup. He joined Charles Dawson, Kiern Jewiss and Lewis Williamson. The Mercedes-AMG will start from 11th place in class, and 52nd overall.
Overall Pole Position
Provisional pole position was secured by the No. 59 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, with Marvin Kirchhöfer, Benjamin Goethe, and Joseph Loake setting the fastest average time across the sessions.
Qualifying results now set the stage for Friday afternoon’s Super Pole, where Mikaël Grenier and the No. 9 Boutsen VDS team will represent GT World Challenge America in the shootout for the top 20 grid positions. The green flag for the 2025 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa drops Saturday at 4:30 p.m. local time. Catch the Super Pole and race on GT World’s YouTube channel.