Belgian Audi Club Team WRT took their second Spa 24 Hours win in dramatic fashion, after a lengthy battle with the surviving #77 BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS BMW Z4 that went down to the wire in the Ardennes.
A stellar, faultless drive by Réne Rast, Markus Winkelhock and Laurens Vanthoor put the Belgian squad in position to win the race as the final hours beckoned. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra had the pace all weekend, as well as reliability. That, coupled with such a superb drive from the trio in the car won the race.
WRT had strength in numbers at the front throughout. The #2 and #3 WRT sister cars ran in the top five for almost the whole race. That was a luxury that Marc VDS were without after their #66 Z4 retired during the night after a collision with a hare broke the radiator.
But despite having only one bullet left in their gun, VDS stuck around and created a two-way dogfight between the #1 and #77. The #2 Audi, with 2014 Le Mans winners Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer behind the wheel hit trouble late, and the the #3 of Frank Stippler, James Nash and Christopher Mies wasn’t really in the fight past the halfway mark after taking a pair of penalties following a red-flag pitlane procedure violation.
The race felt stagnant at times, especially after the red-flag period that followed the carnage during the opening hours. But most importantly, the racing became refreshingly clean and in the final hour it turned into a frenzy. The spectators were definitely not robbed of a decent show here.
The #77 BMW looked poised to win the race as they entered the final third. the Z4 was quick, didn’t require as much care to the brakes and was in the lead, but in the closing hours the car developed an electrical issue.
The lingering problem forced Dirk Werner, Lucas Luhr and Markus Palttala to drive to the flag without ABS or traction control. It resulted in slower lap times and – crucially – sparked a gamble on double-stinting tyres from the VDS pit wall at the end to keep them in the fight. It was invigorating to see them refuse to lie down in such adversity and keep the hopes of a victory alive for themselves and BMW.
Dirk Werner climbed into the car for the final time as the end neared, and embarked on a heroic double stint with worn tyres and no traction control or ABS. He tried mightily, but couldn’t hold onto the 21-second-lead that team boss Bas Leinders created by double-stinting the Pirellis.
Under the pressure of time, Rast kept his cool like he had all race, and squeezed past Werner at La Source in the closing minutes, after what was an admirable defensive drive by the young German.
The gutsy move by Leinders didn’t work in the end, but it was a smart call to keep Audi on their toes right to the flag. Werner followed the winning Audi home, knowing that Marc VDS’ chance of a first win at a 24 hour race was all but gone and that the agonising wait will continue for the dedicated Belgian team.
It’s a memorable win for everyone at WRT, and especially for Laurens Vanthoor, who finally scored a long-overdue win at a 24. Last year was all about the Mercedes SLS, but like 2012, the Audi R8 has been the car to have for the longer events in 2014.
A Nürburgring 24 Hours win for Phoneix, another Le Mans win for Team Joest and a Spa 24 Hours victory for WRT caps off another incredible season for Audi, which continues to show that it is – at times – unbreakable when it comes to long-distance racing.
POST-RACE QUOTES: PRO CUP
Winner – #1 WRT Audi R8
Rene Rast: “It was quite hot in the last hours – I had to push quite a lot, so it was like a sprint race. I’m exhausted and very emotional. Traffic was harder at the start compared to the end – people were looking in their mirrors more at the end.”
Markus Winkelhock: Our package was good so we knew we had every chance to win. Today we did the job, and to win Nurburgring and Spa 24s in one year is something really special. I think I’ll only realise that tomorrow.
Laurens Vanthoor: “It’s obviously quite special – I secretly dreamed a bit about this beforehand. I knew we had to make the fewest mistakes, but actually we made no mistakes really. I think we deserve it.
Second – #77 Marc VDS BMW Z4
Dirk Werner: “Double-stinting at the end was the only possible solution. We had the ABS and TC problem with about four hours to go. It’s a shame, as we were really strong during the night and could only have that close finish by double-stinting. We were too slow in the end, but I guess we’re lucky to be second. It was a very good weekend – we knew it would be difficult to compete against the full-season entries with less running on the Pirellis.”
Lucas Luhr: “I don’t see so well at night so I don’t get scared! When the temperature drops and there’s lots of rubber down, you get the happy hour in the morning when there’s less traffic and you can do some really good laps.”
Markus Palttala: “Second is first loser, so I suppose it’s disappointing. But I would’be taken it if I was offered it last week. It was almost a perfect race in terms of pit stops and strategy – we were just unlucky to have the electrical problem.”
Third – #3 WRT Audi R8
Christopher Mies: “We had some issues with temperatures and the balance wasn’t perfect. We had to check the gearbox also during the red flag, as the temperature was getting a bit high. We tried something different, but it didn’t pay off.”
Frank Stippler: “The last three or four hours were just about getting the car home and surviving. There was a lot of pressure on James and he did a great job for his first 24-hour race. I’d like to dedicate this podium to my grandmother, who passed away recently, and I’m also thinking of Marcus Mahy, who I know from historics. He’s a good guy and I hope he recovers fast.”
James Nash: “24-hour racing is hard and racing GT3s is so different to touring cars. Christopher and Frank taught me a lot this weekend.”
POST-RACE QUOTES: PRO-AM CUP WINNERS – #53 AF CORSE FERRARI
Louis Machiels: “I didn’t look in my mirrors towards the end, because I’d have been even more worried. I got good information over the radio from the team. I’m very happy to come back to this after a year out from racing.”
Niek Hommerson: “This is our best win ever – we had a choice of letting the faster Pros finish the car, but we decided to race and it was great.”
Marco Cioci: “That was like a 24-hour sprint! We lost a bit of time at the start, so we just had to push and push.”
Andrea Bertolini: “Every Spa race is different. We won Pro-Am here in 2012, then were leading in 2013 and had a puncture. It’s nice always to be at the front – especially when we were a lap and a half down at the start.”
POST-RACE QUOTES: GENTLEMAN TROPHY WINNERS – #51 AF CORSE FERRARI
Francisco Guedes: “We decided to change the car to fight for first in the race rather than class pole. We did everything we could, and it paid off.”
Peter Mann: “We had about a three-lap cushion after the #43 Sport Garage car lost its wheel – the difficult part was managing that gap!”
Alexander Talkanitsa: “Really difficult – I did three double stints!”
Cedric Mezard: “It was easy for me – Alexander had done all the hard work!”
SK & SE
