It will be his first overseas race and comes on the back of race victory in Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at The Bend.

Schumacher has been invited by the Audi squad Haas Racing Team and is the first driver announced in its Pro-Am line up. The centenary Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa will take place on June 26-30 and iis expected to have more than 70 entries.

“It’s a pinch yourself moment for me and it’s a childhood dream come true,” said Schumacher.

“The Belgian based Haas Racing Team required an additional Bronze-rated driver for its line-up. At the Prologue Test, the team was discussing the possibilities to fill this seat when a former Bathurst 12 Hour co-driver of mine, Frederic Vervisch, recommended me to the team.

“I’ve always had the ambition to do some overseas GT3 racing, but to have my first international drive in Europe at the biggest GT3 race in the world, I can’t believe my luck. My entire focus now is to do a good job for the team, so it can hopefully build on future opportunities.

“I’ve been doing quite a bit of work on the simulator since getting the call-up last week. Driving on the sim these days is so accurate to what the track is actually like, and the team have helped in providing data from the Prologue Test. I’ve been able to go through quite a lot of that and get myself comfortable.

“The beauty of GT3 racing is that no matter where you go to race worldwide, if you’re familiar with the manufacturer you’re driving – which is Audi for me – you are already comfortable with the car’s characteristics which makes it easier to get up to speed quickly at a new circuit.”

Also carrying its support of Schumacher overseas will be his regular backers FUCHS Lubricants and Kelso Electrical.

Schumacher has race GT World Challenge Australia since its inaugural season in 2021 where he secured the GT Trophy Class Championship and is currently the reigning Am Class champion.

This year he has made a successful jump to the top Pro-Am Class alongside leading Repco Supercars Championship driver Will Brown and reigning title winning squad Melbourne Performance Centre.