The 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps delivered nonstop excitement from start to finish, with rain, accidents, safety cars, and yellow flags impacting the entire race. It was only in the final stages that the winner of this Centennial Edition was decided: the Aston Martin Vantage Evo GT3 from Comtoyou Racing, masterfully driven by Mattia Drudi, Marco Sørensen, and Nicki Thiim. The Belgian team not only secured victory in front of their home crowd but also brought Aston Martin back to the top at Spa for the first time since 1948, when John Horsfall and Leslie Johnson won with the DB1.
Rain often shuffled the standings, but the battle for victory intensified on Sunday morning. Competing for the top spot were the Ferrari 296 GT3 from AF Corse-Francorchamps Motors driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, Alessio Rovera, and Davide Rigon, the Aston Martin from Comtoyou Racing, and the BMW M4 GT3 from Rowe Racing piloted by Augusto Farfus, Dan Harper, and Max Hesse, who had already won the season's first Endurance race in the GT World Challenge Europe at Le Castellet.
As the track dried, the Ferrari demonstrated its competitiveness. The AF Corse team, taking advantage of two neutralizations, took the lead around noon. However, less than an hour before the finish, an unexpected event changed the race's outcome: Pier Guidi, entering the pits for the final stop, was blocked at the pit lane entrance by the broken-down Grasser Lamborghini, losing precious time.
Drudi seized the opportunity, taking the lead and calmly managing the final minutes of the race. Pier Guidi, who had dropped to fifth place, began a furious comeback, first overtaking David Pittard's Aston Martin and then Julien Andlauer's Porsche. Finally, he passed Hesse, securing second place. Despite the disappointment of missing out on victory, the Ferrari 296 GT3 proved to be the fastest car on the track for most of the race. The Rowe Racing team also faced bad luck, with Hesse being called into the pits for a splash and go two laps before the end, finishing sixth.
Pittard, initially third, was penalized for contact with Pier Guidi, giving the podium to the BMW M4 GT3 of Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, and Charles Weerts from team WRT, previously penalized for speeding. Fourth place went to the Aston Martin from Walkenhorst Motorsport, followed by the Lamborghini of Franck Perera, Marco Mapelli, and Jordan Pepper, who were hampered by refueling problems.
Mercedes did not shine in the fight for overall victory, but they secured seventh place overall and the win in the Gold Cup with the AMG GT3 from AlManar Racing by GetSpeed (Al Faisal Al Zubair, Mikael Grenier, Dominik Baumann, and Philip Ellis). Audi won the Bronze Cup with Tresor Attempto Racing and the R8 LMS GT3 (Dylan Perera, Aleksei Nesov, Andrey Mukovz, and Max Hofer), followed by the AF Corse Ferrari and the Lamborghini from Barwell Motorsport. In the Silver class, the Mercedes team of Yannic Mettler, Anthony Bartone, Aaron Walker, and James Kell triumphed.
Among the disappointed was Valentino Rossi, who, along with Raffaele Marciello and Maxim Martin, finished twenty-fourth due to errors during his driving stints. The Iron Lynx team also had a tough race, with Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli, and Matteo Cairoli out of contention due to technical issues and contacts. Finally, a severe accident in the fourth hour involved Christian Hook and Nicolas Baert, with Hook's Ferrari being hit and catching fire. Fortunately, all drivers escaped uninjured.
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