FIA GT - Spa 24 Hours - Hours 17 & 18

#174, the remaining Alpina BMW is a confirmed retirement - The Marc VDS Ford meanwhile is not - the team still working on their gearbox issue! A clutch change is in progress - 30 more minutes in the shade are expected.

08:08 - Lamy takes the lead after a great battle - the Maserati pulls away immediately.

08:11 - Machiels puts the 5th in GT2, 11th placed overall #61 Prospeed Porsche in the gravel  - Chris Goodwin is just a lap back in the #55 CRS Ferrari - The Belgian-run Porsche though rejoins.

Pier Guidi has meanwhile finally overhauled the GT2 leader for 5th overall.  The #33 Vitaphone MC12 though is 16 Laps off the lead.

08:17 - The Nissan rejoins - now 20th having lost over an hour - Darren Turner is at the wheel

The defending champion in GT2 is in gearbox trouble - The #77 BMS Ferrari is in the Garage.

08:21 - Kirkaldy is closing in on Ragginger for 2nd in GT2 - 7th overall - The gap though is still 85 seconds.  Chris Goodwin meanwhile is closing in fast on the Louis Machiells pedalled #61 Prospeed Porsche  for 11th overall 5th in class.- 8 seconds currently the gap.

08:23 Lamy and Hezemans pit - Gavin retakes the lead

08:23 - The G3 leader has clattered the barrier at the Pif Paf - Peter Wyss at the wheel, the car has rejoined but pits immediately - it currently holds a 9 lap advantage over the chasing #123 Porsche and #172 Aston Martin.  In the #172 Barwell Aston Julien Schroyen is pushing hard, closing in on Christian Lefort who is though more than a lap ahead.

Muller rejoins in the #2 Maserati, Anthony Kumpen in the #4 Corvette.

08:30, Gavin pits, he can squeeze a lap more out of fuel than the Maseratis and the #4 C6.R.  James Ruffier gets aboard the SRT Vette for the first time.

08:33 - Muller leads, he has a 19 second advantage over Ruffier with Kumpen a further 6 seconds back but closing very fast

08:36 - The G3 leader rejoins - Maxime Martin in the car after a long stop to undo the damage done by Peter Wyss's off.

08:41 - the inter-Vette battle is working well for the maserati - Kumpen is with Ruffir but the MC12 is pulling away, 28 seconds to the good.

08:46 - Kumpen is through into second place - he's 31 seconds back from Muller.  Ruffier can't seem to handle this pace - How long will the team leave him in? Over a full stint he might drop back 60-90 seconds at current pace!

08:53 - Eric de Doncker rejoins in the vastly delayed #40 Marc VDS Ford GT now a mere 240 laps away from the lead battle

