Since 1924, the 24 Hours of Spa, the second oldest endurance race with European roots, has been run at the daunting Spa Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes forest of Belgium, famous for it's natural spring water of healing quality, since the middle ages, which has given name to healthy living and places of renewal and restoration of body and mind, for a long time. The tradition continues, as race cars thunder through the pine trees, albeit, in October, instead of the usual July date, due to the global COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. Once a race exclusively for touring cars, in the last decade, the Spa 24 Hours has become the blue ribbon, the gold cup, the cornerstone of the GT3 production sports car racing calendar for the SRO, and both the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the GT World Challenge Europe, championships. A stellar, yet smaller entry this year, of 56 cars, will take the green flag.
This is one of the strongest entries in the history of the race. We will have extra night time running. There have been a number of endurance races for SRO Europe this year, and yours truly, hopes to share them with you. So, stay tuned for more GTWC Europe Endurance coverage. We have many potential winners. Audi #31 is one of the cars to watch. This is the #31 Audi Sport Team WRT Audi R8 LMS of Dries Vanthoor, Christopher Mies, and Kelvin van der Linde. Porsche, Lamborghini, Mercedes, there are so many possibilities of manufacturers, and drivers, who can win. Half this race, 12 hours, is to be run at night.
We have the Honda (Acura) NSX GT3, and the HubAuto Corse Ferrari 488 GT3. Toyota factory World Endurance Championship driver Kamui Kobayashi is one of the drivers in this #27 machine, and we will have more about them as the race goes on. Former F1 and Ferrari driver, Giancarlo Fisichella, is also entered in a good car. The AF Corse Ferrasri could be a contender, and Lamborghini has a massive lineup as well. Mercedes has a Pro Am lineup. George Kurtz, Colin Braun, Valentin Pierburg, and Dominik Baumann are the drivers. Garage 59 has two Aston Martin's in Pro and Pro Am, as well as Silver. The weather is going to be a mega factor this time around.
Spa isna great lap, running down through Eau Rouge, up the hill and downhill. We will talk more about the corners, the legendary parts of this fabulous track, as the race goes on. Welcome, to the 24 Hours of Spa. This feels strange, because we are doing this race without fans, and the cars are not ready yet. The barriers are being fixed, from a crash in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo support race earlier today. So, you will hear about the opening hour, but give it time, ladies and gentlemen. We're not quite ready to rumble just yet.
Track limits will be a major talking point. Don't go outside the curbs or the marshals will ping you. Here's a flying lap around Spa with Raffaele Marciello as we charge uphill through Eau Rouge and Raidillon, up the Kemmel straight, into Les Combes. Into the braking zone, down to third gear, cut back left, keep running in third gear so you don't spin. Through Malmedy, into Bruxelles, run wide in slick conditions, then into the kink. Now you dive downhill through Pouhon and nthen to Piff Paff (Fangnes). Exit the Piff Paff, watch the curbs, into Campus (L'Ecole), for the racing school. Into Curve Paul Frere, then onto Blanchimont, that's a heart stopper. Then, down into the Bus Stop, stay to the right, straight on exit, be careful of the track limits, and back across the finish line for a lap of Spa.
Race Director Alain Adam will explain the new rules. "Good afternoon everybody. Since the beginning of the meeting due to COVID and social distancing, I couldn't penalize track limits. We will go back to the basic rules, and stay within the white lines. One wheel must be in contact with the white lines. Watch turns 3, 9, 17, and 19, including the curbs, giving the driver's half a meter more. We have not been able to keep the same time penalty system for the pit stop. We are going back to the endurance race rule, timing screen, black and white flag, a radio warning, and then a drive through penalty. Thank you."
That's how we are going to do it. Watch the exit of the Bus Stop. In the morning, there will be rain. It's freezing cold right now and then, we will have cold tire issues. The blokes best be careful. No lady drivers in the motor race this year. We do have a couple lady pit reporters, Jemma Scott and Nicki Shields. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo drivers are OK. Only one McLaren 720S GT3 on the entry list for this race. Joe Osborne, at Optimum Motorsport, is starting the journey of this car, sharing with Oliver Wilkinson and Rob Bell.
