Akkodis-ASP beats tough opposition to win the 24 Hours of Spa

After nine years waiting for an overall win at the 24 Hours of Spa, valid for both the FANATEC GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and the Intercontinental GT Challenge, Mercedes can finally celebrate glory in the Belgian endurance classic, thanks to a strong showing of the No. 88 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo of Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella.

An overnight change moved the No. 88 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes to pole position following a heavy penalty for the No. 8 K-PAX Lamborghini for using an irregular air filter during the Superpole, resulting in loss of their laps and deduction of extra 10 positions, but the No. 54 Dinamic Porsche took quickly the top spot once the green flag was waved, in a start that had no incidents.

While the race had been on quite the deadlock during the first hour, the amount of punctures was catching the attention, with six cars having rear punctures varying between the left and rear tires, which even affected the third placed No. 63 Emil Frey Lamborghini. After the first pit window the No. 54 lost the lead due to the cold tires, with the No. 2 GetSpeed Mercedes and the No. 88 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes going ahead, but further into the second hour the third place went to the No. 221 GPX Martini Porsche.

A considerable number of yellow flags and Safety Car interventions made the teams start to change their pit strategy before the sunset, which meant that the No. 55 GruppeM Mercedes was the leader with three hours of racing while the No. 221 GPX Martini Porsche was one of the few to be consistently in the top group in second place, followed by the No. 98 ROWE BMW and the No. 46 WRT Audi. Once the dark hours came in, further changes in strategy occurred, which put the No. 71 Iron Lynx Ferrari on top but at striking distance of the No. 98 ROWE BMW, which actually made the move with 6 hours of racing in the hands of Nicky Catsburg.

In the ninth hour, the No. 88 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes had a monstrous push in the hands of Raffaele Marciello, who put it in the lead and opened the gap to the No. 221 GPX Martini Porsche, while the No. 71 Iron Lynx Ferrari and the No. 98 ROWE BMW were closing in to fight for second. Most of the incidents were resulting in yellow flags or Safety Car periods, but when the No. 16 EBM Porsche hit the barriers at Blanchimont, the race was red flagged due to needed repairs in the barriers. After an hour spent on the repairs, the race resumed with the No. 98 ROWE BMW in the lead with the sister No. 50 in second, while the front running No. 221 GPX Martini Porsche retired due to engine oil leak while in Safety Car procedure.

Around the halfway mark, the No. 88 that was lurking behind the ROWE BMWs became a real contender again, passing the No. 50, with it becoming a two car affair in the early hours of the morning, interrupted by a yellow flag caused by the No. 32 and No. 46 WRT Audis, with one car being retired and the other going to extensive repair work. Further pit stops out of schedule for the front runners and a drive through penalty for the No. 71 Iron Lynx Ferrari actually brought a new contender for the win in the fifteenth hour, as the No. 47 KCMG Porsche became the new leader with the No. 98 ROWE BMW and the No. 88 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes in hot pursuit, with the two getting the positions above later.

With irregular pit stop cycles everywhere, more cars would appear as contenders in the final hours, it would always revolve around the No. 98 and the No. 88 at the end of every hour until past the 22nd hour, when the No. 98 had a right rear puncture while on the chase of the No. 98, forcing Nick Yelloly to bring crippled car to the pits for half of a lap. This, along with placement issues in the Iron Lynx double stack, left the No. 88 in a privileged position it never had during the race.

The No. 88 was just the leader of a group of four to five cars that would have a shot at the win depending on how well would the last pit stop go and any possible yellow flags. Raffaele Marciello would just have to wait Maro Engel’s final stop, and while the No. 55 GruppeM Mercedes led most of the final hour, it wouldn’t be able to avoid the need to stop, which came with 20 minutes to go. Once the No. 55 stopped, the No. 88 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes had just to secure the way to the finish line, as the No. 2 GetSpeed Mercedes was 36 seconds behind.

TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa - Race results

The No. 30 WRT Audi won a Silver Cup full of attrition and with strong competition behind it, while the No. 83 Iron Dames Ferrari made history by winning the Gold Cup with an all-female lineup, dominating the class by keeping it clean during most of the race. Despite some hiccups during the race, the No. 52 AF Corse Ferrari was the undisputed king of the Pro-Am Cup, and a clean race also helped the No. 20 SPS Mercedes to secure the Bronze Cup win against a battered No. 35 Walkenhorst BMW.

The FANATEC GT World Challenge Europe returns to action with the debuting Endurance Cup round at Hockenheim on 4 September, while the Intercontinental GT Challenge returns only on 9 October with the Indianapolis 8 Hour.

PHOTO: SRO/Kevin Pecks