This weekend, Guilherme Oliveira will compete in the 24 Hours of Spa, the third round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season, driving a McLaren 720S GT3 EVO.
The Portuguese driver is determined to fight for victory in the Bronze category and stay in the running for the world title, in what is considered the most competitive GT championship in the world.
“It is the most important and also the most demanding race of the year. Racing for 24 hours on a circuit as challenging as Spa-Francorchamps is always unpredictable — mainly due to the weather conditions, often marked by rain and fog, which greatly complicate the drivers’ work, especially at night,” says Guilherme Oliveira.
This will be the Portuguese driver’s third participation in a 24-hour race, having already competed in Daytona and previously in Spa. The main objective, he emphasises, “is to finish”, but his ambition goes beyond that.
Confidence reinforced by previous results
The pole positions achieved in the two previous races and the strong performance in Monza, where he led for much of the race, are clear signs of competitiveness.
“We arrived in Spa with a very strong car. We are prepared and confident. The first objective is always to finish, but we want to win our category and move up in the overall standings. We are currently in seventh place, but very close to the frontrunners”, he says.
Guilherme Oliveira will share the McLaren 720S GT3 EVO of the British team Garage 59 with Shaun Balfe, Thomas Felming and Jack Hawksworth. The car has a carbon fibre structure, which is extremely light and rigid, and is equipped with a 4.0 V8 biturbo engine with 740 horsepower, which on a fast circuit like Spa allows it to exceed 340 km/h of maximum speed.
An extreme technical and physical challenge
The legendary Spa-Francorchamps track — where the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix will be held in a month’s time — will host this true endurance marathon, which will feature 75 cars on the track, representing prestigious brands such as Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche.
With a fast and technical track, Spa promises an intense race from the very beginning, testing drivers, teams and machines to the limit of their endurance.
The start of the penultimate race on the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup calendar is scheduled for 3:30 pm on Saturday.
Who is Guilherme Oliveira
At just 20 years old, Guilherme Oliveira is one of the most talented young drivers in motorsports. Born in Vila Nova de Gaia, this young driver has been building a solid and impressive career, standing out for his speed, consistency and maturity on the track. After a successful career in karts, prototypes and, more recently, in GT racing, Guilherme Oliveira represents the new generation of Portuguese drivers who are reaching the top of world motorsports.
The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
The GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS is the world’s leading GT championship, with an impressive field of 59 cars in the Endurance Cup. All nine manufacturers that competed last year return, with Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche strongly represented. The big news is Corvette, which is present for the first time since 2014, thus completing a total of 10 brands for the current season.
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