Few could have expected at the debut of the new BMW GT3 at the 24 Hours of Spa that the cars of the Munich firm could shine, but the idyll of the brand with the Belgian event throughout history is undeniable. At its equator, the 74th edition has a clear Bavarian flavour, as Nicky Catsburg’s #98 BMW commands the standings ahead of the #50, also from ROWE Racing. The BMW Junior Team drivers have sneaked in ahead of the #88 Mercedes after the only red flag of the race so far.
Once the barrier of six hours, in which the #98 BMW somewhat unexpectedly beat the #71 Ferrari, the race lost some chaos and entered a quiet phase. well it is true that the alternation of stops between the leading drivers was maintained, but also the strategies little by little were approaching. Nevertheless, the BMW #98 continued as the reference GT3with the Mercedes #88 as the main rival at the hands of a Raffaele Marciello who managed to reduce the existing gap.
During the following two hours the Belgian event had its GT3 protagonists in the #98 and #88with the permission of the Porsche #221 and the Ferrari #71, also immersed in the alternation of stops that have defined the race since its third hour. Valentino Rossi’s #46 Audi used these moments to establish its position in the leading group and the Italian driver himself rode with some solvency in eighth position. Nevertheless, the race was going to turn around shortly after for the Team WRT car.
While the GT3s of Dani Juncadella and Miguel Molina fought in the leading group, the race had just gone to waste for the #63 Lamborghini. Almost as soon as he got into the car and in full comeback of the team, Albert Costa lost control of the GT3 and hit the guards very hard. The Catalan driver’s Huracán GT3 Evo suffered serious damage to the front end and the front suspension, thus ending the dream of achieving a good result over the hours. The race at this point did not finish taking off.
There was a succession of periods of ‘FCY’, with the punctual appearance of the Safety Car, in the following hour. The touch of Alfred Renauer’s Porsche #911 and the problems of the Bentley #107 almost remained an anecdote after the strong accident of Matthew Payne’s #16 Porsche in the ‘Blanchimont’ area. What was in the first place a period of ‘FCY’, generated in turn of the spin committed by Valentino Rossi with the Audi #46soon led to a red flag to evacuate Payne.
The race was neutralized under a red flag and parc fermé regime, with the GT3 in the pits for a period close to 45 minutes. A situation that had just consolidated the changes that had taken place previously, since once again the stops under ‘FCY’ gave a twist to the established order. It is true that the BMW #98 came from the leader to the neutralization and the Mercedes #88 did it in second position after making its last stop in the previous ‘FCY’ period, but new guests emerged in the leading group.
The Mercedes #88 with Dani Juncadella at its controls fell to seventh place and between the Akkodis-ASP GT3 and the leader, the #98 BMW, vehicles such as the BMW #50, the Porsche #74 or the Aston Martin #55 emerged, until that moment away from the leading group. However, the race did not settle until the next turn of stops, already far from any neutralization. The #88 Mercedes climbed to third place ahead of the #71 Ferrariin a natural position were it not for the Mercedes #4, car entered in the Silver Cup, was leading for a few laps.
However, at the halfway point of the race, the #98 BMW repeated itself at the head of the peloton with Nicky Catsburg at its controlseven in this chaos ahead of Max Hesse, driver of the other ROWE Racing GT3. Behind the two BMWs, Dani Juncadella gritted his teeth in third position. Just before reaching the midpoint of the test, the Ferrari #21 and the Mercedes #5 had a small touch in which Arjun Maini took the AF Corse car ahead which led to a new period of ‘FCY’.
though quickly this period of ‘FCY’ and subsequent Safety Car became a round of stopssome of them techniques to change brakes, the double of the ROWE Racing BMWs at the halfway point of the race was what it was worth. The #88 Mercedes crossed this point in the race third ahead of the #71 Ferrari and the Aston Martin #95. By categories, the #4 Mercedes rules the Silver Cup at this point, while Herbert Motorsport’s #24 Porsche remains at the head of the Pro-Am Cup. For its part, the Gold Cup has been led by the #83 Iron Dames Ferrari.
Photos: GT World Challenge Europe