There are race weekends, and then there is Spa. This is the one our ambassador Ruben Del Sarte circled at the start of the season, and it has arrived: the Ardennes forest, seven kilometres of the most demanding asphalt in the world, Eau Rouge and Raidillon taken flat, and a grid of the best GT machinery on the planet. For Ruben, it is the biggest weekend of his year, and the reason is a serious step up.

Alongside his GT4 campaign, Ruben joins Optimum Motorsport for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, racing a McLaren GT3 in the Gold Cup. This is the 78th running of the race, 24 hours around the clock, 70 GT3 cars and ten manufacturers, the centrepiece of the GT World Challenge season and one of the toughest tests in all of motorsport. The same weekend, the GT4 European Series reaches Spa for Round 3 on a record grid, the chance to turn Monza's pace into points. Two disciplines, one weekend, no easy laps.

The green flag drops on the 24 Hours of Spa on Saturday 27 June at 16:30 CEST, after the start ceremony at 14:30, before the field races through the evening and the full night to the chequered flag at 16:30 CEST on Sunday 28 June. Watch live via the official stream at crowdstrike24hoursofspa.com and the GT World Challenge channels, and follow the GT4 European Series live timing at gt4europeanseries.com/watch-live. We will be behind Ruben every hour of it, in GT4 and through the night in GT3. Spa, here we go.