Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Held during the last weekend of July, the 24 Hours of Spa, now in its 71st edition, confirmed its status as the world’s premier endurance race for GT cars with a line-up of no less than 72 entries.
Eleven manufacturers were entered in the 2019 edition: Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes, Nissan and Porsche.
All the cars are conforming to the same GT3 regulations and it means that there is no difference between the car on pole and those on the last row of the grid.
Four categories (PRO, Silver, Pro-AM and AM) were on track this year but it is to be noted that categories are only based on drivers. (Platinum for the professional drivers, then Gold, Silver and finally Bronze for the less experienced drivers).
In terms of classes, the PRO category includes the professional drivers and is more likely to contain the overall classification winner. Never before was the 24 Hours of Spa won by a car other than part of the PRO category. This category counted no less than 36 cars, more than any other class.
It promised a hard and long fight for the overall victory and that’s exactly what happened.
As often in the Belgian Ardennes, the weather factor played a great role, even more this year.
After the practice sessions held under heatwave (more than 40° Celsius in the air and 65° in the cockpits!), the start of the race had to be held behind the safety car for a few laps due to the heavy rain that fell just before the green light.
Then, at 5.40 on Sunday morning, the race had to be stopped for nearly six hours as the track was flooded and the cars were undriveable in these conditions.
Finally, a new start was given at 11.30 and another race began with five hours to go. The rain continued to fall and we no longer counted the off tracks excursions, full course yellow and safety car periods.
Porsche, who had put a strong effort for this year’s edition with six cars in the PRO category and almost all its professional drivers contributing, finally took the checkered flag in the first place, the first time since 2010. It is also the seventh overall win at the Spa 24 Hours for the Stuttgart company.
Aston Martin
The race was difficult for Aston Martin, which had three Vantage cars in the Pro-category. #62 had to withdraw on Saturday evening due to an off-track excursion, #59 had mechanical problems early in the race and #76 was 19th overall.
Aston Martin can console herself with the win of #97 in the Pro-Am category entered by Oman Racing with TF Sport for Yoluc/Al Harthy/Eastwood and Thiim.
Audi
The #1 entry of Belgian Team WRT was for a long time the best chance for the four rings make, but a collision in the last fifteen minutes of the race meant the end of hopes of victory.
The French team Saintéloc, overall winner in 2017, finally gave Audi the best result this year with a fourth place. It is the first time since 2011 that there was no Audi on the overall classification podium.
The Land Motorsport Audi of Mies/Feller/Green was counted among the favorites, but drive-through penalties and other small issues relegated the Audi R8 LMS #129 to 14th position overall.
Bentley
For its centenary, the Bentley team had high hopes of finally clinching the victory after which it has been chasing for five years. Four Continental GT3s were entered in the Pro category with high profile drivers. But #110 was sole of them to finish the race, in only 29th position overall.
The three other Bentleys in the Pro category were forced to retire with mechanical issues, like #108 of Buncombe/Palttala/Soulet which suffered gearbox problems.
The sole Bentley entered in Pro-Am did no better, as it crashed at high speed early in the race.
BMW
This BMW M6 GT3 entered by German team Walkenhorst Motorsport, was the surprising winner of last year’s 24 hours. This year, #34 only managed to finish outside the top ten, in eleventh position overall and one lap behind the winners.
One of the two factory-backed M6 GT3 entered by Team Schnitzer is seen here in Eau Rouge corner. It ended its race in the guardrails.
Ferrari
Ferrari was another make which had high hopes with several entries in the Pro category. Among them, the HubAuto Corsa 488 GT3 of Cassidy/Serra/Foster, a car that won the 8 Hours of Laguna Seca earlier this year. But it crashed and retired before the end of the first hour.
The #72 SMP Racing entry led after 6 and 12 hours, and took the championship points that goes with it. A collision and an engine problem forced Molina/Aleshin/Rigon to retire on Sunday morning.
Entered in Pro-Am and driven by ex-F1 star Giancarlo Fisichella, Eddie Cheever’s son Edward, and two amateur drivers, #93 managed to finish 4th in its category and 40th overall.
