The contenders for the overall lead started to see some, at least temporary, casualties into hour 23.
Jules Gounon held the lead in the #88 Akkodis ASP AMG having moved up through the field and took first position as the then-leading #2 GetSpeed AMG pitted with Luca Stolz.
The closest contender at that point was Nick Yelloly in the #98 ROWE Racing BMW, a run that looked set to see the M4 GT3 into the lead fell away a little as the Pirellis flagged. Worse still there would be a right rear puncture for Yelloly deep into the 23rd hour, a slow in-lap and pit stop dropped him down the order, off the lead lap and into 8th.
Huge drama for one of our contenders for outright victory as Yelloly’s#98 ROWE BMW suffers a right-rear puncture with less than 2 hours to go!#Spa24h 🇧🇪🎢 #FanatecGT #GTWorldChEu #IGTC @Pirelli @AWS @CrowdStrike @fanatec @TotalEnergies pic.twitter.com/rjY21Qhz0x
— TotalEnergies 24Hours of Spa (@24HoursofSpa) July 31, 2022
Also losing time were the two Iron Lynx Pro Ferraris, both car pitting at the same time and losing chunks of time apiece as a result of the double stack.
Also in some trouble, and rather more dramatically so, was the hard charging #95 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin, Nicki Thiim fighting Gounon for fourth in the 22nd hour but after running side by side from La Source as the AMG looked to find a way by (the moment caught here by ‘Frozenspeed at La Source as the incident developed).
The pair touched through Eau Rouge, the Mercedes emerging unscathed, the Aston spun around but mercifully kept out of the barriers. The spin though left the Vantage with a left rear puncture, another slow lap home for attention dropped the car back to 9th.
And there’s drama as Thiim & Gounon go side-by-side through Eau Rouge/Raidillon with neither willing to give an inch!
There’s contact and the Aston goes round! 🙈#Spa24h 🇧🇪🎢 #FanatecGT #GTWorldChEu #IGTC @Pirelli @AWS @CrowdStrike @fanatec @TotalEnergies pic.twitter.com/TM2cVcYKYI
— TotalEnergies 24Hours of Spa (@24HoursofSpa) July 31, 2022
At the top of the penultimate hour, the top running order had Raffaele Marciello in the #88 some 10 seconds clear of Stolz in the #2. But the cars are on differing pit strategies, the #2 pitting at the top of the hour.
3rd and closing, but over 20 seconds back were Dan Harper in the #50 ROWE Racing BMW. Antonio Fuoco (#71 Iron Lynx Ferrari), Maro Engel (#55 GruppeM AMG), Nick Tandy (#47 KCMG Porsche)- who had dropped back deep in the stint and pitted at the top of the hour, Nicky Catsburg (#98 ROWE BMW) and Marvin Kirchofer (#38 Jota McLaren) are the others on the lead lap.
Silver Cup saw an Audi one-two in a race that has otherwise been wretched for the marque, the #30 WRT car 14th overall ahead of the #99 Attempto machine – around 30 seconds between them with the #14 Emil Frey Lamborghini also on the class lead lap.
The Iron Dames hold a commanding multi-lap lead in Gold Cup, 17th overall over the #93 Sky-Tempesta AMG.
Pro-Am too was in the hands of a dominantly-leading Ferrari, this time the #52 AF Corse car, 20th overall for the 488 GT3, the #75 SunEnergy1 AMG running second in class.
The close battle in AM cup was interrupted by a run off track in the #35 Walkenhorst BMW from Don Yount that ripped off the rear diffuser. That put the #20 SPS automotive performance back into the class lead, 34th overall.
A wild ride for the Bronze category leader #35 @Walkenhorst_MS BMW as it takes to the gravel and grass on the run toward the final chicane. There’s underfloor damage, this might cost it the class win its been battling for. 🤔😵#Spa24h 🇧🇪🎢 #FanatecGT #GTWorldChEu #IGTC pic.twitter.com/EThcwz7KmV
— TotalEnergies 24Hours of Spa (@24HoursofSpa) July 31, 2022
There are two more retirements to report, the #57 Winward AMG and the ‘Tacos’- liveried #34 Walkenhorst BMW.
