With six hours to go in the 2026 24 Hours of Spa, the Winward Racing-run #48 Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter entry is out front, as the German-American team chases its third Spa victory.
The #48 AMG GT3 EVO has been a constant presence in the top 10 throughout the first 18 hours, claiming the lead for the most-recent occasion thanks to the fortunate timing of a Full Course Yellow in the 17th hour.
Maro Engel was yet to pit when the #44 Greystone GT McLaren of Tommy Pintos briefly stopped on the main straight, allowing him to pit entirely under FCY conditions, whilst the then-leading #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche was already in its pit box when the FCY was called.
The FCY was subsequently converted into a Safety Car, with the race resuming with seven hours and eighth minutes left on the clock.
Multiple lapped cars gave Engel an initial buffer over Bastian Buus, who had climbed aboard the #80 Porsche, with the German maintaining his advantage until handing over to Luca Stolz at his most recent pit stop.
Buus then started closing in on Stolz, with Tommaso Mosca, who started the most recent stint in fourth overall, catching the pair of them aboard the #51 AF Corse Ferrari.
The young Italian passed Buus on the Kemmel Straight on the final lap of the hour, with the top four, completed by the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche of Ayhancan Güven, separated by only 1.5 seconds at three-quarters distance.
The #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche, #46 Team WRT BMW, #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin, #50 AF Corse Ferrari and #32 Team WRT BMW complete the lead lap runners.
The #98 ROWE Racing BMW is in 10th, and the first car one lap down. The biggest loser of the most-recent FCY, the German squad pitted before it was deployed, falling off the lead lap and being unable to regain it after trundling round at reduced speed when the #48 Mercedes-AMG stopped.
The long Safety Car deployed in Hour 12 for Sarah Bovy’s accident offered the race a significant ‘re-rack’, as most teams served their technical pit stops, and cars pitted multiple times to change tyres as the track dried following a brief rain shower, and reset stint times.
The Silver Cup-entered #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren of Salman Owega restarted at the head of the order, with the #46 BMW of Max Hesse promoted to second and the effective lead.
The M4 GT3 Evo driver moved to the front when Owega pitted, with Hesse, and then co-driver Dan Harper, holding off the #48 Mercedes-AMG, whilst behind the pole-sitting #51 AF Corse Ferrari closed in.
During a pit stop cycle in the 15th hour, Alessio Rovera reeled off a flurry of rapid laps to successfully undercut his way into the lead, returning the #51 Ferrari to the front for the first time since its puncture yesterday evening.
In this same sequence, Thomas Preining climbed aboard the #80 Porsche, with the Austrian charging through from fourth to pass Rovera’s co-driver Nicklas Nielsen for the lead towards the end of Hour 16, when Nielsen got caught out by traffic at the Bus Stop chicane.
Preining would then remain out front until he pitted to hand over to Buus, during which the #44 McLaren would trigger the FCY.
The #998 ROWE Racing BMW currently leads the Gold Cup by four laps, after issues for all of its rivals.
The #58 Garage 59 Mclaren fell out of contention after Benjamin Goethe misjudged his braking point in Hour 13, and rear-ended the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche, with the British squad losing an hour as repairs were made to the front of the car.
The #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche has also made an unplanned visit to the garage to repair a broken track rod after Gilles Magnus had contact with the sister Pro-entered #2 entry, whilst the #111 CSA Racing McLaren lost four laps after an incident with the #999 GetSpeed Team PCX Mercedes-AMG at Eau Rouge.
In Silver, the #5 Optimum McLaren of Guilherme Oliveira leads, after making contact with the #65 HRT Ford Racing Mustang of Maxime Oosten whilst fighting for the lead at the end of the 18th hour.
Oliviera attempted to pass the Dutchman at the Bus Stop, but contact was made, with Oosten spinning and picking up a puncture. The #30 WRT BMW will therefore be promoted to second in class, with the #52 AF Corse Ferrari also still on the lead lap.
The #65 Ford, had led Silver throughout the morning, and was a factor in the overall fight before, like the #98 BMW, losing the lead lap during the last Safety Car.
The Bronze Cup has evolved into a duel between the #991 Paradine Competition BMW and #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari.
Paradine enjoyed a long spell in the lead before performing its technical pit stop in the 17th hour, handing track position to the Ferrari squad.
Silver-ranked Leyton Fourie then hunted down Kessel’s Bronze driver, Dustin Blattner, with the BMW able to overcut the Ferrari for the lead.
Both cars switched drivers at the last round of pit stops, with Mathys Jaubert then able to pass Paradine’s Bronze, Darren Leung, and pull out a seven-second advantage before the end of the 18th hour.
And in Pro-Am, the #0 Johor Motorsports Racing JMR Corvette leads by over a lap, after a strong night of running where pro drivers Ben Green and Jordan Love rotated stints. The #86 High Class Racing Porsche is second, with the #999 GetSpeed Team PCX Mercedes-AMG having fallen to third.
Comtoyou Racing’s nightmare 24 Hours of Spa has continued, after an accident for its Pro #007 Aston Martin at Raidillon. Nicki Thiim lost control of the Vantage AMR GT3 Evo whilst running sixth overall, impacting the left-hand-side wall and sustaining significant front-left damage. The Dane brought the car back to the pits, where it retired.
The #64 HRT Ford Racing entry, which led overnight, has retired after Fabio Scherer pulled off at Turn 18 in the 16th hour. The car had already fallen to the tail-end of the lead lap runners, after picking up a drive-through penalty for FCY speeding.
And the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing effort has spent the last hour in the garage, having fallen back since the 12-hour mark as the 2 Seas Motorsport-run car battled engine issues. The cause is suspected to be related to contact at pit entry at the 12-hour mark, when Daniel Juncadella collided with the rear of a Ferrari.
50 cars are still officially running, with confirmed retirements since the 12-hour mark including Comtoyou Racing’s other three Aston Martins, Tresor Attempto Racing’s #88 Audi, the #42 Century Motorsport BMW, #84 Eastalent Racing Audi, #60 JMW Motorsport Ferrari and #63 TGI Team by GRT Lamborghini, which only made a brief return to the track as it investigated the engine issue which sidelined the car in Hour 6.
Image courtesy of Frozenspeed
