As part of the celebrations of GT3’s 20th anniversary this year, the MRL GT3 Legends series featured on the support package for the 24 Hours of Spa, running a pair of 50-minute races at the famed Belgian venue.
The opening race was driven by the duel between pole sitter Graham Davidson, in the #47 DTB Motorsport Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, and Danny Winstanley’s #78 DW Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT3.
For more than 30 minutes, the latter tried repeatedly to overtake at various points on the circuit – La Source, Les Combes and even at the foot of Raidillon at Eau Rouge – without success. The driver of the #78 Audi eventually found a way past the #47 Aston Martin on the inside of Bruxelles, only for both drivers to miss out of victory due to time penalties.
65 seconds for Winstanley for speeding in the pit lane, and 10 seconds for Davidson for track limits. Victory therefore went to the Neary family, Richard and his son Sam, in the #30 Team Abba Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.
“It was probably the worst-feeling car I’ve ever had,” admitted Sam Neary, despite the triumph.
“The tyres went off, and we were a lot slower – about nine seconds – by the end. The team told me that Graham Davidson had a penalty, so I stayed behind, monitored the water temperature, and managed myself. The car was missing something. It was bloody hot. And I’m really happy – the team did a mega job.”
Davidson finished second, with the #45 Classic & Speed BMW Z4 GT3 Marcus von Oeynhausen and his son Christoph, sporting Marc VDS colours, finishing third despite a minimum pit stop time infringement.
In Race 2, starting from fifth, Charlie Kennedy surprised everyone on the opening lap. Already third at La Source, the driver of the #23 Team Kennedy Nissan GT-R passed Danny Winstanley’s #78 Audi R8 LMS Ultra on the run down to Eau Rouge, then race leader Graham Davidson’s #47 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 up the Kemmel straight.
The race was then disrupted by two short safety car periods following off-track excursions for the #46 Audi R87 LMS Ultra of Jeff Smith and the #77 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 of James Parker at the double left-hander of Pouhon.
Defending hard, Kennedy managed to hold the lead until his pit stop. Marcus von Oeynhausen and his son Christoph then benefited from a shorter pitstop than the leader – penalised by 20 seconds due to his status as a 26-year-old solo driver – to take the lead, and they held on to it until the finish.
“The Belgians love our Marc VDS Racing–liveried BMW. It’s their car, and we are very happy to have brought it here,” said Christoph van Oeyenhausen.
“We did everything to get it here, and we took first place in the end. That’s fantastic. My father is an experienced driver. He knows his stuff. I think I can always count on him because he does everything right and he defends like a king, and it is just really nice to be on the podium with him. It couldn’t be better. It couldn’t be better.”
Kennedy finished second, 2.593 seconds behind, with the #12 Team Parker Racing Aston Martin of Shaun Lynn rounding out the podium.
GT3 Legends will next race on the weekend of 24th to 26th July 2026, at the BRDC Classic at Silverstone.
Images courtesy of Ed Curtis/Gruppe C Photography/Motor Racing Legends
