Pirelli GT4 America’s Anthony McIntosh is making waves far beyond North America this weekend as he is gearing up to take on Spa-Francorchamps. The Pro-Am competitor, who normally shares the No. 69 JTR Motorsports Engineering Toyota GR Supra GT4 with Parker Thompson, is currently at the heart of the world’s biggest GT3 event: the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
McIntosh is behind the wheel of the No. 100 Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, joining seasoned co-drivers Andrew Howard, Valentin Hasse-Clot, and Ross Gunn. Despite this being his debut at Spa, McIntosh put in a standout performance during a chaotic qualifying session to secure second place in the Pro-Am class on Thursday evening. A strong result given the top competition and ever-changing conditions.
“It’s a very busy place, much busier than I thought it would be, and for me that’s kind of cool,” McIntosh said. “There’s a lot more to this event than just the race. Between the fans, the music, the DJs, and even the parade, it’s just wild. I had no idea this event was so massive.”
While the atmosphere may be electrifying, McIntosh hasn’t lost focus on the demanding nature of the Spa circuit, a track he humbly admits wasn’t even on his radar until Aston Martin Racing came calling.
“They asked if I wanted to do Spa, and I said sure. I didn’t know anything about it. I had to learn it from scratch. I started on iRacing, then did some sim work with one of my North American co-drivers. The layout kind of reminds me of a bigger version of Road America with its trees and elevation.”
Spa’s iconic corners left an impression, both in terms of awe and respect. “Eau Rouge, Blanchimont… they’re definitely iconic, but dangerous,” he said. “You have to respect them. Just like the kink at Road America, they’ll bite you if you don’t. If Spa ever lost those features, it wouldn’t be the same.”
His first taste of qualifying at Spa was nothing short of baptism by fire: at night, in the wet, with limited visibility and just one shot at a flying lap. “We started on wet tires. That was the wrong call, so I came in and switched to slicks. By then, I had one lap. Just one,” McIntosh recounted. “So I went through Eau Rouge and Blanchimont conservatively. Got the lap in, nothing crazy, but solid enough. Everyone else was struggling, too.”
Despite limited familiarity with the track and a steep learning curve, McIntosh is embracing the challenge with characteristic determination and humility. “I’m here to learn, to maximize my drive time, bring the car back clean, and hand it off to our Pros so they can fight for the win,” he said. “No penalties, no track limits, that’s my job.”
While McIntosh has raced 24-hour events before, including the Rolex 24 at Daytona earlier this year, Spa presents its own unique challenges, especially at night.
“This place is not well lit,” he explained. “There are parts of the track that are just pure darkness. I’m doing the night stints to get our bronze drive time done, but I need seat time to develop the muscle memory. At Daytona or Sebring, I could practically do it with my eyes closed. Here, my eyes are wide open and I’m still struggling.”
Still, McIntosh sees this experience as essential for any driver’s growth. “Drivers, especially in the U.S., need to make the effort to race here. Not just track days. Come race here, at night, in the rain. It’s unlike anything else. This place should be on every racer’s bucket list.”
Don’t miss a moment of the action at Spa-Francorchamps, tune in tomorrow at 4:30 PM CET on GT World’s YouTube channel for the start of the legendary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