Osborne says this will be a difficult race if you overthink it. He trusts his team. He will rely on them more when he is driving in his stints. There's more darkness. There aren't too many lights at Spa, out in the forest. Drivers are scared of the dark, breaking down in the dark with 55 other cars screaming around the circuit. There are so many variables to look at. This is going to be a tough one. The #11 Team Parker Motorsport Bentley Continental GT3 is ready to roll, in it's bright blue paint. British drivers Euan McKay and Frank Bird, sharing with Dane Nicolai Kjaergaard. Lambroghini veteran Andrea Caldarelli says rain isn't far away and his team is prepared for it.
Caldarelli will share the #63 Orange 1 FFF Lamborghini Huracan GT3 with countryman Marco Mapelli and Danish driver, Dennis Lind, who starts this race. The cars are coming out on track. They are on their warmup and formation laps. Emil Frey Racing, another Lamborghini squad, is also going to be tough. This is car #163, shared by Albert Costa, Giacomo Altoe, and Franck Perera, a Spaniard, an Italian, and a Frenchman. Punctures are going to be an issue because of the track limits abuse with all the clag and rubbish on the outside of corners.
The last two-time winners of the 24 Hours of Spa were in 1979 and '80, back in the touring car days. The Martin brothers, Jean Michel and Philippe, won, driving a 3 liter Ford Capri III., both years. The crews are going to have to really find sleep. The length of darkness and the cold, are going to be a factor. This race is going to mirror the idea seen at the Rolex 24 at Daytona where yours truly was, back in January to see the IMSA cars. We watch the two K-PAX Bentley Continental GT3's. Jordan Pepper starts #3. Andy Soucek, starts #9 caboose on the field, after an engine change. The middle is the cahos zone. What a gorgeous trophy. Who will win it? We'll find out.
Bentley's drivers are, in #3, Jordan Pepper, Maxime Soulet, and Jules Gounon. #9 is Rodrigo Baptista, Alvaro Parente, and Andy Soucek. So many great drivers have won here and many of them are now team members for these teams. Raffaele Marciello and Christopher Mies will battle each other from the front row. Now, you might be better off pitting at the bottom of the hill, in the old endurance pit lane, whereas, in the top Formula 1 pits, you will lose tire temp after having to make a turn. Everyone will start this race on Pirelli P Zero slick tires. What is going to happen?
A stint is 65 minutes in this race. If you pit during the 65 minutes, it will reset the time clock. It is extended if your last lap is under Full Course Yellow or Safety Car. Kelvin van der Linde is also ready to roll. He and his team mates will do double stints. We are in UTC time in Belgium right now. It's beginning to spritz with rain again, just a bit. Pit lane will close in two minutes. Come to the grid, please. It's dry in the F1 pits, but there are damp patches around. Look for Sainteloc Audi. Dorian Boccolacci of France, sharing with German's Markus Winkelhock and Christopher Haase. The #93 Sky - Tempesta Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 is going to be a contender in Pro Am. Chris Froggatt of England, Giancarlo Fisichella, Italian F1 veteran, and Eddie Cheever III., the Italian American, and son of sports car racer and Indianapolis 500 winner, Eddie Cheever Jr., share the car.
Thomas Preining is also hoping to survive the start. He is racing the #40 GPX Porsche 911 GT3R with Romain Dumas and Louis Deletraz. Five minutes from now we will start this motor race. Albert Costa, the Spaniard, is ready to go. He is an endurance veteran at Emil Frey Racing in the Lamborghini. He is at the bottom end of pit lane, or rather, his team is. Again, tire temperature is going to be a big deal. We will release the cars from the grid, and have the ceremonial start down to Eau Rouge. C.W. Moses from AWS will wave the flag, the Belgian flag. We're ready to race.
