Team Motopark won their second consecutive Spa 500-kilometre race from pole position after a thrilling endurance event in damp conditions.
Maximilian Götz won again with the team after doing so last year, whilst #71 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo teammate Christian Mansell took his first victory in his developing GT3 career.
Season-debuting Porsche customer team Fach Auto Tech also enjoyed dominance in both Pro-Am and Am categories en route to victories for their #11 and #12 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo machinery.
Götz built a steady gap from the start before the sole safety car disruption — when Laurent De Meeus’s #55 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo suffered a puncture into Eau Rouge, causing him to spin and make contact with the tyre barrier at Raidillon.
Mansell took over the #71 at the first pit stop, as most teams switched to slicks due to the emerging dry line.
Pro-Am class winner Alexander Fach’s #11 Porsche threatened Mansell’s outright lead during the middle portion of the Spa 500.
The pairing fought nose-to-tail as they dealt with backmarker traffic, before Alexander Schwarzer’s takeover of the #11 Porsche meant that the championship-leading #33 Greystone GT McLaren 720S GT3 Evo (Dean Macdonald) eyed Mansell’s lead.
Zac Meakin struggled with cold slicks on his out-lap when he took over, inflicting front-right damage after barrier contact at Jacky Ickx Corner, but soldiered on regardless.
It put the #33 McLaren out of winning contention and allowed Götz to extend the gap to 28 seconds ahead of handing it back to Mansell for the final stint and to the checkered flag.
“That was insane,” said Mansell. “The car felt amazing with the changing weather throughout today.
“It was so sketchy, so hard to get right. You have to be so precise for so long.
“And honestly, that was so much fun today.”
“We had a great starting position, P1, and we controlled it from the front,” added Götz.
“But without a good car, you can’t do anything.
“I have to give credit to the team that did a great job in terms of strategy, in terms of car balance.
“Every lap was really enjoyable, and we have those days which you never forget, and today is one of those days.
“And to have a back-to-back win over here, I can’t ask for more, so I’m super happy.”
Elite Motorsport’s #17 Ferrari of Tom Lebbon finished in second place after a hard-fought defence against Leonardo Moncini’s #63 Scuderia Villorba Corse Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, even though Moncini’s five-second penalty hampered their chances of finishing ahead.
Lamborghini GT3 Junior driver Rodrigo Testa struggled in the #63 Lamborghini at the race start, quickly falling victim to Tom Emson’s quicker #17 Elite Ferrari at La Source.
He steadily dropped down the order, fighting against both Greystone GT Pro-class entered McLaren 720S GT3 Evos.
Only until the very final hour of the race, the #63 Lamborghini climbed back towards the top of the field, redeeming from their difficult opening stint.
Moncini took third place from Fach into the final hour, commencing his steady charge against Lebbon’s yellow Ferrari before attacking the #17 with all his effort, including an ambitious but unsuccessful dive into the Bus Stop Chicane.
Third overall and winner in the Pro-Am category, #11 Porsche teammates Alexander Fach and Alexander Schwarzer carried out a masterful performance and won from starting 16th overall/7th in Pro-Am.
Pro-Am teams ran their Amateur-graded drivers in the opening stint, so the #12’s Pro driver, Fach, sustained good track position owing to his strong pace later on.
Forty seconds behind the #11 Porsche stood another intense battle to the finish, led by Aston Martin factory driver Jonny Adam in the #97 Blackthorn AMR Vantage GT3 Evo.
Lexus factory driver and former McLaren works driver Ben Barnicoat put pressure on the Scotsman from the wheel of his #27 Optimum Motorsport McLaren.
Olimp Racing’s #777 Ferrari driver Karol Basz headed the initial fight before Adam seized an opportunity on him plus Jayden Kelly’s Pro-class entered #44 Greystone GT McLaren.
Into the final stint, Barnicoat and Jim Pla’s #26 Saintéloc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO 2 followed Adam closely, although a five-second time penalty for track limits effectively pushed the #26 car further back on track position.
Adam took the #97 Blackthorn Aston Martin home in second in conjunction with his teammate Charles Bateman, with the guest #27 Optimum McLaren of Barnicoat and Morgan Tillbrook third in Pro-Am.
The #777 Olimp Racing Ferrari (Basz/Marcin Jedliński) finished fourth in Pro-Am, but not without dramas with other rivals.
Notably, with Yifei Ye’s #96 AF Corse Ferrari when they both tried to enter the pit lane simultaneously, and when Jedliński made contact with Yannick Mettler’s #54 CBRX by SPS Mercedes, both later retired.
Saintéloc’s Pla and Michaël Blanchemain relished their fair share of battles, having started fourth and finished fifth in Pro-Am, followed by PTT Racing’s #7 BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Hubert Darmetko/Fabian Dybionka) in sixth.
After the #55 Ferrari and #54 Mercedes retirements, the #911 ZRS Porsche (Norbert Siedler) endured a reliability issue, which put them out of fighting form, along with #51 AF Corse Ferrari driver Tomasco Mosca, with 10 minutes remaining.
Fach Auto won in Am for the first time in the hands of #12 Porsche drivers Joel Monegro and Lucas Wolf, finishing over 120 seconds and five places ahead of the #16 AF Corse Ferrari,Marcelo Hahn and Galid Osman.
Hahn charged into the Am lead at the start from sixth on the grid, before Wolf led from the second hour.
Baron Motorsport’s #6 Ferrari father-son duo, Adrzej and Adrian Lewandowski, rounded out the top three in Am.
Pole-sitter 2 Seas Motorsport and their #10 Mercedes driver Scott Noble retired from P2 after 28 minutes and was the first out of the total six race retirements.
