#Spa24h Race Updates – Part 3

#Spa24h Race Updates – Part 3

* Day has dawned over Spa but it's accompanied by heavy rain and mist hanging in the trees. Not that Mosca cares: he's gapping Sorensen at the front of the field. Sensationally, the Bronze class Ferrari leads overall.

* Winward's Mercedes-AMG led early on but has retired in the 13th hour after taking a hit from the #71 Ferrari at La Source. The collision also involved Sky Tempesta's Ferrari that has lived to fight another day. Indeed, Lilou Wadoux is running an excellent ninth overall and second in Bronze.

* WRT pit from the lead to complete their mandatory technical pitstop, believeing they've done enough to bag maximum Endurance Cup. But the official timing screns say otherwise: it's actually Attempto's #99 Audi classified as leading after 12 hours. WRT won't like that one bit.

* That's half-distance!


* Pro-Am: The #4 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG leads from its only serious contender, the #100 McLaren. Both cars are three laps off the overall lead. The #16 Mercedes-AMG is also running, albeit 15 laps down.

* Gold: the #777 Mercedes-AMG leads the order in P7 overall, enjoying a handy lead over the #77 Merc and the #25 Audi. Those three are all on the lead lap. The #88 Audi is still in contention, one lap back, but the remainder of the runners are out or a long way off the lead. 

* Silver: the #35 Aston Martin is out front and runs P6 overall with Maxime Robin at the wheel. The #57 Mercedes-AMG (which has been there or thereabouts from the word go) is second in P13, while the #10 Mercedes-AMG is third (P27). 

* Bronze: the #93 Ferrari leads and runs fifth overall with Chris Froggatt at the wheel. That's a legit P5, aided by the long Safety Car and some smart choices. The #66 Audi is P2 ahead of the #72 Lamborghini, with those two just a few seconds apart in 16th and 17th overall. 

* Classes in a little more depth as we approach 14 hours complete...

* The fact that we're racing does not mean the weather's eased. If anything, it's raining more than ever. 

* The Safety Car is in. At 06:05, we are racing at a still-very-wet and also rather foggy Spa-Francorchamps. 

The #93 Ferrari leads Bronze and is a giddying third overall. The Silver Cup leader is fourth – that's the #35 Walkenhorst Aston Martin – and the Gold Cup leader (#777 Mercedes-AMG) is sixth. Pro-Am is led by the #4 Mercedes-AMG. 

* We are under Safety Car at 05:55 local, but about to return to green. The #32 BMW leads, but the Team WRT entry just recieved a 30-second penalty for an FCY infringement. 

* Raidillon claims another! The #36 Aston has found the wall halfway up the hill. Jansen's distraught and Walkenhorst's day is done. 

* Miguel Ramos runs wide and hits the barrier on the run to the final chicane. That's caused the #188 McLaren to shed its left rear tyre. The car eventually comes to a halt at pit-in, but it's been towed away fairly quickly.

* The Bronze Cup leader – namely the #66 Audi – has just had a trip throught the gravel. Dylan Pereira gathers it up without losing too much time. 

* Lead change. The #911 Porsche passes the #163 lamborghini into Campus. Klaus Bachler had been gaining on Franck Perera for some time and finally gets the job done. He's cleared off pretty quickly, pulling more than three seconds clear in short order.

* With that latest round of stops complete the #163 Lamborghini leads from the #911 Porsche. The #46 BMW is third, followed by the sister #32 which surrendered its lead with that 30-second penalty.

* Cars are stopping at 06:45(ish) for scheduled stops. We think the #32 BMW will be held for an additional 30 seconds for its earlier FCY infringement. That should hand the lead to the #163 Lamborghini.


* We think Dan Harper is on slicks. The #998 BMW is at least five seconds per lap faster than the leaders. We're getting some leading cars stopping off-sequence for slicks, including both Team WRT BMWs. 

* It's drying out, so much so that the #92 Porsche has fitted slicks. That is brave, but it could be a masterstroke. That change happened a little after 08:00. 

* The #2 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG has been wheeled into the garage. That looks like it's going to be a lengthy repair and the end of the Mercedes challenge. Its best car is now the Silver-leading #57 Winward Racing entry.

* Pit stops are upon us again. Bachler remains in the leading #911 Porsche, while Pepper takes over the #163 Lamborghini and Marciello replaces Martin in the #46 BMW.

* Here's the order at the top of hour 16. Each class leader has a handy advantage. 


* This will be a reasonably long FCY/Safety Car as they need to repair the tyre barriers.

* Big crash for the #911 Porsche of Joel Sturm, who hits the barriers hard near Blanchimont and flips upside down. He's out of the car, thankfully, but that car's impressive run is over.

* The #51 Ferrari passed the #46 BMW at the restart. That's Alessandro Pier Guidi on Raffaele Marciello. More bad news for Team WRT shortly afterwards as the #7 Aston Martin passes the #32 BMW for fifth.

* Class leaders: Bronze is the #66 Audi in P8. Gold is the #777 Mercedes-AMG in P12. Silver is the #35 Aston Martin in P21. And Pro-Am is the #4 Mercedes-AMG in P32.

* Safety Car heading in at about 09:05. The #998 BMW leads the #911 Porsche and the #32 BMW.

* The #57 Mercedes-AMG, which had been leading in Silver, has been in the pits for more than 10 minutes. The #35 Aston Martin now heads that class. 

* It seems that the #63 Lambo was serving its Technical Pit Stop. The #93 Ferrari has also done so during this FCY, which is now becoming a Safety Car.

* Problems for the #163 Lamborghini. It's back on pit lane, off sequence, and there's oil going in. It eventually gets going but that was a long stop.

* We've got an FCY for the #30 BMW, which stopped at the exit of Pouhon. That allows the #998 BMW a cheap pit stop, which should ensure that this car – now driven by Max Hesse –  leads when we go green again. 


* The #51 Ferrari is past. Rovera is now P3 and a few second behind the #998 BMW. Marciello leads aboard the #46 BMW. 

A quick FCY for a beached Lambo. We're racing again at (almost) 10:00 and there's a great fight between the #7 Aston and the #51 Ferrari. 

We're green again. The #32 and #46 BMWs took short stops last time around and have cycled to the lead.