Hours 13 & 14
With ten hours to go in the 2021 TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa the #51 Iron Lynx Ferrari enjoys a comfortable lead over the #32 Audi Sport Team WRT car.
In the two hours after the halfway point of the biggest GT3 race on the motorsports planet Alessandro Pier Guidi and Come Ledogar more than doubled the lead of the #51 Iron Lynx Ferrari. With ten hours separating them from the finish flag, the crew of the Italian machine now has a 40-second lead over the #32 Audi Sport Team WRT car.
Both cars still have to perform their mandatory Technical Pitstop, however, which is also the case for the car in third, the #88 Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP. By taking a 4m41s Technical Pitstop at 5.10 AM the #95 Garage 59 Aston Martin dropped off the lead lap, but the car is still in fourth.
Further down, the #63 Orange1 FFF Racing Lamborghini, long-time leader in the opening half of the race, was punished by a second drive-through penalty, again for speeding in the pitlane. With ten hours to go, the highest representative of the Sant’Agata Bolognese manufacturer is now down in 10th.
Despite suffering a spin when exiting the Bus Stop chicane the #90 Madpanda Motorsport Mercedes-AMG remains in the lead of the Silver Cup, with a 28-second advantage over the #33 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari. The lead in Pro-Am was back in the hands of the #52 AF Corse Ferrari, while the #23 Huber Motorsport regained the lead in the Am Cup.
Hours 15 & 16
The #51 Iron Lynx Ferrari led the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa at two-thirds distance. Nicklas Nielsen was 14 seconds clear at the 16-hour mark, though the gap had been more than double this prior to a full-course yellow/safety car period that began at a little before 8am.
Having topped the order at six and 12 hours, the #51 crew of Pier Guidi/Ledogar/Nielsen stretched its lead during the early morning stint as the battle for victory narrowed to a handful of cars. The Ferrari faced its biggest challenge from the #32 Audi Sport Team WRT entry, though the advantage clearly lay with the Italian marque’s 488 GT3.
Nielsen was 40 seconds clear when the #16 Grasser Racing Lamborghini hit the barriers, neutralising the race and providing a perfect opportunity for teams to perform the mandatory technical pit stop. When racing resumed, the Ferrari led by six seconds behind the safety car.
Vanthoor was P2 in the #32 Audi, while the #95 Garage 59 Aston Martin continued to show well in third spot, albeit more than half a minute shy of the #51 Ferrari. At 16 hours these were the only three cars running on the lead lap.
Next up was the #66 Audi Sport Team Attempto, the #47 KCMG Porsche and the #63 Orange1 FFF Racing Lamborghini. Five brands were represented in the overall top-six at this stage of the race.
The main casualty of the early morning was the #88 Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP car, which was forced to retire from what had been third position. A problem with the left-rear damper had been causing the team concern throughout the early morning hours, but a little after 7am it broke for good and put the pole-sitting AMG GT3 out of the race.
The #90 Madpanda Motorsport Mercedes-AMG still led in the Silver Cup, holding a healthy advantage over the #159 Garage 59 Aston Martin. The #7 Toksport WRT Mercedes-AMG also remained in contention, sitting third at this stage.
Ferrari was on top in the Pro-Am class, too, with the #52 AF Corse machine holding a one-lap lead over the sister #53 car and the #93 Sky Tempesta Racing machine sitting third. The #166 Hägeli by T2 Racing Porsche was comfortably leading the Am Cup, two laps clear of its closest rival.
Hours 17 & 18
There was no change at the front of the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa hit the 18-hour mark, which saw the race running behind the safety car after the #23 Huber Motorsport Porsche crashed at Raidillon.
The top-three was as it had been two hours earlier with the #51 Iron Lynx Ferrari leading from the #32 Audi Sport Team WRT and the #95 Garage 59 Aston Martin. The gap between the lead duo was 18 seconds when the yellow flags waved, with Dries Vanthoor making small gains on Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Niki Leutwiler had recently taken the Am Cup lead when he hit the wall hard at Raidillon, causing barrier damage that was still being repaired at 18 hours. With a full-course yellow period called both of the leaders made their scheduled pit stops, while the Aston had already done so around 10 minutes earlier. The WRT stop was long, while the Iron Lynx crew elected to take a second run through the pits to reset the #51 car’s stint time.
The Silver Cup battle remains finely poised. Having led since the second hour, the #90 Madpanda Mercedes-AMG saw its advantage cut by a drive-through for track limits abuses. Patrick Kujala was at the wheel when the penalty was handed down, while Ricardo Sanchez led by five seconds at the 18-hour mark.
The #53 AF Corse Ferrari led in Pro-Am with a healthy lead over the #77 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini. But the Am Cup battle appears to be over, with both the #23 and #166 Porsches out of contention at the 18-hour mark. The #166 was in the pits, but could yet get back on-track to claim the win.
The race went green shortly after the 18-hour mark with the #51 Ferrari pulling a few seconds clear of the #32 Audi.
