The Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS (#34, Johannes Dr. Kirchhoff / Max Edelhoff / Elmar Grimm / Ingo Vogler) leads the 2018 Hankook 12H SPA after four hours of frenetic action around the 7.004km Belgian circuit. In doing so, the German team also moves to the head of the 2018 GT European Championship standings.
Less than a minute separates the A6-Am class leading Audi from the Bohemia Energy racing with Scuderia Praha Ferrari 488 GT3 (#11, Jirí Písarík / Josef Kral / Matteo Malucelli), which is also in contention for European Championship honours, and which currently leads A6-Pro. The overall top three is completed by the SPS automotive performance Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#16, Valentin Pierburg / Tim Müller / Lance-David Arnold), which led the opening stages of the race after claiming pole position yesterday by an astonishingly small 0.006s.
Having survived a hefty shunt in free practice on Friday, the Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (#911, Daniel Allemann / Ralf Bohn / Alfred Renauer) has recovered and is now running 3rd in-A6-Am and 4th overall on the road. Just behind them is the Swiss Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#15, Christoph Lenz / Mauro Calamia) and the second Car Collection Motorsport entry (#33, Stefan Aust / Christian Bollrath / Toni Forné / Peter Schmidt), the latter of which led outright after the second hour. The MP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#19, Daniel de Jong / Henk de Jong / Bert de Heus) lies 7th on the road after four hours, and completes the A6-Pro top three.
The Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (#912, Edward Lewis Brauner / Jürgen Häring / Sven Müller) lies 11th overall, and is currently in a class of its own as the 2019-spec Porsche continues its development program.
MARC Cars Australia (#51, Jake Camilleri / Hadrian Morrall / Keith Kassulke) heads a MARC II Mustang V8 1-2 in the SPX class ahead of VDS Racing Adventures (#58, Raphaël van der Straten / José Close / Joel Vanloocke). The Speed Lover Porsche 991-I Cup (#78, Dominique Bastien / Jaime Carbo Fernandez / Bob Wilwert) completes the category top three so far, and also holds a strong position in the SPX European Championship standings.
On home soil, the QSR Racingschool Porsche 991-I Cup (#94, Rodrigue Gillion / Nico Verdonck / Raf van Belle / Tommy Gråberg) leads a very competitive 991-class ahead of EBIMOTORS (#73, Lin Lino Curti / Carlo Curti / Marco Frezza) and Porsche Lorient Racing (#64, Philippe Polette / Frederic Lelievre / Pascal Gibon / Lionel Amrouche). The former has recovered from engine issues that prevented any running at all during yesterday’s qualifying session, while the latter now holds a strong lead in the 991-class standings.
The Fox Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT4 (#47, Jamie Stanley / Ben Clucas / Andrew Perry) holds a slim lead in GT4 after four hours over both the MARC Cars Australia BMW M4 GT4 (#250, Daren Jorgensen / Brett Strom / Jon Miller) and the Gamsiz motorsport BMW M4 GT4 (#256, Hakan Sari / Recep Sari). Class standings leader QSR Racingschool meanwhile were eliminated from the event early after a hefty impact on the Kemmel Straight. Lengthy repair work on the guardrail meant the race ran under Code 60 caution for almost 45 minutes in the opening stages.
CWS Engineering leads tight TCE tussle
Less than one minute covers the overall TCE top three after four hours of racing around the 7.004km Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. The CWS Engineering Ginetta G55 (#178, Colin White / James May) currently leads the TCE race outright as well as the SP3 category in which it is also a favourite for the class championship. Further back, the NKPP Racing by Bas Koeten Racing CUPRA TCR DSG (#175, Gijs Bessem / Harry Hilders) is the lead TCR entry, just ahead of JR Motorsport BMW E46 Coupe (#118, Ward Sluys / Michael Verhagen / Ruud Olij).
Bas Koeten Racing holds a 1-2 in the TCR class in the opening leg of the Hankook 12H SPA, the NKPP entry circulating just ahead of the LMS Racing by Bas Koeten Racing CUPRA TCR DSG (#129, Antti Buri / Olli Kangas / Kari-Pekka Laaksonen). The Holmgaard Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR DSG meanwhile (#102, Magnus Holmgaard / Jonas Holmgaard / Roy Edland / Per Poulsen) completes the TCR top three thus far.
Both the Red Camel-Jordans.nl SEAT LCR TCR V3 DSG (#303, Ivo Breukers / Rik Breukers), which leads the TCR championship standings, and the Munckhof Racing BMW M4 (#259, Eric van den Munckhof / Marco Poland / Simon Knap) that took TCE pole position yesterday, had monopolised the opening stages of the race. The SEAT though would be involved in a bizarre collision with the #33 Car Collection Motorsport Audi, which dropped the team to 8th in-class. The latter meanwhile lost time to alternator failure, but has since recovered back to the final SP3 podium spot.
Outgoing 24H TCE SERIES champions Synchro Motorsport (#76, Alyn James / Daniel Wheeler / Matt Neal) currently lead the A3 class with its Honda FK2-Civic Type-R, just ahead of the PDM Motorsport BMW Z3 M Coupé (#999, Pierre De Landsheere / Dimitri Kluyskens / Maxence Vandekerckhove) and the Dan Agro Racing Peugeot RCZ (#185, Anders Rasmussen / Sune Marcussen / Henrik Thomsen / Nicolaj Kandborg).
Newly crowned TCE champions Hofor Racing powered by Bonk Motorsport (#131, Martin Kroll / Michael Schrey / Michael Fischer / Bernd Küpper / Gustav Engljaehringer) leads the all-BMW CUP1 class, and is gunning for its sixth consecutive class win of the season ahead of the Sorg Rennsport BMW M235i Racing Cup (#151, Dan Rogers / Chris Wadle / Seth Thomas) and the JJ Motorsport BMW M235i Racing Cup (#156, John Landrum / Paul Dubinsky / Alastair McEwan / Rob Gill).
The 2018 Hankook 12H SPA will continue uninterrupted throughout the day before the chequered flag is flown at 21.50 hrs local time. Live timing and live streaming of the race in HD quality with commentary by Radiolemans.com will be available on the series’ website. The streaming will also be uploaded on the series’ Youtube channel. Regular updates will be published on Twitter (@24HSeries), Facebook (24H Series) and Instagram (24H Series). Further information can be found at www.24hseries.com.