Lionspeed GP has achieved victory at the 79th edition of the 24 Hours of Spa, surprising the audience by starting the race from the pit and ultimately surpassing the #48 Winward Mercedes and the #51 AF Corse Ferrari. The event attracted a record number of 132,000 spectators at the track.
This triumph represents a historic moment for Lionspeed GP, with drivers Ricardo Feller, Thomas Preining, and Bastian Buus crossing the finish line after a spectacular comeback. The Porsche 911 GT3 R of the 992 generation marked this victory, being the first for this model at Spa and the first for the German manufacturer since 2020.
The three drivers celebrated their first victories in this prestigious GT3 race, and this is Lionspeed’s second overall win in the GT World Challenge Europe, following their triumph in the Sprint Cup at Brands Hatch.
Despite the start from the pit, the Porsche quickly began to gain positions during the early stages of the competition. The team managed to take advantage of a series of safety car periods throughout the night to position themselves at the front, demonstrating increasing pace as the race progressed.
The race reached a thrilling conclusion with a final sprint of three and a half hours. Lionspeed had secured the first position an hour earlier during a cycle of peaks, and upon the resumption of the race, Preining rapidly increased his lead while his rivals battled for second place.
The fight for second place was intense, featuring an intriguing tussle between the #48 Winward Mercedes, including drivers like Maro Engel and Luca Stolz, as well as the #51 AF Corse Ferrari and the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche, made up of Ayhancan Guven and others.
The #51 Ferrari experienced a rollercoaster race, starting as the undisputed leader, but a flat tire just after four hours curtailed their hopes. Despite this, the team managed to recover during the night with an intelligent strategy.
However, another setback occurred when driver Tommaso Mosca suffered another puncture. This caused the Ferrari to lose the pace it had maintained in the early laps, and the drop in temperatures at the end further complicated matters for the Italian team.
As for the various participating brands, the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes had a disastrous weekend as they were withdrawn after three hours. Their race started with qualifying problems, accumulating more misfortunes during the competition.
The #34 Walkenhorst Aston Martin, after surviving an incident at the beginning of the race, finished in seventh position, thanks to their ability to stay among the top ten throughout the competition.
The final results showed significant attrition in the Pro class, with only one representative from Mercedes-AMG among the fifteen. On the other hand, the standout of the race was Lionspeed’s performance, which dominated the landscape of GT3 racing in both Europe and globally.
In the end, this edition of the 24 Hours of Spa was a torrent of emotions, exemplifying the challenges and surprising comebacks that make this event one of the most exciting races in the motorsport world.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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