Following the likes of Aston Martin and Bentley, Audi has now confirmed its lineup of race cars for the 2014 Spa 24 Hours taking place this weekend. Eight examples of the Audi R8 LMS ultra race car will be taking part in the grueling event, held on the beautiful Spa Francorchamps circuit, and these will be divided up among four teams: Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, Team Parker Racing, Saintéloc Racing and ISR.

The Spa 24 Hours is the highlight of the Blancpain Endurance Series, which is open to private teams, so major automakers aren't directly involved. However, some of the teams, such as AF Corse, M-Sport Bentley and Reiter Engineering, have close links with the automakers and have access to top factory drivers. In fact, in this year’s race, top Audi drivers Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer will be racing for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT.

Audi has already won two of the top 24-hour races this year, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Nürburgring 24 Hours, so we’re sure the automaker through its affiliates will be keen to clinch the trifecta. It won’t be easy, though, as 53 race cars from rival marques will also be on the grid.

The brand with the four rings will be going up against cars from Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Nissan, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. All of the race cars are entered in the same technical category—the GT3 class. Consequently, a victory in the Spa 24 Hours numbers among the most important single wins a GT race team can achieve anywhere in the world.

Following pre-qualifying, qualifying and a mandatory night qualifying session on Thursday, the top 20 spots on the grid will be awarded in the super pole shootout on Friday. The race then gets underway on Saturday.