Spa 24H: 12 Hour Update – SMP Racing leads As Rain Continues To Fall

After twelve hours of racing, Mikhail Aleshin, at the wheel of the #72 SMP Racing Ferrari F488 GT3 he shares with Miguel Molina and Davide Rigon sat at the top of the timing screens in a race where the weather continued to be a major factor. The #72 car has now picked up maximum points for leading at the 6 and 12-hour marks.

The Silver Cup class was led by the #90 AKKA ASP Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Nico Bastian in the car he shares with Timur Boguslavskiy and Filipe Fraga while the Pro-Am Cup category saw the #97 Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage AMR in the lead, driven by Ahmad Al Harthy.

Barwell Motorsport’s #77 Lamborghini held the lead in the AM Cup category.

The first half of the race finished after a lengthy Full Course Yellow and Safety Car period following an incident involving the #00 Goodsmile Racing and Type-Moon Racing Mercedes at Blanchimont.

As the race moved through its second quarter, it was the #4 BLACK FALCON Mercedes that held the advantage with a 36 second lead over the #998 Porsche with the #63 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini pushing hard in third. The competition was fierce with 16 cars on the lead lap within 60 seconds of one another.

Both AF Corse Ferrari F488 GT3s were involved in incidents with the #51 entry, driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi going off at T17 after Giancarlo Fisichella in the #52 car had brought out a Full Course Yellow after stopping at pit entry with a puncture.

As the race hit the half way point the #42 BMW Team Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3 spun, making contact at least twice, and John Edwards had to bring the car back to the garage and into retirement.

Just after the 12-hour mark, with the rain falling hard and incidents continuing, the race director decided to neutralise the race with a Full Course Yellow. Green flag racing was not expected to resume until at least 04:30 local time.