The #51 AF Corse Ferrari has extended its lead over the field, with Alessandro Pier Guidi now holding a 10-second advantage over the chasing group.
The #7 Comtoyou Aston Martin with Mattia Drudi sits second, while the #998 Rowe Racing BMW, which came into the pits at the stroke of the 65-minute mark, is effectively third and attempting to undercut the two leading cars.
The gap at the front however is substantial, with over 30 seconds for the #998 to overcome in order to get into the lead.
Completing the top five are the #32 WRT BMW, and the #34 Walkenhorst Aston Martin. At this stage they are the only other cars in with a shot of victory. There are still 10 cars on the lead lap though, and they could yet come into play if the safety car is called.
It has been a trouble-free two hours, run entirely under green until a brief Full Course Yellow just at the start of the final hour to recover the #10 Bousten VDS Mercedes, which ground to a halt on the entry to Eau Rouge. Great thinking from Aurelien Panis, who pulled over right at an access road, enabled the quick recovery of the car and a short FCY returning to green.
The AF Corse Ferrari lost 5 seconds to the #7 Comtoyou Aston Martin in the process of decelerating to FCY speed and accelerating back to race speed, but the gap of 10 seconds, and the pace from Pier Guidi, will offer some comfort to Ferrari at this stage of the race.
Two 30-second time penalties for Track Limits have been handed down to cars on the lead lap; the #77 Haupt Racing Team Mercedes, battling for Gold class lead, and the #163 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini, who fought back to as high as 6th after their troubles overnight. The #163 has managed to stay on the lead lap, while the #77 has dropped a lap back.
Mikael Grenier and AlManar Racing by GetSpeed are now in a commanding position in the Gold Cup, with their #777 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo almost two minutes ahead of Jusuf Owega in the #77 Haupt Racing Team Mercedes-AMG. Owega, in turn, has an advantage of over a minute to Gilles Magnus in the #25 Sainteloc Racing Audi.
Tresor Attempto Racing’s lead in the Bronze Cup has expanded to over a minute, after Barwell Motorsport’s #72 Lamborghini suffered a puncture in the penultimate hour with Mattia Michelotto behind the wheel. Patrick Kujala rejoined in the Huracan in second position, only 20 seconds ahead of Tommaso Mosca in the #52 AF Corse Ferrari.
The penultimate hour has ended with heartbreak in the Silver Cup, as a charging Aurelien Panis pulled off the circuit aboard the #10 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Panis had closed to within a second of class leader Yannick Mettler (#3 GetSpeed), having started his stint fourteen seconds down. This means GetSpeed now lead by over a lap ahead of the #55 Dinamic GT Porsche 911 GT3.R
CrowdStrike Racing by Riley continue to control Pro-Am, with Colin Braun now 15 laps clear of second place Indy Dontje in the #16 Uno Racing with Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.
After spending over an hour in the pits, Team RJN’s McLaren has returned to the track, a further 13 laps behind as the third and final Pro-Am car still running.
With the final round of pitstops underway, it’s worth noting that time penalties awarded after 15:40 local time will be applied at the end of the race.