The #33 488 GT3 entered by Rinaldi Racing saved the honor of Ferrari by winning the Am category with Hook/Mattschull/Lauck/Still sharing duties.
Honda
After a first participation last year with their new NSX, Honda thought it would do well this year, despite having only two entries. #22 was entered by Team RJN supported by ex-F1 world champion Jenson Button. It finished fourth in the Silver cup category.
But the real surprise came from #30 driven by Farnbacher, Van der Zande, and regional driver Bertrand Baguette. After a race with no mistakes, they finished 6th overall, just one lap behind the winning car.
Lamborghini
With ten Huracan GT3s entered, Lamborghini was one of the most represented manufacturers. Entered by FFF Racing Team, #563 was the best of them with 8th overall for Lind/Caldarelli/Mapelli.
When the red flag fell on Sunday morning due to the treacherous conditions, the #63 Huracan of Bortolotti/Engelhart/Ineichen was leading. But after the restart, the car slowly moved back down the rankings to finish 16th overall.
Fortunately for Lamborghini, British team Barwell Motorsport managed to take the laurels of the Silver cup category with Pull/Witt/Mitchell, finishing an excellent 15th overall.
Lexus
With just one car entered, the ambitions of the Lexus RCF GT3 #23 were just to finish the race. That’s exactly what Barthez (an ex-goalkeeper of the French soccer team)/Cayrolle/Delhez/Buret did, with 44th overall and 6th in class.
Mercedes
Entered by the Black Falcon Team, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #4 took pole position on Friday evening with German Maro Engel at the wheel. Together with teammates Buurman and Stolz, he battled with the Porsches for the entire race, but could do nothing at the end, finishing 3rd overall.
Another favorite was the AMG GT3 #88, entered by French team AKKA ASP. With a lack of performance and some bad luck, it only finished 13th overall, two laps behind the leader.
With its manga decoration, the Mercedes #6 was entered in the Silver cup where it took 3rd place and 24th overall.
Nissan
Only two Nissans GT-R Nismo GT3 were entered and both finished the race, the best being #18 ending 18th, the other classified 35th overall. The last and only Nissan victory here was back in 1991
Porsche
Is it a Porsche or a Volkswagen ? The only car not being a GT3 was this guest car, which was in fact a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup MR modified to resemble a famous Volkswagen Beetle. It was competing in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Herbie film and to raise funds for charity.
Second in qualifying, the #117 Porsche 911 GT3 R entered by the team of ex-Le Mans winner Timo Bernhard was driven by him, New-Zealander Earl Bamber and Belgian Laurens Vanthoor only finished 9th, one lap behind the winning Porsche. As a consolation, Vanthoor realized the fastest lap of the race.
No less than five Porsches were among the top ten finishers. The #998 Rowe Racing entry with Porsche official drivers Makowiecki/Pilet/Tandy sharing duties, classified second overall, only 3.347 seconds behind the winning Porsche.
The Porsche factory lent three of its professional drivers, Richard Lietz, Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre, to share the #20 911 GT3 R entered by the newcomer GPX Racing team.
The Dubai-based GPX Racing team did everything to perfection and clinched an unexpected victory at their first attempt at the Spa 24 hours.
Frenchman Kevin Estre had the honor of crossing the finish line in the lead. He was a key element in the victory of his team, demonstrating his driving skills in the wet.
The overall podium of the 2019 Spa 24 hours with a Porsche 1-2 and Mercedes in 3rd.
too many rules; too many classes for all big-bore cars and no toddlers; anyone remember the mid-’60s sebring when tires floated away down pit lane and a sprite passed a gt40 on the back straight? wide tires ruined racing!
I RECENTLY FOUND A PHOTO SLIDE I TOOK IN AUGUST OF 1967,
AT THE SCCA NATIONAL IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA. IT IS OF A MORGAN WITH THE DRIVER WEARING A GOLD HELMET AND THE NAME, “ARUTUNOFF” ON THE SIDE. IT HAD SKINNY TIRES.
Oh yes, good luck old Tony, the mad Russian, what a character!