GT3 Stars Eye Glory Under Spa’s Summer Sun: Round 3 Preview

Before the lights go out on Friday, a few very large elephants in the room need to be addressed — so let’s get caught up.

The Rework: Faster, Smoother, or Just Different?

The recent overhaul to the GT3 category in the 2025 Season 3 build was one of unprecedented discussion, hype and mystery. But what really has changed when driving the cars, and what could it mean for the championship story?

There are two key elements to the recent changes – aerodynamics and tyres. Generally speaking, the cars are now more capable in high-load corners where their downforce-producing surfaces are working at maximum output.

The tradeoff, however, is increased sensitivity to aerodynamic balance shifts, especially when it comes to changes in setup. With the front splitter height now a crucial and unique highlight of each car’s aero output – rather than a universal ride height adjustment – there is now far more effort required to tune a car’s balance while in search of a higher top speed.

The tyres have also seen a tremendous quality-of-life change. They start bone-cold out the box, which means peak lap time can take as long as 4 laps to reach – Watch out for some unique strategies in qualifying!

With the tyre now more resistant to overheating as well, a lone powerslide or overspeed error on entry won’t mark the end of your stint. Aside from the absolute pros and cons, the tyre being softer on the vertical and stiffer on the lateral axis provides a far more intuitive and detailed response (on most cars) compared to the previous model.

Despite the GT3’s becoming a generally more robust package to operate, the infamous underdriving method – that has defined iRacing’s interpretation of the GT3 category for years – appears to remain the quickest way to drive.

Enough Technical Chatter, What’s Happening on Friday?
As always, the race format is as follows (AEST):

7:00 PM — 1-Hour Open Practice

8:00 PM — 20-Minute Open Qualifying

8:22 PM — 8-Minute Gridding (including Grid Walk)

8:30 PM — Green Flag for 3-Hour Race

With the European summer in full swing, rain is looking like a near-impossibility — even by Spa’s hilariously unpredictable standards. Cloud cover is expected to be minimal, with ambient temperatures climbing into the mid-20s. All signs point to harsh track conditions for this one, a polar opposite to the miserable downpour the drivers endured at Fuji last time out.

A Pivotal Point in the Season

With only two rounds in the books, it’s still difficult to gauge the true competitive order. A mid-season overhaul doesn’t help the search for that clarity on paper — but in practice, Friday night’s results could prove more telling than anything we’ve seen so far.

Given how much time has passed since the physics update, teams have had every chance to get up to speed. There’ll be no excuses; the effort (or lack thereof) will be plain to see. This round also serves as a timely lead-in to next weekend’s iRacing 24 Hours of Spa, making it a valuable testbed for those with eyes on special event glory.

A team that will be looking to continue their form from last round is Eclipse Simsports; the #56 and #17 Acura’s made Fuji their stomping ground through interchangeable conditions.

Vermillion eSports will attempt to rock the Eclipse ship at the front as they push to move their entries further up the order. With three of their cars already inside the top 10, they are in a good spot to make a charge into the second half of the season.

The lone Arete eSports #79 entry will be hoping for a clean run as the front-runners engage in what's shaping up to be a dogfight. Sitting fifth in the standings – thanks to a P7 at Daytona and P9 at Fuji – they remain firmly in the hunt.

Meanwhile, the Evolution Racing Team #31 entry, which won the season opener at Daytona, will be looking to rebound after a nightmare run at Fuji that saw them tumble to 20th in the standings.

Don’t miss out on the action; catch Australasia’s most competitive GT3 series live on SimSpeed on the night of July 4th!