Spa 24-Hour - Liveblog

Another 24 hours at another iconic circuit - keep up with everything here!

Spa-Francorchamps is a special place any time of year, but particularly when the 24-Hour party comes to town. The town is bustling with fans, the streets are lined with cool cars and the circuit itself takes on another character as the race goes through the night. It's always a special motorsport occasion, so when offered to attend with McLaren it wasn't going to be passed up. Matt is out and reporting back; to see more on social media follow the weekend on Facebook at facebook.com/speedmatters, Twitter @PHMattB and @PistonHeads plus Instagram @pistonheads_speedmatters.

Sunday, 0715h, Spa Media Centre
Apologies in advance is this doesn't make a great deal of sense, but two consecutive pre-four o' clock does scramble your brain a little. The point was to see the night finish at Spa, to watch the cars race into daylight while everyone sleeps. Right now it feels like a truly marvellous decision. Whether it will tomorrow in the office remains to be seen...

Audi on for another win as it stands

Mercifully the rain has cleared but the night was chilly, the track saying five degrees centigrade on arrival just after 0430h. Coffee and a brisk walk it then. The run to Eau Rouge is astonishing at night, the rush of light, a flash of the cars in profile and then the long, steep climb out of sight. Sparks fly off cars in the direction change, exhausts glow and the noise is magnificent. All this while overlooking the pits, watching the frantic precision of a driver change and absorbing the incredible sound of cars on the speed limiter. At which point a McLaren comes in and looks like it has retired. Oops.

Then the darkness subsides just slightly. The blanket of black begins to soften as I watch the cars scream out of La Source and it begins to feel like waking this early on a Sunday really might have been a good idea. The Audis are a highlight here, a spurt of flame from high out the back on every upshift quite captivating in the dark.

There wasn't some glorious, epic sunrise but watching the light creep in lap after lap was really cool. The morning has dawned brightly too, a massive improvement over yesterday. With some light the battle scars are all the more visible, scrapes and dents adorning nearly every car. There are a lot still running too, which makes for some genuinely engaging racing even in the middle of the 24 hours. As I write the McLarens are 25th and 31st with an Audi (surprise, surprise,) in the lead. I will catch some more later but right now my bed beckons...