The #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Charles Weerts leads the 2023 Spa 24 Hours after six hours of racing, with darkness falling over the circuit.
The opening hours of this year’s edition have been relatively clean with no major incidents, surprising considering the race started under safety car due to heavy rain throughout the morning that made for tricky conditions in the opening laps.
With only two safety car periods and two Full-Course Yellows, the race has already become rhythmic and settled down, with a raft of contenders emerging at the head of the field.
Second on the road in the fading light is the #17 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8, which has led at points after a charge from Nicki Thiim, but lost the top spot with 22 minutes left of the sixth hour when Weerts made a smart move around the outside of Luca Engstler at Rivage to take the overall lead. The gap between the two is just six seconds into Hour 7.
That battle looked set to be fought for second, before a penalty for the #92 Manthey Porsche 911 cost the German team the lead at its fifth pit stop in the sixth hour. The penalty was a 30-second hold in the pits for track limits and was the #92’s second of the race. Its first was a 10-second time penalty for contact with the #38 Ferrari.
Julien Andlauer now finds himself fifth as a result, in a race where track limits – predictably – have already played a significant role in creating a pecking order. More than half of the field have already been handed time penalties for violations, with seven cars in the top 10 enjoying a penalty-free race to this point. It really does pay to keep your car between the lines here and it will come as a relief to many that the warnings for track limits are reset every six hours.
Third overall, behind the leading duo is the #88 AKKODIS ASP Mercedes, which is 12 seconds off the lead, ahead of the #998 BMW that is just outside the top three in fourth but ahead of the aforementioned delayed Manthey 911.
The #92 Manthey Porsche isn’t the only contender for the win to have suffered an early setback. The #51 AF Corse Ferrari had a puncture while leading and now sits 29th and the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini (which also led) ended up in the garage with brake issues.
Looking further down the order in the Pro class, the #98 ROWE Racing leads for around 20 minutes each hour, after the team opted to pit the car out of sequence. It remains a challenger for the lead into Hour 7 after a strong stint from Nick Yelloly.
In the other classes, the #188 Garage 59 McLaren has a lap advantage on the Bronze Cup field and sits 11th, representing the first of the non-Pro class runners.
In The Gold Cup, the #9 Boutsen VDS Audi leads the way in 14th overall, Tresor Orange1’s #99 R8 leads the Silver class and is lapping in 35th overall. The #24 Car Collection Porsche holds the top spot in the Pro/Am division in 35th.
The pole-sitting Huber Motorsport Porsche led for the opening hour with Matteo Cairoli at the wheel but is down to 26th overall but still holds a place in the top three of the Bronze class.
There have only been two retirements so far, Kyle Washington crashing out before the race went green after pitting under the Safety Car to switch to slicks in the #132 GMG Racing Porsche. Washington’s error saw him veer off the track on the run up to Raidillon as he attempted to catch the train, the Porsche running over the sopping wet kerbs on the outside, losing traction instantly and making heavy contact with the outside wall.
The second retirement came in the fourth hour when Fran Rueda ground to a halt in the #7 Inception Racing McLaren. The Spanish driver tried valiantly to get the stricken car back but electrical woes eventually saw him walk away, unable to reach the pits.
