24 June 2024
Mamba takes on the challenge in the Ardennes
The Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER is well prepared and highly motivated for the legendary 24-hour race at Spa in Belgium on the last weekend in June.
Ludwigsburg, June 24, 2024 – CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa will be a very special highlight for the motorsport world from June 29–30. Since it was first held exactly 100 years ago, the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race has had a very special flair – not least of all due to the racetrack itself: the 7.004-kilometer Ardennes roller coaster is considered one of the most challenging and beautiful tracks in the world. And when a total of 67 excellently piloted GT3 racing cars from no less than nine different brands race twice for an entire 24-hour period to celebrate the centenary anniversary, excitement and spectacle are guaranteed. This is because, unlike in the old days, when going easy on materials was the top priority in an endurance race, the motto nowadays is: 24 hours at full throttle!
MANN-FILTER Mamba at the 24-hour race in Spa
One particular race car will once again catch the eye of fans both around the track and on screens around the world: the Mercedes-AMG GT3 with the starting number 48 in MANN-FILTER’s distinctive yellow-green. Mamba, with around 550 hp, used by WINWARD Racing to promote the Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER, is within the extended circle of favorites, which admittedly is large and includes at least 20 GT3 racers.
The CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa is part of both the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, which each consists of five endurance races and sprint events. The Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER will compete for the highlight of the year with the same trio of drivers competing in the entire Endurance Cup within the GT World Challenge Europe: Maro Engel (38, Monaco) and Lucas Auer (29, Austria), who also share the Mamba in the Sprint Cup, as well as Daniel Morad (34, Canada) are among the world’s recognized best GT drivers. Their ambitions for the Ardennes Marathon are correspondingly high.
At the official prolog at the end of May, the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was always in the top third of the time table. “I’m really looking forward to the 24 hours of Spa,” says Maro Engel. "I'm traveling to Belgium with a good feeling, because we have a superb driver line-up, a very strong, experienced team, and a very good car. As always, it will be very tough, but we look forward to the challenge and want to do everything we can to be part of winning with our MANN-FILTER Mamba."
“We are extremely excited about Spa,” adds Lucas Auer. "It’s just a cool race on a very special race track. Along with the top-class field of participants, this combination makes the whole event unique. Maro and I have been performing well this season in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup so far. A good result in Spa is therefore very important for the overall classification. During testing, we were able to sort out the last few little things and everyone got enough time behind the wheel. We have a good car and are perfectly prepared as a team."
Daniel Morad is another one who can hardly wait for the start. “The 24 Hours of Spa is one of the most challenging races in the world,” the Canadian proclaimed enthusiastically. “The combination of the very fast and technically demanding course, more than 60 of the best GT teams in the world and the unpredictable weather in the Ardennes make the race one of the best on the planet.”
WINWARD Racing team boss Christian Hohenadel knows the special demands of the long-distance classic on every participant all too well: "Perfect preparation is an absolute must, but by no means a guarantee of a good result. The drivers and team cannot afford to make any mistakes in this extremely competitive field. Only those who reach the 24-hour limit have a chance of a top-three finish. A rain shower or a safety car phase at the wrong moment, minor contact in a patch of dense lapping traffic, or a problem during one of the more than 20 pit stops, and all our dreams could be over. We will need a pinch of racing luck. But we are in a good position and are looking forward to the challenge."
Filippina Manou, MANN-FILTER Sponsorship Manager, adds: "Spa has become a tradition for MANN-FILTER and an absolute must of a spectacle event. I don't think there is a single schoolchild in Spa who doesn't have a MANN-FILTER giveaway. But of course the focus is on the sport and I am firmly convinced that with the European squad of the Ward family and our drivers Maro, Luggi, and Daniel, we have a competitive, strong team that can master the great challenges of one of the most beautiful – but also most demanding and at the same time most dangerous – tracks in the world."
On Saturday, June 29, at 4:30 p.m. sharp, Belgian racing legend Jacky Ickx will let more than 35,000 horsepower off the leash as honorary starter. At that point, it's fingers crossed for the Mamba! Watch live on Sky and stream free of charge on skysport.de or www.gt-world-challenge-europe.com. MANN-FILTER's social media channels will of course also be posting reports both from and around the track.
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MANN+HUMMEL is a global leader in filtration technology. Within its two business units Transportation and Life Sciences & Environment, the Ludwigsburg-based Group (Germany) develops intelligent filtration and separation solutions that enable cleaner mobility, cleaner air, cleaner water, and cleaner industry. Thus, the family-owned company founded in 1941 is making an important contribution to a clean planet and the sustainable use of limited resources. In 2023, over 22,000 employees at more than 80 locations generated a turnover of EUR 4.7 billion.
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