We believe we have 29 alleged runners remaining

Hour 17 Positions

Pos  No  Name  Nat  Class  Car  Laps Stops  Gap  Diff  S1  S2  S3  Last Lap  Best Lap 
1 2 MULLER GER 1 Maserati MC 12 391  14     39.223 1:03.665 35.315 2:18.203 2:16.067
2 4 KUMPEN BEL 1 Corvette Z06 390  14 1 Lap 30.864 38.804 1:04.378   2:19.539 2:16.462
3 3 RUFFIER FRA 1 Corvette Z06 390  14 1 Lap 11.917 40.943 1:08.555   2:21.070 2:15.423
4 111 MOSER SUI 4 Audi R8 LMS 378  17 13 Laps 1:07.926 40.245     2:23.237 2:21.106
5 33 VOSSE BEL 1 Maserati MC 12 374  14 17 Laps   40.503 1:06.572   2:20.906 2:16.297
6 50 VILANDER FIN 2 Ferrari F430 373  15 18 Laps 12.011 41.746 1:07.502   2:27.046 2:23.965
7 56 KIRKALDY GBR 2 Ferrari F430 370  16 21 Laps 14.690 42.133     2:27.441 2:24.496
8 97 RAGGINGER AUT 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 370  16 21 Laps 24.811 42.036     2:26.483 2:23.155
9 59 BERGMEISTER GER 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 368  18 23 Laps 7.312 41.637     2:25.679 2:23.593
10 61 MACHIELS BEL 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 363  14 28 Laps 5.186 43.079     2:31.121 2:27.830
11 121 MARTIN BEL 5 Ford GT 362  17 29 Laps   43.760 1:10.231   2:29.090 2:22.475
12 55 NIARCHOS CAN 2 Ferrari F430 362  15 29 Laps 36.791 43.043     2:30.701 2:25.179
13 123 LEFORT BEL 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 358  13 33 Laps 4.018 42.675     2:29.484 2:28.608
14 60 EDWARDS GBR 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 358  17 33 Laps 1:26.310 41.609 1:06.594 37.267 2:25.470 2:23.559
15 172 SCHROYEN BEL 5 Aston Martin DBRS9 357  17 34 Laps 2:16.049 43.130 1:10.170 38.230 2:31.530 2:27.319
16 161 LOIX BEL 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 351  14 40 Laps 1:18.970 41.405     2:26.722 2:24.921
17 70 NARAC FRA 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 351  14 40 Laps 28.491 41.751     2:26.736 2:22.658
18 35 TURNER GBR 1 Nissan GT-R 344  16 47 Laps   41.139     2:22.639 2:18.321
19 160 KERKHOVE BEL 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 343 13 48 Laps 1:28.316 44.487 1:13.659 40.173 2:38.319 2:32.599
20 145 GREISCH BEL 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 340 15 51 Laps 2:13.183 43.974 1:13.781 40.726 2:38.481 2:26.578 21 116 LICHTNER-HOYER AUT 4 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 339  13 52 Laps 1:24.042 43.211     2:33.364 2:32.779
22 99 KUTEMAN NED 2 Ferrari F430 339  15 52 Laps 13.396 44.340     2:37.102 2:27.720
23 110 DEKEERSMAECKER BEL 4 Mosler MT900 333  16 58 Laps   1:01.158     2:50.189 2:29.196
24 77 RUBERTI ITA 2 Ferrari F430 329  21 62 Laps 56.035         2:22.014
25 120 PATTERSON USA 5 Ferrari 430 GT3 326  22 65 Laps 47:22.721 44.413 1:12.419   2:34.457 2:30.688
26 1 NEGRAO BRA 1 Maserati MC 12 321  14 70 Laps 4.518 40.311 1:06.320   2:20.916 2:16.784
27 51 CADEI ITA 2 Ferrari F430 316  13 75 Laps 23.287 41.330 1:07.584 43.965 2:32.879 2:22.603
28 174 LESOUDIER FRA 5 BMW Alpina B6 GT3 288  13 103 Laps 1:26.320 46.603 1:19.169 1:07.668 3:13.440 2:27.122 Rtd
29 122 LUNARDI BRA 5 Ford GT 272  13 119 Laps 1:30.071 3:19.343 1:31.475 1:08.353 5:59.171 2:29.016 Rtd
30 124 KONSTANTINOU GRE 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 234  9 157 Laps 1:49.946 42.451     2:31.831 2:29.853
31 117 HIRSCHI SUI 4 Porsche 996 Bi-Turbo (GT2-R) 159  12 232 Laps   45.765 1:19.982 45.320 2:51.067 2:30.178 Rtd
32 40 DEDONCKER BEL 1 Ford GT (001 PT GT1) 151  8 240 Laps   43.423 1:07.950 38.165 2:29.538 2:20.711

Hour 17 Review

In our last episode, England’s hero Ollie Gavin barely held the lead. A lap later the Portuguese villain, Pedro Lamy, usurped the spot.

The plot thickens as on the next go-around, the No. 3 Corvette is handed over to James Ruffier, who had not driven the car in the race before. Instantly, the car falls to a distant third. Presumably, he’ll be replaced the next time around, but given the closeness of things, the damage may be done.