The cars roll off on the formation lap. Maximum concentration. Time to focus. Brave new world. No one here has raced at the 24 Hours of Spa in the autumn. The leaves are going to be a huge deal, getting into the air intakes. We're reayd to go racing. Hang on to your hollyhocks. This will be a 24 hour sprint despite the gloominess and the dark. We are getting ready. The points will be awarded at six and 12 hours. For IGTC points, they will be awarded at the end, as well as six and 12. Everyone has to take a five minute stop for brake pads and discs.
We're ready to go. It's the biggest and best GT3 race in the world. Enjoy it. We're about ready to roll. They come to La Source, and plunge downhill. Raffaele Marciello and Christopher Mies control the field. C.W. Moses from Amazon waves the Belgian flag, and we're racing! Raffaele Marciello hangs on tin the lead through Eau Rouge. So far so good. Everyone is OK. 56 GT3 cars thunder into Les Combes. They go up through Raidillon, Less Combes, Bruxelles. The cars are all over the shop right now. Corner by corner, lap by lap shuffling. This race is wide open. The McLaren of Rob Bell is at midfield. Raffaele Marciello is scooting away into Piff Paff. Jordan Pepper dives inside the Mercedes. He sticks the pass.
We are concerned about Team Parker and the Bentley. Is it just the transponder? Let's hope. Dirk Werner battles Matthieu Vaxiviere and Sven Mueller. Marciello leads by 6/10ths of a second right now. First lap is clean and green. Ferrari #51 is challenging Porsche #47. Chopping and changing. Euan McKay was off the road. He came a cropper someplace, bhut is back in the race. Now, there's a Ferrari with a puncture. That's got to be Pierre Ehret, car #488. Daniel Keilwitz has a puncture, sharing the Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 with Pierre Ehret, David Perel, and Rino Mastronardi. Another puncture for one of the Audi's, the #55 Attempto Racing car, the Audi R8 LMS of Finlay Hutchison of England.
Hutchison, sharing with Nicolas Scholl from Austria, German Alex Aka, and Frenchman Simon Gachet. Nelson Panciatici in Bentley #107 is getting a track limits warning as Finlay Hutchinson's tire comes apart. This is at Fangnes, the Piff Paff. Alexandre Imperatori also has trouble in the #21 KCMG Porsche. Hutchison in the lane for fuel. #21 is back in the motor race as well. Mattia Drudi is flying, catching Maro Engel. Drudi is in a factory Attempto Audi, chasing Maro Engel. They storm through Eau Rouge. Flying through Eau Rouge and into Raidillon. Full Course Yellow in 20 seconds. In 10 seconds. Full Course Yellow, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, now.
It is a short yellow to remove debris. We won't need a safety car here. #55 is in the garage and needs lots of repairs. Let's make sure we drive smart. The marshals are cleaning up the mess, as everyone is slowed down. The marshals in their orange uniforms and woolly hats, are a big help. We must thank them. We owe those ladies and gentlemen a debt of gratitude as we can't race without them. The track is being cleared up. The tire temperatures need to be maintained. The longer the yellow, the more need there is for the safety car to be dispatched. Look at the leaves being gathered in the radiators. We will have leaves and pine needles all over the shop here. There was a puncture for KCMG. The car ran over something. Kamui Kobayashi has pitted after starting in the lane. He will get dropped back, but will save time after topping up the tank.
The road at Curve Paul Frere is clear now. This race is very complex. Teams will take liberties with everything they can. The safety car procedure will now start because it is a safer way to restart the race. The drivers can weave around and get heat in their tires. Safety cars breed safety cars. We are going to restart soon. Hang on a second. Finlay Hutchison says that he got a puncture after being run into by a Lamborghini. He does want to get back out there, but the team has to assess the damage and they need to put oil into the car as well.
Very disappointing stuff. Valentin Pierburg is in the garage with engine issues on the Mercedes. Well, not engine, but crash damage. This is the Valentin Pierburg driven #20 SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes AMG GT3. Pierburg from France, sharing with Austrian Dominik Baumann, and also, American drivers George Kurtz and Colin Braun. We have 39 Pro class cars as we get ready to go back to green. Lights out on the safety car. We're ready to go back to green. Raffaele Marciello leads the field on this restart. We've run 7 laps so far. 30 miles. Mies wants the lead as Matthieu Vaxiviere defends from Jordan Pepper. Into Les Combes, and now downhill.
