Continuing from yesterday’s Part One, DSC’s Ewan Wane spent race week for the Spa 24 Hours embedded with the debuting Steller Motorsport squad and their Corvette Z06 GT3.R
THURSDAY 26th JUNE
Finally, after four long days, Steller’s Corvette Z06 GT3.R would take to the Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps in anger. The morning talk was all about the weather – after nothing more than a few light sprinkles so far, scattered thunderstorms were promised for the afternoon.
The intensity in the team had certainly ramped up. As soon as Max concluded the day’s Team Meeting, there was a rush to head to the garage and get to work on the car, with Free Practice just 90 minutes away.
Free Practice was interrupted by multiple rain showers, which disrupted everyone’s run plans, especially given the dry forecast for the race ahead. The aim for this session was to cycle through the team’s four drivers – Matisse Lismont, Daniel Ali, Olivier Hart and Lorcan Hanafin – but the team was forced to adapt, as changing conditions put the programme slightly behind.
With seven minutes to go, the weather picked up once again, to a point where no useful running could be had. “Box, box, box” was the call over the radio to Hart, and Steller brought its opening session to an early end.
“With an hour and a half between four drivers, it’s not loads of time,” Hanafin, who would wait until Pre-Qualifying before getting in the car, told me.
“Olivier wasn’t in the car before apart from the Prologue so I’d rather him get up to speed and then we can have more of a level playing field between all four of the drivers, because ultimately it’s not won by one driver, it’s won by all four.”
Post-session, the team got to work drying the car as quickly as possible, whilst the drivers had the first of many debriefs, some more formal than others, held across the weekend.
Every time any of them got out of the car, they quickly headed over to the engineers to offer their feedback on the car, and to take on any notes as to how they could improve their driving. It’s a young quartet, with an average age of under 22, and Spa 24 debutants Ali and Hart were especially eager to learn how they can improve.
At only 60 minutes, Pre-Qualifying is a quickfire session at the best of times, and this was only exaggerated by a Red Flag just before the halfway mark, shortly after Hart had climbed behind the wheel. No one on the 75-car grid has achieved the work they wanted to so far today, but for a team such as Steller Motorsport, which doesn’t have the bank of historic data some of its rivals possess, it’s a larger blow.
Track time was passing much quicker in the garage than it normally does when watching along on a broadcast, as I got a much greater sense of the intensity. 10 laps sounds like far too little to prepare each driver for qualifying, but on a track the size of Spa that’s the better part of 30 minutes taken up.
On the positive side, the team had accumulated just two track limits warnings across the day’s early running, amongst the least of anyone in the field. With six warnings in a six-hour period resulting in a 30-second penalty, keeping these to a minimum would be key if the team was to contend during the race.
Qualifying didn’t go to plan for Steller, with Q1 disrupted by three red flags. Twice, Lismont set a Sector 1 time which threatens the best in the session, only to encounter either a Red Flag or traffic later on the lap. To make matters worse, Q1 was the only wet session, granting a huge advantage to the teams who only ran three drivers and therefore skip Q1.
Eerily calm so far, the passion in the garage had stepped up a notch now we’d entered competitive running, with clear disappointment as to how the evening had unfolded against the team. I won’t use the exact term I heard more than once during Q1, but to give you a clue it rhymes with ‘hit show’.
The #24 Corvette ended up 11th in the 16-car Silver Cup field. Not awful, especially with 24 hours ahead, but not quite where the team hoped for either.
The delays in Qualifying mean that Night Practice had been postponed, and on-track running would now end after 1:30AM. For a team which – outside of the end of qualifying – is yet to run at night at Spa, this was a critical session, and thankfully it stayed clean throughout as all four drivers cycled through the car.
One thing which catches my attention was the amount of time crew members spend outside the front of the garage. There is constant work to be done here, whether it’s keeping the pit box clean, communicating with neighbouring teams, or preparing for refuelling.
The day ended with a quick debrief amongst the drivers, and a check-in from Corvette’s staff to discuss anything found during the day. Someone had to stay behind to keep the garage open for the night time pit walk, but with the car in parc ferme the remainder of the team can head off to rest after what, personally, I find to be Spa’s most exhausting day.
FRIDAY 27th JUNE
Friday begins with a late start. Cumulative fatigue catches up with you during a 24-hour race, and with the car not due on circuit until Warm-Up at 8:05 PM, it’s better to rest instead of rushing in early.
