Porsche’s customer teams SSR Herberth and Rutronik Racing wrapped up the 24 Hours of Spa in positions eight and nine. After 478 laps on the 7.004-kilometre Grand Prix circuit, the best-placed 911 GT3 R was on the same lap as the victorious Aston Martin. The Dinamic GT team from Italy finished 27th overall and ranked second in the Silver Cup.

Changeable conditions at the long-distance classic on the so-called “Ardennes rollercoaster” threw big challenges at Porsche’s customer teams. The race got underway in summery weather, with a long safety car phase during the night due to heavy rain. In the last third of the race, competitors tackled the final sprint on a dry track in cooler temperatures. After a relatively uneventful start, the time between 6 pm and 11 pm proved to be particularly ill-fated for the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer: Due to accidents, collisions and other incidents, six of the twelve 911 GT3 Rs had to retire early – including the top aspirants for overall victory from the Pro category of Schumacher CLRT and HubAuto Racing.

As dawn broke after a night of numerous yellow phases, three 911 GT3 R racing cars fielded by Rutronik Racing, SSR Herberth and Phantom Global Racing were still in on the same lap as PureRxcing’s Porsche, which was fighting for the lead. Shortly after 9 am, however, the team’s dream of overall victory was dashed: At the wheel of the No. 911 car, Joel Sturm left the track in the fast Blanchimont curve. The German, who shared the cockpit with the UK driver Alex Malykhin and Klaus Bachler from Austria, was uninjured in the hefty crash.

Matt Campbell from Australia and the two Frenchmen Mathieu Jaminet and Frédéric Makowiecki brought SSR Herberth’s 911 GT3 R over the line in eighth place. The Porsche works drivers – part of the regular crew of the 963 hybrid prototype in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the North American IMSA series – had taken the lead for a while in the early morning hours. However, unexpected heavy rain shortly after switching to slicks relegated them back behind the safety car.

The two former Porsche Juniors Sven Müller from Germany and Julien Andlauer from France as well as Patric Niederhauser from Switzerland had worked their way up the order from 27th on the grid to temporarily lead the field. Thanks to their team Rutronik Racing’s favourable tyre choices, the three ultimately finished in ninth place.

After losing time with brake problems and a slow puncture, Phantom Global Racing crossed the finish line five laps behind the winner in 26th place. The Chinese team is supported by Team75 Motorsport owned by Porsche brand ambassador Timo Bernhard. The reigning DTM champion and Porsche works driver Thomas Preining shared driving duties with New Zealander Jaxon Evans – a former Porsche Junior like Preining – and Joel Eriksson from Sweden.

Silver Cup podium for Dinamic GT
Theo Nouet (France), Jop Rappange (Netherlands), Marius Nakken (Norway) and Axel Blom from Finland were rewarded for their strong drive in the No. 55 Porsche campaigned by the Italian team Dinamic GT with second place in the Silver Cup. Tackling the race from P56, the quartet crossed the finish line after 24 hours in 27th place.

Lionspeed X Herberth’s drivers Belgian Alessio Picariello, Alexander Fach from Switzerland, Antares Au from Hong Kong and Estonian Martin Rump concluded the race in 22nd place overall and seventh place in the Bronze Cup. For Au, this result also handed him victory in the Independent Cup of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Comments on the race
Sebastian Golz (Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R): "We’d hoped for more at the 24-hour race in Spa. Unfortunately, we lost a few 911 GT3 R early on due to accidents and technical problems. Plus, there were too many time penalties. At the end of the day, we’re disappointed. But we’re thrilled about Dinamic GT’s second place in the Silver Cup and the victory for Antares Au in the Independent Cup of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. We’ll now take our time analysing the race and learn for next time.”

Mathieu Jaminet (F, Porsche 911 GT3 R #23): “I'm super exhausted after this gruelling race. The changeable conditions were tricky, but I still enjoyed my triple stint at night, and managed to get us in the lead. Towards the end I was still in contention for seventh place, but there was no point risking too much. We did our absolute utmost and reached the flag as the best-placed Porsche. In the end, we lacked a bit of performance and a time penalty cost us valuable time, otherwise we could’ve made it into the top four or five. We couldn’t do much more than that, but I enjoyed driving a modern-generation GT3 racing car again with good friends in a team like SSR Herberth.“

Patric Niederhauser (CH, Porsche 911 GT3 R #96): “That was a particularly tough version of the 24 Hours of Spa! The race went quite well for us. A shunt in the early stages put us a lap down, but we fought our way back. Unfortunately, we lacked the ultimate performance to be right up there with the frontrunners.”

Marius Nakken (N, Porsche 911 GT3 R #55): “That was a long and tough race, especially with the storm during the night. The name of the game was about making smart decisions and not taking unnecessary risks. We did that well. At one point, we led the Silver Cup and were ninth overall. Achieving the goal of second in our class is a wonderful success.”

Martin Rump (EST, Porsche 911 GT3 R #80): “What an experience! But most important of all is that we’ve reached the finish line! We tweaked our Porsche’s setup during the race and tried to get everything out of the 911 GT3 R. I really enjoyed it. The stints in the rain and behind the safety car were very long – sometimes I wished I had a coffee in the cockpit. But the funny banter with my race engineer kept me awake. During my last stint, I went on the attack again in the dry.”

Race result
1. (1. Pro) Drudi/Thiim/Sørensen (RSM/DK/DK), Aston Martin #7, 478 laps
2. (2. Pro) Rovera/Rigon/Pier Guidi (I/I/I), Ferrari #51, 478 laps
3. (3. Pro) D. Vanthoor/Van der Linde/Weerts (B/ZA/B), BMW #32, 478 laps
8. (7. Pro) Jaminet/Campbell/Makowiecki (F/A/F), SSR Herberth, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92, 478 laps
9. (8. Pro) Andlauer/Müller/Niederhauser (F/D/CH), Rutronik Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #96, 477 laps
22. (7. BC) Au/Fach/Rump/Picariello (HK/CH/EST/B), Lionspeed X Herberth, Porsche 911 GT3 R #80, 475 laps
26. (14. Pro) Evans/Eriksson/Preining (NZ/S/A), Phantom Global Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #23, 473 laps
27. (2. SC) Rappange/Blom/Nakken/Nouet (NL/FIN/N/F), Dinamic GT, Porsche 911 GT3 R #55, 473 laps

Pro = Pro class; PAC = Pro-Am Cup; GC = Gold Cup; SC = Silver Cup; BC = Bronze Cup.
Full results https://www.gt-world-challenge-europe.com/watch-live