Raffaele Marciello leads this motor race, building it, edging ahead of Christopher Mies. Marciello is in the pound seats right now. Mies needs more speed. He will be concerned by drivers like Mattia Drudi and Maro Engel. Rob Bell gets dusted by Dane Cameron at La Source. The Honda man moves around the McLaren. That was an opportunistic move. Cameron passes Hubert Haupt for 27th spot. Sandy Mitchell in the Barwell Lamborghini is motoring along as well. We will get to the full driver lineups when there's time.
Early doors yet, here at Spa. One of the Bentley's has it's windscreen wipers on. That may be in error. We are anticipating pit stops at the end of hour one. Marciello leads ahead of Mies. Maro Engel runs third and Mattia Drudi is closing in on Engel. Drudi is bish bash boshing it at the moment. Markus Winkelhock fifth, Thomas Preining in sixth spot. They are keeping out of mischief right now. The Porsche factory drivers are here en masse. They have brought their A game with them. They want to win. They will execute, targeting average lap times. Stick to your guns. Dennis Lind has the fastest Lamborghini Huracan GT3. "Dennis The Menace" is going to fly. He is sharing with Marco Mapelli and Andrea Caldarelli.
Track limits at the exit of Raidillon are increasing all the time. We've run 10 laps, 43.5 miles. Onto lap 11 now. This is a long, long slog. Let the car, the driver, and the team, get settled down. Take it easy. Just do what you have to do. Dennis Lind is monstering Alessandro Pier Guidi, but he isn't doing anything stupid, trying to be a danger man right now. Matthieu Jaminet is tenth, ahead of Dennis Olsen. Alessandro Pier Guidi, though, is applying the blowtorch to Dennis Lind. Ferrari V8 vs. Lamborghini V10. They are covered by a handkerchief. Silver Cup, Pro Am, and Am are the other classes. Car #19 is off the road at Speaker's Corner. Hiroshi Hamaguchi of Japan in the #19 Lamborghini gets too wide at Speaker's corner, spins, and boom, hits the wall.
The #54 Dinamic Porsche and the #34 Walkenhorst BMW nbattle. Miguel Molina and Alessandro Pier Guidi are flying as well. Elbows out. It's hammer and tongs on the road right now. This is what we want to see. But be sure not to compromise the car or the team. Don't get into the usual old story of argy bargy/hip and shoulder nonsense. Frederic Schandorff has moved around one of his competitors. In the lane, Hiroshi Hamaguchi, checking for damage and adding fuel. Molina, Perera, Farfus, sweeping through Eau Rouge. More use of the windscreen wipers, look. Matthieu Jaminet has moved around Alessandro Pier Guidi. There is a slight drizzle at the top of the mountain.
Christopher Mies goes off the road. Mattia Drudi wants it but now has gone around for third place. He has made it 'round Maro Engel and Christopher Mies through Pouhon. Drudi wants by Mies and he does it! Mattia Drudi is screaming towards the front. Mies is struggling, and Maro Engel locks up and makes a pig's breakfast of the corner at the Bus Stop. Maro Engel has gone off the road. Audi, the meat in the sandwich. Where does it end? Who is going to give? Thomas Preining, Michael Christensen, Dennis Lind, Christopher Mies... this is bonkers!
Great racing! This race has come alive! Jeepers creepers! It is all chopping and changing corner by corner, on a greasy road. Giancarlo Fisichella passes Andy Soucek in 37th spot. There's a long, long way to go yet, lassies and laddies. They wriggle through Blanchimont and the Bus Stop. Mattia Drudi is the highest place Audi and Christopher Mies was caught unawares and the others were all over him like a rash, like a proverbial el cheapo suito. Rob Bell has been dinged for disrespecting track limits. Matthieu Jaminet in car #12, for GPX Racing. This is the team that won last year but not the same drivers. Those drivers are in the KCMG car.