Once the team arrives at the circuit, it’s time to prepare the car for the race ahead. The Z06 GT3.R is stripped down, all parts are checked and cleaned, and then put back together. As well as the aesthetic benefits, cleaning the car also matters on a performance front. Flies, rubber and other debris can alter airflow, leading to parts not working as intended.
The 30-minute Warm-Up session offered a chance to further acclimatise the drivers, and make sure everything changed today, and functions as intended. Thankfully, it was another session that passed without a problem, and the car made it through the opening days without sustaining any damage. By 10:20 PM, a cover had been placed over the Corvette, ready for tomorrow’s race.
The evening’s GT4 European Series encounter emphasises the challenges of the small garages in the Endurance pits, as Steller is required to open its doors so Ginetta-squad CMR has a space to work during their race. This means the already crowded garage now had another half a dozen people occupying it, limiting any work the crew wishes to get done.
SATURDAY 28th JUNE
Saturday. Race Day. Undoubtedly, it was one of the biggest days in Steller Motorsport’s history, as the team steps into the unknown. Months of preparation and investment will be realised and justified today.
The heat was set to be a huge challenge. It was already uncomfortably warm as we left our hotel, and it was only going to get hotter. The race, in fact, would go on to set a new record track temperature for the Spa 24 of over 46C. This was a huge challenge for the crew, who had to be ready to service the car at any given moment and therefore were unable to escape their fire suits from race start to checkered flag.
At 2:45 PM, the 5.5L V8 engine is fired up for the first time, with Team Principal Gary Blackham in the garage to enjoy the moment.
25 minutes later, the pitlane opens, and the Z06 GT3.R completes its sighting lap. The team rush to meet the car at its position on the grid, where covers are quickly applied to try and minimise heat soak.
It was the most relaxed I’d seen most of the crew since the parade. With the car on the grid, there was nothing they could do right now. It was an opportunity for photos, a sit down, and to enjoy the moment.
Things though were less relaxed at Johor Racing JMR, who hade identified a potential issue with its own Z06 GT3.R. Steller Motorsport was being constantly kept in the loop about what was happening, as part of the team’s agreement to assist one another throughout the weekend. Several joint meetings had taken place, as the pair combined forces in an attempt to get the new Corvette as ready as possible for its Spa 24 debut.
Johor were forced to pull the car off the grid and start from the pitlane, but it was not a problem which should affect Steller, so any potential panic quickly turns to disappointment for a fellow member of the Corvette family.
Hanafin, as the most experienced of the driving quartet, was nominated to be the starting driver. With a record 74 GT3 cars on the same grid, a hectic opening few laps was expected. This was proven correct almost instantly, as a Lamborghini spun just a few places in front of the Brit and is collected by another car.
Hanafin climbed four places in the opening stint, as the team begans to settle into the routine of a 24-hour race. The first hour flew by, and it was quickly time to start limbering up for the first pitstop. Chairs were cleared from the garage, but this was to make it easier for tyres to be transferred through the garage from the tyre ovens, rather than due to any potential problem.
Earlier in the week, the team calculated the ideal time for tyres to be removed from the ovens and pushed to the front of the garage. This was another place where the challenge of the Endurance pits plays a role, as a ramp needs to be placed to ensure the tyres can travel up the lip between the inclined paddock and flat pit box without tipping.
The pit stop, which was recorded for review later on, went without a hitch. One down, at least 22 to go.
10 minutes later, a major incident triggered a Full Course Yellow and the first major strategy call of the race. Steller elected not to pit, gaining track position and advancing further up the Silver Cup order.
It’s under this FCY that I received a piece of advice I never expected to hear from team personnel – to talk to their drivers more during the race. Nothing resembling an interview, of course, but some small talk here and there is a great way to help relax the mind. I took it as a sign of how accepted within the team I had become, that I was actively being encouraged to interact with the drivers at this critical stage of the weekend.
During the fourth hour, a repair to some early bodywork damage dropped the #24 Corvette to the tail end of the lead lap, but the high frequency of cautions early on meant this wasn’t a huge disadvantage. It had also offset the team from the rest of the field in terms of fuel strategy, which created an opportunity to advance back through the field.
Hanafin took advantage of the clear track to surge the #24 Corvette Z06 GT3.R up the leaderboard. The team was third in Silver at the six-hour mark, picking up seven valuable points for the championship. Following its second-placed finish at Circuit Paul Ricard, Steller is in the championship picture, and as such the points awarded at six and 12 hours could prove make-or-break when the trophies are handed out in October.
Shortly after, as the pit cycle progresses, Hanafin finds himself at the front. Steller Motorsport, on its debut, leads the 24 Hours of Spa overall.
