Lionspeed GP has scored a sensational victory at the 2026 24 Hours of Spa, with its #80 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) prevailing despite having to start from the pit lane.
An engine change on Thursday meant that Bastian Buus, Ricardo Feller and Thomas Preining had to play the long-game during the race, and the German squad gradually worked its way forward, staying out of trouble through the opening half of the race, before the #80 Porsche came alive on Sunday morning.
In an ominous double-stint, Preining charged from fourth to claim the lead at the end of Hour 16, only for the timing of a Full Course Yellow around a pit cycle the following hour to hand the top spot back to the Winward Racing-run Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER AMG GT3 EVO of Lucas Auer, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz.
By the end of the 18th hour, the contenders for this year’s 24 Hours of Spa appeared clear, with the #48 Mercedes-AMG and #80 Porsche joined by the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo and #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche in a four-car scrap at the front.
The #80 Porsche briefly fell to the back of this pack, but a successful undercut at the end of the 19th hour vaulted Preining into the lead that Lionspeed wouldn’t relinquish.
Outside of a pit stop cycle in the penultimate hour, the lead gap only trended upwards, with the battling behind enabling the trio of #80 Porsche pilots to gradually fall away.
The gap reached over 20 seconds at the beginning of the final hour, before Preining cruised home to an eventual 12.288-second margin of victory.
It’s a first 24 Hours of Spa victory for all three drivers, as well as for Lionspeed GP, which is in its first season of competing in the Pro class. For Porsche, it’s a ninth overall triumph, and its first since 2020, whilst for the history books, it’s the first time a car has ever won the 24 Hours of Spa, or any GT World Challenge Europe race, having started from the pits.
“I’m speechless,” was all 23-year-old Buus could muster, after scoring the biggest win of his young career.
Preining said: “We had the worst possible start to the weekend with a broken engine after the parade, so we had to start from the pits. In most other teams, and most other scenarios, you give up in that case, but we didn’t. We always believed, and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved!”
Second place went to the #48 Mercedes-AMG, which was a constant presence towards the front of the field throughout, and enjoyed a long spell in the lead between hours five and 12. Ultimately, however, the AMG GT3 EVO lacked the pace of its rivals in the closing stages, but a solid points day has placed it in a stellar position for the rest of the GT World Challenge Europe season.
The #48 Mercedes-AMG was the only one of the three-pointed star’s Pro entries to reach the finish, with damage forcing both the #17 GetSpeed and 2 Seas Motorsport-run #3 Verstappen Racing efforts to retire.
And in third, the #51 Ferrari has added another chapter to its book of 24 Hours of Spa near-misses, after a pair of punctures proved costly.
Alessio Rovera, Tommaso Mosca and Nicklas Nielsen appeared to be the trio to beat after Rovera stormed to pole position on Friday, and led until a puncture in the fifth hour cost them almost two laps.
The Italian squad fought their way back into contention, with Rovera reclaiming the lead through an undercut in the 15th hour, only for another puncture to strike at the start of Hour 19.
This one, which occurred as Mosca attempted to pass Stolz for the lead around the outside of Eau Rouge, was less costly time-wise, but meant the #51 Ferrari once again had to fight back into contention.
Rovera returned the car to the podium positions with an aggressive move around the outside of Les Combes at the end of the penultimate hour, and set off in pursuit of Auer, but was unable to find a way through.
Fourth went to the #22 Porsche of Matt Campbell, Ayhancan Güven and Frederic Makowiecki, which saw its podium chances disappear thanks to a five-second penalty after Güven made contact whilst passing the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche of Morris Schuring at La Source in the 22nd hour.
This penalty was served at its final pit stop, with Güven valiantly setting off in pursuit of the Auer-Rovera duel, but being unable to get involved before the chequered flag flew. After 24 hours of racing, second through fourth were covered by under 1.5 seconds.
The contact also derailed the hopes of the local Boutsen VDS squad, with its #2 Porsche losing over a minute after sustaining front-right bodywork damage, which limited it to eighth at the finish.
The #50 AF Corse Ferrari finished fifth, having fought back from multiple delays early on, with the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo completing the top six.
For the second year in a row, the BMW lacked the outright pace of some of its opposition, with the German marque therefore having to hope its strength in numbers could pay dividends. Some strategic trickery during a Safety Car at the halfway mark allowed the #46 entry to enjoy a spell in the lead, but once the car was jumped during a pit sequence in the 15th hour, it never threatened to reclaim the top spot.
Team WRT’s sister #32 entry was on track to finish eighth, after fighting back from an early delay when repairs were needed to the front-left corner, before Kelvin van der Linde stopped in the middle sector on the penultimate lap of the race due an issue with oil and the power steering pump.
ROWE Racing’s #98 BMW, meanwhile, ended up one lap down in ninth after falling out of contention due to the unfortunate timing of a FCY during a pit sequence in the 17th hour.
The #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo staged an impressive comeback to seventh, after Jamie Day was caught up in the opening lap accident.
Aston Martin’s other Pro entry, the 2024-winning #007 Comtoyou Racing car, didn’t appear to have the pace it has had the past two years, but was running sixth when Nicki Thiim had an off at Raidillon in the 15th hour. This incident brought an early end to a disastrous race for the local squad, which saw all four of its Vantages retire.
The Lamborghini Temerario GT3 successfully finished its first 24-hour race, with the #96 Rutronik racing example coming home in 19th overall after a consistent run. The #63 Temerario GT3 of defending winner TGI Team by GRT retired overnight, following an engine issue.