This may all be moot as Alex Müller is now leaping clear of Anthony Kumpen. Seemingly, inexorably perhaps, the race is turning towards another Maserati victory.

Barring a radical change (and there’s still plenty of time for that), the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari can relax with their three lap lead in G2. Andrew Kirkaldy holds down second in class with the CR Scuderia car while Martin Ragginger doggedly hangs onto the last podium spot in GT2. His No. 97 Porsche is the highest placed car of the marque at 8th overall.

Further down the order, Swiss journalist Peter Wyss took his first stint with the No. 121 Ford before handing the G3 class leading car back to Maxime Martin. It is Porsche No. 123 and the Aston Martin behind him for that class’ current podium. The second of the BMWs in that group has retired—engine failure in the case of No. 174.

The No. 116 Jetalliance Porsche is a very, very distant second in G2, well clear of the third car, the remaining Mosler.

Hour 18

09:08 With Andrew Kirkaldy’s recent pitstop, Martin Ragginger has eased through to second place in GT2, 42 seconds behind the surviving AF Corse Ferrari F430 #50, leading the class from 6th overall.

Elsewhere in this quick round-up, fourth place is currently occupied by Jorg Bergmeister in the #59, who could probably just about catch a glimpse of Kirkaldy’s red Ferrari as it snicks into the first right-hander at Les Combes as the German rises out onto the Kemmel Straight. Well, he can for now, because the Scot is currently by far the quicker of the two, having just (09:13) set a new fastest lap for the #56 machine of 2:24.492.

Bergmeister’s advantage over fifth-placed Louis Machiels in the #61 ProSpeed Porsche is a healthy 46 seconds, but it’s impressive to see these three each within striking distance as the race enters its 18th hour, and with Vilander making a pitstop at 09:17, there’s undoubtedly still everything to fight for here in GT2.

The situation in G2 can be glossed over quite quickly, although not without paying huge credit to the #111 Audi R8. Our illustrious editor’s prediction some ten hours ago that we might see the G2 pace-setter hovering near an overall podium remains a distinct possibility, but the rest of the class is a distant and fading memory. Second in the class is held by the #116 JetAlliance Porsche 997, Lukas Lichter-Hoyer presently in the cockpit, gamely retaining a finger-hold on the first timing screen here in the Media Centre in 20th place overall, but 39 laps behind Marc Besseng in the R8. Just one other runner; the #110 GBA Racing Mosler, is still holding a classified position, a further fifteen laps behind.

09:22 Confirmation trickles up from below to confirm that last year’s defending GT2 champion, the #77 Ferrari F430 is a definite retirement. It now sits forlorn and seemingly unloved in the BMS Scuderia Italia garage; race over.

G3 continues to provide something more of a race, although little has actually changed in terms of order for several hours. Despite its early-hours clattering of the barriers, the #121 Ford GT retains a hold on the class lead from 11th overall. The incident halved the car’s class lead, but the Ford is back in the groove now and may imminently gain another position as (at 09:27) Machels pits the #61.

Second in G3 is the #123 Muehlner Motorsport Porsche in the hands of Rodney Forbes, 14th overall, but only 40 seconds ahead of Hooydonck in the #172 Barwell DB9.

09:28 Just before the half-hour, Muller pits from the lead, allowing first Kumpen and then Ruffier through, so there’s a Corvette 1-2 again, although as we’re about to enter another pitstop window and that may be a temporary situation. True enough, exactly on the half-hour, Kumpen follows the Maserati down the pitlane. Ruffier is still out there but is expected to make the #3’s scheduled pitstop any lap soon.

09:34 Jos Menten is now in the #4 Corvette, Anthony Kumpen having completed another pacey stint.

09:36 Alex Muller claws back the best part of four seconds from Ruffier’s overall lead on his last lap and even if the Corvette wasn’t due to pit soon, would be reeling him in and spitting him backwards over his shoulder in a matter of minutes. Bert Longin is reported to be helmeted-up and standing ready in the pitlane in anticipation of Ruffier’s imminent arrival there.

