Lionspeed GP’s sensational maiden Spa 24 Hours victory over the weekend produced a number of milestones and had a big impact on the Intercontinental GT Challenge standings.
It was not only Lionspeed GP’s first win at the Spa 24 – in its first start in the Pro category – it delivered Porsche its first win in the event since 2020.
And with that result, Bastian Buus, Ricardo Feller and Thomas Preining, who overcame an engine change and pitlane start to claim the most unlikely of victories, helped elevate Porsche to the top of the GT3 Manufacturers’ standings.
The German brand’s win and fourth-place finish in the race with Schumacher CLRT, turned a nine-point deficit into a lead of the same amount over Mercedes-AMG. BMW is another 20 behind.
It was Buus and Feller’s maiden IGTC wins, while Preining added a second to his total after finishing overall runner-up but first of the Intercontinental contingent at the 24h Nürburgring two years ago. Buus also became Spa’s youngest winner since Jules Gounon’s debut win at the event with Sainteloc back in 2017 when he was 22-years-old.
For all three drivers, and the Lionspeed team, it was an unforgettable weekend, winning the world’s most prestigious GT3 race in front of a record 132,000 fans trackside.
“It’s one of the biggest events of the year, one of the biggest events there is, so of course it’s a big milestone in my career,” Buus said post-race. “It’s also the biggest victory I’ve had with Porsche, so it was very emotional.
“This is the stuff you dream of when you arrive here for the weekend, and now, to stand on top of the podium in my third time participation, feels great. Hopefully it’s not the last time.”
Feller added: “The most important point is the people (at Lionspeed) who have been pushing. The goal last year, when we were in the Bronze Cup, was to get to Pro as soon as possible, now we are sitting here and that’s incredible. I’m so proud of everyone for achieving a result like this.”
As for the IGTC Drivers’ standings, led by Bathurst and Nürburgring winners Maro Engel and Maxime Martin going into the event, the six eligible manufacturers filled 15 of the top 16 positions by the end of the race.
However, no points were scored by Maxime Martin, who was split from Engel at Spa, after his GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG retired on Saturday evening.
That leaves Engel heading Luca Stolz by 17 points with two stops left on the calendar, with Martin now third a point further back, and Buus moving up to fourth, another three behind.
Crucially, though, Engel is expected to prioritise his DTM programme over the weekends of IGTC’s remaining events at Suzuka and Indianapolis, meaning the battle for drivers’ title honours is still very much alive.
In the Independent Cup, Jefri Ibrahim clinched the event’s Pro-Am victory with JMR’s Chevrolet to also score his first IGTC class win of the season. But runaway points leader Li Kerong (High Class Racing) finished second in both to maintain his stranglehold on the class. Tsunami RT’s Johannes Zelger rounded out the podium.
The IGTC’s next round is in Japan, the Suzuka 1000km on September 11-13.
Image courtesy of SRO & Frozenspeed