The cars pour through Campus up to the end of the lap. Raffaele Marciello and Jordan Pepper are going to be ones to watch if the rain comes. We saw how awesome Pepper was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway just two weeks ago. Side by side stuff between Maxime Martin and Matthieu Vaxiviere, with Robert Renauer behind. Maxime Martin is a legend here at Spa and so are his dad and his uncle. Tom Onslow-Cole is being followed by Andy Soucek who is flying. Euan McKay is clawing his way back as well. Hamaguchi and Hutchison for their teams are having issues right now, with only 43 minutes on the board.
Mattia Drudi has shaken off the battle pack behind and he can start concentrating on his own race and continue to push, push, push. Drudi is putting daylight between himself and Christopher Mies. Jordan Pepper is right behind Giancarlo Fisichella. Fisichella is the minnow. Soucek is the shark. Hamaguchi's Lamborghini has a transmission issue. His Lamborghini was damaged in that wreck earlier. They will just have to pound around for a while and keep going. Soucek gives Fisichella a love tap. The Bentley is crawling all over the back of the Ferrari. Yikes! This race is really 24 one hour sprint races. It's amazing.
Watch out for the curbing at Raidillon. You will be dinged if you are not careful. Tom Onslow-Cole is running very well. Alexandre Imperatori is a lap down. Jim Pla also, in one of the other Mercedes AMG GT3's is going for it. Maxime Martin in the Aston Martin moves past Rob Bell in the McLaren 720S. Maxime Martin is cutting through the field like a hot knife through butter. Martin sharing with Jonny Adam, Chris Goodwin, and Alexander West. So disappointing for the #19 team. It is going to be a long road to hoe for them, Hiroshi Hamaguchi of Japan, Phil Keen from England, and Italian's Raffaele Giammaria and Luigi Moccia. Phil Keen is not too optimistic about getting back in the picture.
Raffaele Marciello is consolidating his lead as we see the #33 WRT Audi R8 of Rik Breukers being reported for a refueling delta time issue. Dane Cameron moves past Martin Tomczyk. This is the only Honda in the race. Dane Cameron, Renger van der Zande, and Mario Farnbacher the driving trio. ToM Onslow-Cole is scrapping with Alexandre Imperatori. They drtop into Bruxelles corner and keep it up. Pit stop time for tires for a Lamborghini. Meantime, the cars wriggle their way downhill. That's the third Orange 1 FFF Lamborghini. We need that driver lineup and I will get it when I can. Valentin Haase Clot is running really well, too, who won the GT4 race yesterday.
Fisichella gets some argy bargy from Alexandre Imperatori. Imperatori tries to slam the door in Fisichella's face. Giancarlo goes for it and slams the door back in Imperatori's face as well, look. The battles rage from 30th on back. Nelson Panciatici goes through, experienced in open wheel cars and in LMP2 prototypes. The lead gap was 4.7 second, and might incrase. Five seconds. Raffaele Marciello leads Mattia Drudi as the cars are screaming through Eau Rouge at 245-246 kilometers an hour. Every driver is extremely brave through Eau Rouge. That's 150 miles an hour in a production car. Amazing!
Tom Onslow-Cole has finally passed the Ferrari. Here comes Fisichella, exiting Eau Rouge up the hill. Fisichella was on pole for a Belgian Grand Prix here at Spa. Valentin Haase Clot gets passed by Andy Soucek. Someone runs wide. It may be a BMW. Hard to tell. Flashing your lights won't do any good, sunshine. Meantime, Kamui Kobayashi wants by Valentin Haase-Clot. Raffaele Marciello is motoring away. We are close to the first round of pit stops. Marciello is on a Saturday afternoon cruise so far. Jordan Pepper 16th. Earl Bamber 18th. Mikael Grenier makes contact with Earl Bamber. That wasn't too fair now, was it?
Valentin Haase-Clot in the #159 Aston and Rob Bell in the McLaren are pitting. They will be out of sequence. Pit stops are crucial and early stopping is as clever move. Marciello leads pursued by Mattia Drudi.
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