09:38 The second-placed GT2 runner; Ragginger in the #97, crackles down the pitlane for a routine pitstop, and has only just completed the process as the overall leader, James Riffier in the Selleslagh Corvette, makes his long awaited pitstop. Muller, who had already halved the gap, sweeps through into the lead. Ragginger’s pit visit hands second in GT2 to Kirkaldy in the CRS Racing F430, making it a Ferrari one-two once again.

09:41 Only a few laps after leaving, Jos Menten is back into the pitlane for what appears to be the first problem for the #4 Corvette. It’s unclear yet why Menten made the detour, but it’s the briefest of stops but has nevertheless cost the Corvette a lap. We subsequently learn that it was for a top-up of oil.

After the previous day’s miserably dull conclusion – grey, foggy and damp – Sunday has woken up in more generous spirit, and Spa is gloriously bathed in bright, warm sunshine. This continues to be reflected in the times now being set by many of the remaining competitors. Despite the tiredness of both man and machine, there’s been a regular spate of timing improvements throughout the field, the most recent coming from Paul van Splunteren in the #61 ProSpeed Porsche, who popped in a 2:26.813 on his last lap.

09:48 Pitstops first for Sean Edwards in the #60 (13th overall, 7th in GT2) and then Maxime Martin in the class-leading #121 Ford GT, followed by Chris Niarchos in the #55 CRS Racing F430.

09:55 As we draw near the end of another hour, the #2 Maserati’s grip on the lead appears to be solidifying. Menten’s unexpected extra pitstop has placed the erstwhile leader 74 seconds behind Muller, and Longin (now finally confirmed by the timing screen as having taken over from Ruffier) is gamely attempting to claw back some of the minute or more that he co-driver effectively cost the #3 Corvette, but has a mountain to climb.

09:57 Tim Mullen is now back in the #55 CRS Ferrari following Niarchos’s pitstop a few minutes ago. The Ulsterman is expected to do a double-stint from here.

