Blancpain GT championship leader and Kessel Ferrari driver David Perel heads to Belgium to race the Spa 24 Hours — worlds biggest GT3 endurance event July 29-30. South African Perel won races at the legendary Spa Francorchamps F1 track in the Blancpain Lamborghini Super Trofeo series in 2015, however the 24 hour is a different beast altogether.

“The Spa 24 hours is an incredible event — a huge race that carmakers take so seriously they are willing to ‘throw away’ other races in an attempt to prepare for this one,” the Cape Town driver explained.

“When I raced the Spa 24 for the first time last year, I knew it would be a challenge, but I never quite anticipated it being that difficult! 65 supercars driven by two hundred of the world’s best, including Formula 1 and DTM stars is not for the feint of heart — this race is a challenge on so many levels, so this year I’m doubly prepared for whatever comes my way.”

Perel won’t be the only South African on the grid with factory drivers Jordan Pepper in a Bentley and Nurburgring 24 winner, Kelvin van der Linde racing an Audi making it the first time that three South Africans have competed together in the legendary Spa 24-Hour race.

“I'm used to being the only South African in the Blancpain paddock, so I'm really looking forward to racing against my fellow countrymen. “When we were Karting, I was always a class and age group above Kelvin and Jordan, so I’m looking forward to being on track with them in equal machinery.”

David currently leads the Blancpain AM Championship thanks to a win last time out in France and he hopes this event brings similar results. “The championship is incredibly important to me. So I will focus on bringing home as many points as possible and hopefully that leads to a podium finish” David concluded. "I’m not going to get ahead of myself, just finishing this race is hard enough!”

The Spa 24 Hours will take place on July 29/30, starting at 4.30pm. Follow the race live via streaming on youtube.com/gtworld.