I’ll confess I was expecting a stronger reaction from the team at this moment, although perhaps many of them were too busy preparing for an incoming pit stop. It might not have been strictly relevant to the team’s goals for the race, especially given it was through a pit cycle rather than on pure pace, but it felt to me like a key milestone which was worthy of greater acknowledgement.
SUNDAY 29th JUNE
Unfortunately, a couple of minor incidents overnight meant that, by the time I was free from the overnight stint in the media centre, Steller Motorsport’s #24 Corvette had fallen out of contention in the fight for the Silver Cup win.
The race had evolved into a fight to finish – minimising mistakes, gaining experience, and being there to pick up the pieces in case any of its class rivals ran into trouble.
The crew were doing their best to keep morale up and fight the tiredness, playing games and trying to make one another laugh, but gradually, the need to rest caught up on people, and chairs are slowly shifted from inside the garage to out the back, where it is slightly quieter.
This isn’t to say that professionalism has dropped at all, however. Each pit stop was still approached with the same intensity as yesterday. The strategy during each FCY is still called as if the fate of the team’s race depends upon it, and the engineers – impressively – are still powering through without any shuteye.
The mood rose though as the finish gets nearer, and the final scheduled pit stop was celebrated with fist bumps, as the team gathered in the garage to watch the final hour unfold.
By 4:30 PM, everyone was standing, silent, watching the broadcast as the #63 Lamborghini crossed the line to clinch overall victory.
The camera cuts away before Steller’s #24 Corvette appears in shot, so it’s a radio message from Hanafin, who is behind the wheel for the final stint, which confirmed that the car has successfully crossed the line.
There was a sudden outpouring of emotion, as everyone realised the feat that had been achieved. Steller Motorsport, in its maiden 24-hour race, had made it to the finish without any major incidents, mistakes or reliability dramas, having shown competitive pace throughout.
This relatively small team had gone up against some of the giants of GT racing – its Silver Cup opposition included nine teams also present in the Pro class, all of whom have factory support – and proven more than capable of fighting against them. In fact, Steller Motorsport left Spa ahead of all nine of these squads in the Endurance Cup Silver Teams’ championship.
They had brought Corvette back to the 24 hours of Spa after 14 years away, led the race overall, and given the American brand its first finish since it won overall with the C6.R in GT1 in 2009.
There were handshakes and hugs all round, and it was hard not to get caught up in the moment. The result, eighth in Silver and 40th overall, is slightly short of the team’s ambitions, but a near-perfect run ticks almost every box set out pre-race.
Thoughts quickly turned to next year, and how to take that next step to fight for class honours in 2026. This was a very promising first attempt, but it is clear that this is seen as a multi-year programme. A lot has been learned across the past 24 hours, which will be put into action across the rest of the season, and in particular back at Spa in 12 months’ time.
It’s a cliché, but the checkered flag is rarely the end of a 24-hour race for anyone involved. At Spa, the garages need to be cleared by 10PM, which means celebrations are forced to end and work begins to pack down almost immediately.
A job which was meticulously done across multiple days in the workshop needs to be completed in a matter of hours, and it’s a testament to the team that despite being exhausted, this deadline was met relatively comfortably.
Just after 9:30 PM, the #24 Corvette Z06 GT3.R was rolled back into its transporter. Job complete, Steller Motorsport finally able to celebrate a successful weekend.
MONDAY 30th JUNE
Monday morning featured the long drive back home, offering the team plenty of time to relax and enjoy themselves. The crew was divided into two groups – those who wanted to dissect the race straightaway and dived into pit stop times and stint averages, and those who wanted to focus on anything else for a day before going into full debrief mode.
Back in England, I bid my farewells and boarded my train home, offering me my own chance to reflect upon my week.
One question I’d been asked a lot was whether it had been what I expected, and I’d often given a non-committal answer.
On the one hand, I had come into this with enough knowledge of how a racing team functions, that at no point was I confused as to why anyone was doing something in particular.
On the other hand, knowing a job takes six hours, versus seeing it done for six hours, or, in the case of setup, actually doing it for six hours, is a very different thing. It is safe to say that my respect for all those involved on the team-side of the sport has only increased.
I’d also been caught out by just how welcome the team had made me feel. As a journalist, you are allowed and occasionally invited into garages, but it’s rare that an entire team gives the impression that they are happy you’re there. By travelling, staying and eating with Steller Motorsport, I was integrated far beyond the norm, and quickly got to the stage where the crew let their guard down, and the stories and laughs made it a truly enjoyable experience from start to finish.