Hour 18 Positions

Pos  No  Name  Nat  Cls   Car  Laps  Stops  Gap  Diff  S1  S2  S3  Last Lap  Best Lap 
1 2 MULLER GER 1 Maserati MC 12 417  15     40.421     2:18.526 2:16.067
2 3 LONGIN BEL 1 Corvette Z06 417  15 1:14.715 1:14.715 39.079 1:04.028 35.355 2:18.462 2:15.423
3 4 MENTEN NED 1 Corvette Z06 416  16 1 Lap 1:09.730 39.162     2:19.494 2:16.462
4 111 BASSENG GER 4 Audi R8 LMS 403  18 14 Laps   40.755 1:06.815   2:25.109 2:21.106
5 33 VOSSE BEL 1 Maserati MC 12 400  15 17 Laps   40.419 1:04.483   2:20.731 2:16.297
6 50 BRUNI ITA 2 Ferrari F430 398  16 19 Laps 27.504 41.971     2:26.816 2:23.965
7 97 HOLZER GER 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 395  17 22 Laps 46.195 41.891     2:25.996 2:23.155
8 56 KIRKALDY GBR 2 Ferrari F430 395  17 22 Laps 9.605 42.281     2:27.606 2:24.492
9 59 ORTELLI MON 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 393  19 24 Laps   41.617     2:26.204 2:23.593
10 61 SPLUNTEREN NED 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 387  15 30 Laps 1:38.796 42.422     2:29.325 2:26.813
11 121 MARTIN BEL 5 Ford GT 387  18 30 Laps 56.981 43.521     2:30.996 2:22.475
12 55 MULLEN GBR 2 Ferrari F430 386  16 31 Laps 1:33.451 42.699     2:25.989 2:25.179
13 60 O'YOUNG CHN 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 382  18 35 Laps 7.142 42.421     2:26.179 2:23.559
14 123 FORBES AUS 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 382  14 35 Laps 11.776 42.897     2:30.702 2:28.608
15 172 HOOYDONCK BEL 5 Aston Martin DBRS9 381  18 36 Laps 26.586 42.782     2:30.182 2:26.666
16 70 NARAC FRA 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 376  15 41 Laps 1:31.196 41.829 1:08.590 45.123 2:35.542 2:22.658 17 161 PALTTALA FIN 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 376 15 41 Laps 1:38.621 41.576 1:07.802 37.293 2:26.671 2:24.896 18 35 TURNER GBR 1 Nissan GT-R 370  17 47 Laps   40.491     2:23.778 2:18.321
19 160 KERKHOVE BEL 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 367 13 50 Laps 23.759 43.625 1:11.646 39.203 2:34.474 2:32.599
20 116 LICHTNER-HOYER AUT 4 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 364  13 53 Laps 2:28.559 43.029 1:12.266 40.144 2:35.439 2:32.213
21 99 BASSO SUI 2 Ferrari F430 362  16 55 Laps   45.216 1:13.192   2:39.239 2:27.720
22 145 DESBRUERES FRA 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 362  16 55 Laps 29.454 44.898     2:42.594 2:26.578
23 120 LUDWIG USA 5 Ferrari 430 GT3 350  23 67 Laps 28.892 44.755     2:34.185 2:30.688
24 1 NEGRAO BRA 1 Maserati MC 12 347  15 70 Laps   40.011 1:04.837   2:20.402 2:16.784
25 110 DEKEERSMAECKER BEL 4 Mosler MT900 334  17 83 Laps 24.202 1:01.158 1:19.967 55.000 3:16.125 2:29.196
26 77 RUBERTI ITA 2 Ferrari F430 329  21 88 Laps 56.035         2:22.014 Rtd Gearbox
27 51 CADEI ITA 2 Ferrari F430 316  13 101 Laps 23.287 41.330 1:07.584 43.965 2:32.879 2:22.603
Rtd
28 174 LESOUDIER FRA 5 BMW Alpina B6 288 13 129 Laps 1:26.320 46.603 1:19.169 1:07.668 3:13.440 2:27.122 Rtd
29 122 LUNARDI BRA 5 Ford GT 272  13 145 Laps 1:30.071 3:19.343 1:31.475 1:08.353 5:59.171 2:29.016 Rtd
30 124 KONSTANTINOU GRE 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 234  9 183 Laps 1:49.946 42.451     2:31.831 2:29.853
31 40 LEINDERS BEL 1 Ford GT (001 PT GT1) 175  9 242 Laps   41.969 1:05.396   2:23.038 2:20.711

Hour 18 - Stock-Taking

At 3/4 distance there is a semblance of pattern. Namely, that the No. 2 Maserati is pulling away. Importantly, the rate of the growth of the margin between it and the Corvettes has increased.

There is also now concern in the Pekaracing camp. An oil pressure warning light is flickering.  It has made one stop in excess of both No. 2 and No. 3 and has fallen into a deeper third place.

Down in GT2 the top cars are now in proper overall order for possibly the first time all race.  There are a long five laps separating first and third but the bunching indicates that attrition is becoming more and more visible.

There is a still a full “normal” endurance race to go, which offers a moment of reflection. When this race first became part of the FIA GT Championship in 2001 it was eight times longer than the other rounds. That was already a higher ratio of difference for this series compared to other sports car championships that had at least one long and several short rounds. To placate the teams, a system of points awarded at various intervals at Spa was introduced.

Then when this series reverted to 2-hour regular rounds the ratio grew to 12:1. This year the interim points method was scrapped. Whatever the state of the proposed GT World Championship will be a year from now, the character of this race will be greatly altered. Who knows, this may be the last time for a while that the 24 Hours of Spa will be a sports car event. So it is time to celebrate and ponder as the outcome of at least this one edition becomes clearer over the next several hours.