Dennis Olsen, Nick Tandy and works driver Laurens Vanthoor are among the contenders for a top result six hours before the end of the race at Spa-Francorchamps. The Porsche 911 GT3 R of KCMG had to fight its way forward from last place on the grid.

After three quarters of the distance, the Porsche customer team KCMG has a good chance of a top result at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The approximately 368 kW (500 hp) 911 GT3 R with the number 47 was promisingly in third place after 18 hours. The endurance classic in the Belgian Ardennes is considered the largest and most important race for GT3 cars worldwide. Porsche is aiming for its third victory after 2019 and 2020 as well as its ninth overall success. The chequered flag falls at 16:45 CEST.

The KCMG nine-wheeler has shaped the history of this year's 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: Porsche works driver Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium, Briton Nick Tandy and Norwegian Dennis Olsen had to start the race from last on the grid after a problem in qualifying. Thanks to a consistently fast and error-free presentation as well as a clever strategy, however, they were able to gradually fight their way back to the front. At the end of the long night, the trio took the lead for the first time around 7:00 in the morning. Before the last quarter of the race, it is one of the contenders for a top position.

The 911 GT3 R of EMA Motorsport had also made up a deficit: The car of Matt Campbell from Australia, frenchman Mathieu Jaminet and Felipe Nasr from Brazil had been passed through to 26th position after a good six hours of racing with a puncture. However, the three works drivers were able to assert themselves on the same lap as the front runners and started their way forward. A favorably placed refueling stop at the beginning of a yellow phase around 2:00 a.m. catapulted the EMA car back into the top 3 group. After a rear-end collision through no fault of its own, however, the number 74 had to take a repair break. It cost six laps and thus all chances of a top ranking.

The three Herberth Motorsport 911 GT3 R cars also had little luck. The starting numbers 9 and 911 had to end the race prematurely after accidents or their consequential damage. The third car of Nico Menzel (Germany), Alessio Picariello (Belgium), Niki Leutwiler (Switzerland) and Stefan Aust (Germany) led the Pro-Am classification for a long time. However, a slip into the gravel bed shortly before the 18-hour mark and a problem at a pit stop threw the nine-eleven out of the classification. The number 16 Porsche of Earl Bamber Motorsport had an accident in the Blanchimont corner at around 2:00 a.m., which triggered a one-hour break in the race. Driver Matthew Payne from Australia was able to get out almost unscathed.

During the subsequent safety car phase, Richard Lietz had to park the then tenth-placed GPX Racing car with an engine problem. Together with his works driver colleagues Kévin Estre from France and Michael Christensen from Denmark, the Austrian had fought for the lead. For a long time, the number 54 of Dinamic Motorsport was also at the forefront. The consequences of a collision led to the task shortly after midnight.

The event in the live stream
The 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps counts for the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC). Drivers and cars received points for the GT World Challenge after six, twelve and 24 hours. The race will be live streamed on the www.intercontinentalgtchallenge.com website.

Comments after the early stages of the race:
Sebastian Golz (Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R): "We started the night in good spirits – many of our Porsches were in the top 10, but then we gradually lost cars. First, GPX Racing had to park the car with an engine failure. We will investigate the cause. Then Herberth Motorsport lost a car in an accident. At the restart, the 911 GT3 R was pushed by EMA, which was in the top 3 at the time. The car lost all chances of victory due to a long repair. The number 24 was also turned around in a restart situation. It had confidently led the Pro-Am class for several hours. After a short pit stop and check, a wheel was lost and the vehicle had to give up. Nevertheless, we are looking ahead: With KCMG, we still have a hot iron in the fire. With the car that started from the very back, we want to turn the race into a positive one and fight for a podium finish."

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 911 GT3 R #47): "We and the Ferrari are pursuing a different strategy than the Mercedes and BMW, with which we are fighting for the lead. Finally, it will become clear which variant brings more advantages. But it will be difficult, because our competitors are also moving fast."