Two top 10 finishers for Porsche in tricky Spa 24 Hours

Though the start of the endurance classic in the Ardennes Forest took place in summery weather, the night was characterised by heavy rain in places and a long safety car phase, and in the last third of the race it was back to dry tarmac in cooler temperatures for the final spurt.

Twelve Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by ten customer teams took on the challenge of this year’s race, among a 67-strong field of GT3 cars.

The highest Porsche finisher was the #92 SSR Herberth entry in eighth place, driven by Porsche works drivers Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet and Frédéric Makowiecki, with the #96 Rutronik Racing entry of Julien Andlauer, Sven Müller and Patric Niederhauser in ninth.

Phantom Global Racing crossed the finish line in 26th position, five laps down, with the #23 entry shared by reigning DTM champion and Porsche works driver Thomas Preining, Joel Ericsson and Jaxon Evans. Elsewhere, the #55 Dinamic GT entry, driven by Axel Blom, Marius Nakken, Theo Nouet and Jop Rappange took second place in the Silver Cup classification, finishing 27th overall.

Story of the race

In the four-part qualifying for the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, three of the twelve Porsche 911 GT3 R advanced into Superpole. The highest qualifier was the SSR Herberth entry, setting the eighth fastest time but was demoted to 10th after a pit lane penalty. The other two entries were also penalised, with Phantom Global Racing tackling the endurance classic from 18th and Schumacher CLRT starting from P20. The opening stage of the race ran without any major dramas. Subsequently, several collisions and off-track excursions resulted in six yellow-flag phases. Of the twelve 911 GT3 R fielded by the Porsche customer teams, eight were still in the running after five hours – five of them on the same lap as the leading pack. After the first eight hours, half of the twelve 911 GT3 R racing cars were out of the contention due to accidents and incidents, and by 9.30pm, the best-placed GT3 racing car from Weissach was Phantom Global Racing in 11th. By 8.30 am, the remaining six GT3 vehicles were still out on the 7.004-kilometre racetrack. Depending on the pit stop rhythm, four of them took turns in the lead and were looking good for a top result. The PureRxcing car was the best on the road, while the Rutronik Racing, SSR Herberth and Phantom Global Racing cars were still running on the lead lap. Shortly after 9am, however, the team's dream of overall victory came to an end: Sturm came off the track in the fast Blanchimont corner in the #911. The German was uninjured in the violent collision.

The car left as the highest runner was the SSR Herberth entry, which also spent time in the lead in the early hours but was running in seventh place by 8.30am. However, unexpected heavy rain shortly after the change to slick tyres threw them back behind the safety car, and they finished in eighth overall. Rutronik Racing also looked promising heading into the morning, having made up crucial ground in the early hours. Starting 27th, at the two-thirds distance, the car was in P16 before running as high as sixth place but went on to finish ninth. Phantom Global Racing was running 14th with eight hours remaining, despite being handed a 30-second penalty just before the halfway mark for exceeding track limits. After losing time due to brake problems and a gradual loss of pressure in one tyre, they went on to cross the finish line in 26th, five laps down.

Podium finish for Dinamic GT in the Silver Cup

Theo Nouet, Jop Rappange, Marius Nakken and Axel Blom have been rewarded for a strong performance with the number 55 Porsche of the Italian team Dinamic GT with second place in the Silver Cup classification. The quartet started 56th and finished the 24-hour race in 27th place. Lionspeed X Herberth with Alessio Picariello, Alexander Fach, Antares Au and Martin Rump finished 22nd overall and seventh in the Bronze Cup. For Au, this position also means victory in the Independent Cup of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Comments on the race

Sebastian Golz (Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R): "We had expected more from the 24-hour race here at Spa. Unfortunately, we lost several 911 GT3 Rs early on due to accidents and technical problems. There were also too many time penalties. Overall, we are disappointed. We are all the more pleased about Dinamic GT's second place in the Silver Cup and the victory for Antares Au in the Independent Cup of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. We will now take our time to analyse the race and draw the right conclusions for next time.” Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 911 GT3 R #23): "I'm really flat after this exhausting race. The changeable conditions were difficult, but I especially enjoyed my triple stint during the night - I was able to drive us to the front. In the end, I was still fighting for seventh place, but there was no point in risking too much.We gave it our all and finished as the best-placed Porsche. In the end, we lacked some performance and a time penalty cost us valuable time, otherwise we could have finished in the top four or five. More was hardly within our reach. But I enjoyed driving a modern-generation GT3 racing car again with SSR Herberth in a team of and with good friends." Patric Niederhauser (Porsche 911 GT3 R #96): "That was a particularly intense version of the 24 Hours of Spa! The race went quite well for us. After a hit in the early stages, we were a lap down, but we fought our way back. Unfortunately, we didn't have the ultimate performance to be among the front runners."