Weekend Recap: ROWE BMW Wins 24H Spa & More
Catch up on the weekend of sports car racing at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps...
ROWE Takes First Major 24H Win for BMW M4 GT3 at Spa
Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly won the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa for ROWE Racing, beating Akkodis ASP Team and Scherer Sport PHX to score the squad’s third overall victory in the Belgian endurance classic.
The No. 98 BMW M4 GT3 finished 11.129 second ahead of the No. 88 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo piloted by Jules Gounon, Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy.
It marked the first time BMW has won the race since 2018, while ROWE returned to the top step of the podium after a two-year hiatus.
The Hans-Peter Naundorf-led stable took victory in the event with Porsche in 2020.
After it started the race outside the top-20, the No. 98 car became the leading BMW contender when its sister No. 998 machine and the No. 32 Team WRT car were eliminated after colliding on the Kemmel Straight just prior to halfway.
ROWE opted for an off-sequence strategy when it brought Eng into the pits during a brief Full Course Yellow with six hours to go.
Strategies then converged several hours later as the result of a FCY that became a safety car, triggered when Bailey Voisin brought the No. 35 Walkenhorst Motorsport machine to a halt on track.
After pitting under caution, the No. 98 BMW emerged as the race leader with Wittmann at the wheel.
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Mostert Hails”Team Effort” for SunEnergy1 Pro-Am Win
Chaz Mostert hailed the “team effort” by SunEnergy1 Racing and Haupt Racing Team to deliver a come-from-behind Pro-Am win in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
The Australian Supercars ace and co-drivers Nicky Catsburg, Martin Konrad and last-minute sub Adam Osieka drove a backup Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to top honors in class, less than 72 hours after an accident that sent team owner/driver Kenny Habul to the hospital and left the team seeking a replacement chassis.
Habul, who underwent surgery for a fractured vertebrae, ordered a new Mercedes from his hospital bed on Thursday evening to keep his team in the race, which put into motion a race against the clock to make the grid.
The No. 75 Mercedes started from the pit lane as a result of not setting a qualifying time, and through pace and strategy, vaulted into the class lead and eventual win in the Belgian endurance classic.
Leitch Moves into Super Trofeo Europe Points Lead With Spa Podium Sweep
Brendon Leitch edged into the lead of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Pro championship standings with a pair of second-place finishes at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Leipert Motorsport driver finished behind Mattia Michelotto and Gilles Stadsbader in the opening 50-minute contest before replicating the result in Race 2, which ran entirely under the safety car and only handed out half points.
Michelotto and Stadsbader’s 12th position during the second race ensured that solo driver Leitch assumed the points lead by a half-point margin after two rounds.
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