Thomas Preining, Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus gave Lionspeed GP a maiden CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa victory, the #80 Porsche 911 GT3 R crossing the line 12.3 seconds ahead of the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Luca Stolz, Lucas Auer and Maro Engel. The #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Nicklas Nielsen, Alessio Rovera and Tommaso Mosca completed the podium after one of the more eventful races in recent memory. For Porsche, it was a ninth overall triumph at Spa and its first since 2020 — made all the more remarkable by the fact the winning car started from the pit lane after an engine change on Thursday.
A chaotic opening sets the tone
Nicklas Nielsen led the 69-car field away from pole, but the race was neutralised almost immediately after a clash between Ariel Levi’s #66 Tresor Attempto Audi and Jamie Day’s #34 Walkenhorst Aston Martin at Pouhon triggered a multi-car collision. The #35 Walkenhorst Aston Martin, the #66 Audi and the #992 Paradine Competition BMW were all eliminated before the first hour was done.
Once racing resumed, the #51 Ferrari reasserted control and built a comfortable lead, with the #58 Garage 59 McLaren and the #71 Select Car Racing Ferrari giving chase. The afternoon saw the lead change hands repeatedly — Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG, BMW, Porsche and Audi all taking a turn at the front — before the #84 Eastalent Racing Audi held a nominal advantage at the six-hour mark courtesy of an early strategy call, with the #48 Mercedes the effective leader on corrected time.
Ferrari puncture opens the door
The #51 had been the class of the field until a puncture struck Nielsen while he was in front, forcing the car to complete an entire lap before reaching the pits and dropping it over a lap behind the leaders. The #48 Mercedes-AMG stepped into the breach and led through the night, sharing the front of the field at various points with the #64 HRT Ford Mustang GT3, which had been running strongly on an alternative strategy. Around halfway, Tom Fleming put the #58 McLaren into the lead ahead of a brief rain shower, and many teams used a subsequent Full Course Yellow — triggered by Sarah Bovy’s heavy accident at Blanchimont — to complete their mandatory technical stops. The #48 Mercedes and #64 Ford traded the lead into the night before the #64 was handed a drive-through penalty for FCY speeding, effectively ending its challenge. It eventually ground to a halt at the Bus Stop in the 16th hour.
Ferrari fights back, Porsche makes its move
Sunday morning saw Valentino Rossi briefly put the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 into the lead through strategy, but the #51 Ferrari had been clawing back time through the night and Rovera reclaimed the front during the pit stop cycle in the 15th hour, jumping both the Mercedes and the BMW. The #80 Lionspeed Porsche, which had been quietly working its way through the field from its pit lane start, was by now firmly in contention. Preining began a series of rapid laps and grabbed the lead from the #51 at the Bus Stop, only for an unfortunately-timed Full Course Yellow to hand the advantage back to the #48 Mercedes — and for the Ferrari to return to the pits with a slow puncture. With six hours remaining, four cars were in genuine contention: the #48 Mercedes, the #51 Ferrari, the #80 Porsche and the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche of Matt Campbell, Ayhancan Güven and Frédéric Makowiecki.
Drama in the closing hours seals the result
Mosca brought the #51 back into the fight, passing the #22 Porsche and closing on Stolz for the lead — only for contact between the two in the braking zone for Les Combes in the 19th hour to result in another puncture for the Ferrari. The car remained in contention but Preining, back in the #80, executed a clean undercut at the next round of stops to retake the lead for good.
Behind him, the #48 Mercedes proved difficult to pass, acting as a buffer between Preining and a charging Rovera in the closing stages. The #22 Porsche’s challenge was undone by a five-second penalty for Güven’s contact with the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche of Morris Schuring at La Source, and a separate incident between the two Porsches caused further damage to the #2. Rovera made a bold move at Les Combes to take third in the final hour but could not close on Stolz ahead, finishing 0.65 seconds behind the Mercedes. Second through fourth were covered by under 1.5 seconds at the flag.
Retirements thin the field
Several strong contenders failed to finish. Nicki Thiim lost the #007 Comtoyou Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 at the top of Raidillon in the 15th hour, the resulting suspension damage bringing an early end to the race for a car that had been running in the top six — a rare error from one of the field’s most experienced drivers and a former winner of this race.
Both Garage 59 McLarens also fell away: the #59 retired with suspension issues in the seventh hour, while the #58 — which had led at halfway and been one of the outstanding performers through the opening third — suffered what appeared to be radiator damage potentially connected to a night-time incident in which Benjamin Goethe ran into the back of the #22 Porsche, dropping the car 28 laps behind the leaders for repairs. The #3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes of Max Verstappen’s team retired in the closing hours after persistent oil temperature issues caused a loss of power that could not be resolved.
Gold: ROWE BMW’s clean run pays off
The Gold Cup was decided largely by attrition. The #998 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Jens Klingmann, Tim Tramnitz and Ugo de Wilde ran a faultless race to take class honours, finishing 11th overall and five laps clear of its nearest rival.
The #58 Garage 59 McLaren had been the standout Gold contender through much of the race, with Tom Fleming in particular driving well above class level, but the damage sustained in the overnight incident with the #22 Porsche ultimately ended any realistic chance of class victory. The #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche and #4 Optimum Motorsport McLaren completed the class podium.
Silver: Rinaldi edges WRT in late fight
The Silver Cup produced one of the closer class battles of the race, with the #45 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari of Alessandro Balzan, Rafael Durán, Dylan Medler and David Perel taking the win by 11.5 seconds over the #30 Team WRT BMW after a recovery from difficulties overnight. Perel hunted down the WRT entry in the penultimate stint and Balzan emerged ahead after the final stops, pulling clear to the flag. The #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren had been in the mix but picked up a penalty for an incorrectly completed technical stop and was further compromised by a Bus Stop collision with the #65 HRT Ford Mustang — the Mustang itself having led the class for much of the race before that incident dropped it to fifth. The #52 AF Corse Ferrari completed the Silver podium.
Bronze: Kessel holds off Paradine BMW
Kessel Racing made it back-to-back Bronze Cup victories at Spa, the #74 Ferrari of Dustin Blattner, Mathys Jaubert, Dennis Marschall and Ben Tuck leading the class for much of the race and running inside the overall top ten at its peak.
The #991 Paradine Competition BMW of Darren Leung, David Pittard, James Kellett and Leyton Fourie pushed the Ferrari all the way and led the class at various points, but a puncture with just over an hour remaining handed Kessel a comfortable margin it held to the finish. The #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche art car completed the Bronze podium.
Pro-Am: JMR Corvette claims class honours
The #0 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Ben Green, Jordan Love, Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim won Pro-Am after building a one-lap advantage overnight that it never relinquished, despite the car collecting penalties in the early stages. It was the first Spa class win for Corvette since the marque’s overall victory in 2009. The #86 High Class Racing Porsche and #999 GetSpeed Team PCX Mercedes-AMG completed the Pro-Am podium.
The GT World Challenge Europe season continues at Misano on 17-19 July, with the next Endurance Cup round at the Nürburgring on 29-30 August.