HRT Ford Racing’s #64 Mustang GT3 Evo ran strongly overnight, rotating the lead with the #48 Mercedes-AMG, before a drive-through for FCY speeding dropped it out of contention. The car then ground to a halt at the Bus Stop at the 16th hour, with HRT’s streak of misfortune this season continuing.
The #59 Garage 59 McLaren GT3 Evo was another contender to fall by the wayside, with a right-front issue forcing the car into retirement in the seventh hour.
And Audi’s return to the Pro class at the 24 Hours of Spa ended in disappointment, with the #84 Eastalent Racing R8 LMS GT3 Evo II involved in an accident at Blanchimont overnight, with Markus Winkelhock behind the wheel. The debuting team did, at least, enjoy some time out front, with it leading at the six-hour mark after going off-strategy early on.
Gold Cup honours went to the ‘Generation M’ #998 ROWE Racing BMW of Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde and Tim Tramnitz, in 11th overall, after it prevailed in a race of attrition.
The German outfit was the only entry in the eight-car field to put together a clean run, meaning it finished five laps ahead of the #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche, which lost ground after a collision with the sister car, whilst the #4 Optimum Motorsport McLaren finished third.
“I’m really proud of the whole team, and BMW, which gave us a really reliable car,” de Wilde said. “It has been a tough week for us, but we stayed out of trouble and made no mistakes.”
The majority of the Gold grid, therefore, will be ruing what could have been, but none more so than the #58 Garage 59 McLaren, which was a regular fixture in the top three overall throughout the opening half of the race, with Tom Fleming in particular adding another starring drive to his resume. Unfortunately, however, a mistake from Benjamin Goethe under braking saw him rear-end the #22 Porsche overnight, with the McLaren losing an hour as the front-end was repaired.
Silver Cup honours went to the #45 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari of Alessandro Balzan, Rafael Duran, Dylan Medler and David Perel, which staged an impressive comeback drive after losing ground overnight.
Perel hunted down the #30 Team WRT BMW in the penultimate stint, enabling Balzan to emerge ahead of Amaury Cordeel after the final round of pit stops. The Italian then pulled away, winning by 11.533 seconds.
The #52 AF Corse Ferrari finished third, ahead of the #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren, which had its race undone through multiple penalties. The final blow came at the start of the 23rd hour, when it was given a stop-go + four seconds penalty for failing to complete its technical pit stop correctly.
HRT Ford Racing, for the second time in as many years, can count itself unlucky not to finish on the Silver podium. Having started from 64th on the grid, its #65 Mustang GT3 Evo fought its way to the class lead, and was even a factor in the battle for an overall top-five finish for a spell on Sunday morning.
Maxime Oosten, however, was turned around at the Bus Stop by the #5 McLaren at the end of the 18th hour, picking up a puncture that dropped the car out of the podium battle, and to an eventual fifth-place finish.
The pole-sitting #6 GetSpeed Team BartoneBros Mercedes-AMG, meanwhile, led on Saturday evening and looked set to finish in the top six until a long pit stop in the penultimate hour dropped it back to eighth.
The defending winner, the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin, was never truly given the opportunity to defend its title, after being one of several cars eliminated on the first lap of the race. The incident also eliminated the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi, which had scored an upset victory in the previous GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup round at Monza, and the #992 Paradine Competition BMW.
Kessel Racing made it back-to-back Bronze Cup victories, with its #74 Ferrari of Dustin Blattner, Dennis Marschall, Mathys Jaubert and Ben Tuck triumphing in a duel against the #991 Paradine Competition BMW of Darren Leung, David Pittard, James Kellett and Leyton Fourie.
The balance swung between the pair throughout the race, with them even running 1-2 overall on occasion, until a puncture in the penultimate hour for the #991 BMW gave Kessel Racing an advantage it would hold to the finish.
“I think in pure pace, we weren’t struggling, but were not the fastest car on track,” Jaubert reflected. “My teammates did a perfect job, and the strategy was good. We took maximum points for the championship at six hours, 12 hours, and at the finish, so for the team it’s perfect.”
The podium was completed by the #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche art car, ahead of the #87 Winward Racing and #222 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMGs.
Several cars mounted a podium challenge before running into issues. The #12 GetSpeed Team Dubai Mercedes-AMG, and #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing and #97 Rutronik Racing Porsches all led at various points, before succumbing to a gearbox issue, damage, and v-belt and front left wheel bearing problems respectively.
And in Pro-Am, Johor Motorsports Racing JMR claimed Corvette’s first 24 Hours of Spa class victory since the American marque triumphed outright in 2009.
The #0 Z06 GT3.R of Ben Green, Jordan Love, Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim lost ground with multiple penalties early on, but strong work overnight by Green and Love gave the car a one-lap advantage it never relinquished.
“I’m immensely proud of Johor Racing,” Green said. “It’s their second year of competition, second year trying Spa with the Corvette, and it’s just such a fantastic result for everyone. We made it hard for ourselves at one point, but we came back in the end.”
The #86 High Class Racing Porsche and #999 GetSpeed Team PCX Mercedes-AMG rounded out the podium, in another high-attrition contest which sae the pole-sitting #70 AF Corse Ferrari retire as a consequence of the opening lap shunt.
The 2026 GT World Challenge Europe season continues at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Italy on 17th to 19th July 2026. The next Endurance Cup round will be held at the Nürburgring on 29th to 30th August, whilst the Intercontinental GT Challenge will resume on 11th to 13th September with the Suzuka 1000KM.
More to follow…
Images courtesy of Porsche Motorsport, Frozenspeed and SRO/JEP
