As the second half of the 2016 Spa 24 Hours started to unfold, the #6 Phoenix Audi, #7 and #8 M-Sport Bentleys and #99 ROWE BMW continued to run on the lead lap, swapping the lead between them as they made their routine pit stops.
The #7 and #8 pitted on the same lap just before 6am, but the process was perhaps not as smooth as team boss Malcolm Wilson would have liked, as Reip in the #8 overshot his mark and the mechanics had to reposition his car while also making sure not to impede the #7.
Unlike the #8, the #7 Bentley had yet to make its five-minute brake-change stop and it’s the same story with #6 Audi. The #7 though made its brake change just as the race went under FCY for the eighth time due to the #12 Boutsen Ginion BMW (above) getting in trouble, the car stopped at Stavelot.
The second-in-Pro-Am #11 Ferrari was dealt a drive-through for overtaking off the track as we closed in on the end of the 14th hour. There were now just three cars on the lead lap, although the leader still owed us the five-minute technical pitstop.
Renger van der Zande in the #88 Mercedes (above) confirmed that AKKA-ASP successfully double-stinted the tyres, saving a chunk of time, Renger says 40 seconds, Paul Truswell says c.25.
The leader (Stippler) pitted the #6, still requiring the five-minute stop and presumably now waiting for a convenient caution period. Soucek took the lead (the 36th lead change of the race), pitting a few laps later for a regular stop and allowing Sims (#99 Rowe BMW) back into the lead, but pitting next time around to finish a triple stint With 9 hours and 40 minutes remaining, Stippler was back to the lead.
There was less good news for the #2 WRT Audi , however, which is now a retirement due to engine issues.
