FIA GT Championship

Total 24 Hours of Spa: LIVE at Planetlemans - 4

© Frank Feenstra

After six hours we are currently behind the safety car after a fire onboard Phoenix Carsport Corvette. We’re supposed to go green soon now so let’s get back to the action quickly again as the race goes into its seventh hour.

22:02-(SC) The Corvette is on a flatbed transporter, looks rather burnt-out.

22:04- Green flag! Off goes the number 2 Vitaphone Maserati at turn 19. Negrao is able to get back again.

22:06- Strange decision by Vitaphone. The number one car, leading the race, is in just one lap after we’ve seen the green flag. Driver change there as well, this will mean they will lose some time.

22:08- Bouvy is in the pit.

22:17- Hit in Blanchimont, Hezemans and Wendlinger involved. Hezemans continues slowly and has some damage, Wendlingers Aston is heavily damaged and he gets out of the car. Yellow flag.

22:22- Hezemans in in the pit. Car is in the box and at first sight, damage doesn’t look very serious. Could be worse underneath.

22:23- Turner is now 3rd, just behind the two Vitaphones. Kirkaldy is in the pit.

22:31- Hezemans still in the pitbox… Yellow flag, turn 14. The Ascari was the cause of this, the car went off but now again rejoined after been pulled out of the gravel trap.

22:35- Big applause for Phoenix as they reenter the race after having replaced the largest part of the front end of the car.

22:37- Lietz and Kirkaldy both having their pitstop. These are the 4th and 7th placed cars in GT2.

22:40- Now Lietz is in the pit. Turner as well from third position overall.

22:44- Enge brings the Murcielago in from 4th position and gets out. And the team is on track again quickly. Rusinov is now in the car.

22:48- Drivethrough penalty car 115, S-Berg racing.

22:51- Lietz still not back in the race, now 10th in GT2.

22:53- Field now spreads more and more, with only the two Maserati’s from Vitaphone and Philip Peter within 1 minute.

22:55- GT2 leader in the pit, Rigon in the BMS Ferrari.

22:57- Bouvy in the pit. Only the first seven cars are GT1, positions 8 to 17 is all GT2. That means that we have only still got 7 out of 11 GT1 cars (seriously) in the race.

23:00- Fireworks can be seen and heard above the circuit. At least it’s dry for now. No news yet on Lietz, currently tumbled down to 25th. It would be a surprise to see that car back on the track soon.

23:13- Both leaders in GT1 and 2 are in now.

23:22- Fässler has passed Longin to take back sixth place. In GT2 Palttala has gone into the pit.

23:26- G2 leader Belgian Racing Gillet Vertigo has gone off. Yellow flags at turn 2.

23:30- With sixteen and a half hours to go the two Maserati MC12s are still leading.

23:34- The yellow flags are still out at turn 2. At IMSA Performance Matmut the mechanics are still working at the car in the box. The gearbox is damaged and currently changed.

23:39- Fässler is in for a pit stop.

23:44- Not much changing at the moment.

23:45- Peter and Longin are in for another pit stop.

23:50- Deletraz has overtaken Longin after his pit stop.

23:56- Markus Palttala has stopped his car at turn 15. The yellow flag is out. He was sixth in the GT2 class.

23:59- Eric van de Poele into first place after his team mate pitted.