Two full test days at Paul Ricard, and the Spa Prologue moves into race month
SRO confirms the 2027 calendar and adds a first GT4 Prologue
The 2027 GT World Challenge Europe season will start with two full days of testing at Circuit Paul Ricard, and the 24 Hours of Spa test moves from May to the fortnight before the race. SRO Motorsports Group announced both changes on 22 September, together with a first Prologue of its own for the GT4 European Series.
The same announcement settles the calendar. SRO says the full 2027 schedule is now officially confirmed, with no changes to the dates Stéphane Ratel presented at his press conference during the 24 Hours of Spa in June. All ten rounds are on our 2027 GT World Challenge Europe calendar.
A second full day of running at Paul Ricard
The Season Prologue keeps the slot SRO introduced this year, in the days immediately before the season-opening six-hour race. It runs on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 April 2027, and it now consists of two full days of running.
That is more track time than teams had in 2026. This year’s Prologue ran on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 April, with two sessions on the first day and a single morning session on the second, according to the official test timetable.
GT4 gets a test day of its own
The GT4 European Series races at all six of its rounds alongside GT World Challenge Europe. In 2027 it gets its first Prologue, a day of running at Paul Ricard on Thursday 15 April. SRO calls it a major evolution for the series: teams and drivers can prepare before official track action for the opening weekend begins on Friday 16 April.
The Spa test moves into race month
The biggest change is at Spa-Francorchamps. The CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Prologue is a two-day event, and in 2026 it ran on 19 and 20 May, more than a month before the race. In 2027 it moves to Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 June, one week before the parade to Spa city centre that launches race week.
Between the two sits Spa Speedweek, the free-to-attend support weekend on 18 to 20 June. The 24 Hours of Spa itself runs from 24 to 27 June. SRO describes the result as a two-week marathon of GT racing in the Ardennes.
The 2027 pre-season and Spa dates
| Date | Event | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 April | Season Prologue, two full days | Paul Ricard |
| Thursday 15 April | GT4 European Series Prologue, first edition | Paul Ricard |
| From Friday 16 April | Round 1, six-hour race weekend | Paul Ricard |
| Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 June | 24 Hours of Spa Prologue | Spa-Francorchamps |
| Friday 18 to Sunday 20 June | Spa Speedweek, free entry | Spa-Francorchamps |
| Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 June | CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa | Spa-Francorchamps |
The confirmed calendar brings two venues that were not on the 2026 schedule: Imola in the Endurance Cup on 21 to 23 May, and the Hungaroring in the Sprint Cup on 1 to 3 October. For Spa alongside Le Mans and the Nürburgring, see our 2027 24-hour race dates.
Our reckoning
Moving the Spa test into June is the change that matters. A test in the middle of May tells teams something about the car, but a test eight days before the event opens runs in conditions far closer to the ones the race will be run in. For crews that travel from outside Europe for Spa, it could also mean one longer trip rather than two.
The cost sits with the teams. Two weeks in the Ardennes is a long stay for a crew of mechanics and engineers, and we expect some of the smaller entries to weigh up whether the Prologue is worth the extra week. For fans, the new rhythm is good news: test days, a free Speedweek and then the race itself, all within a fortnight.
Two rounds left in 2026 first
Before any of that, the 2026 season still has two weekends to run. The Sprint Cup is decided at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 2 to 4 October, where six crews can still take the title, as we set out in our Barcelona preview. The Endurance Cup ends at Portimão on 16 to 18 October.
