Winning team’s pit strategy overcomes tough competition, changing weather and mechanical issues
After racing for exactly 24 hours and 38.7 seconds in the 7.004-kilometer-long, mostly soaking wet Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Rowe Racing team completed 527 laps, for a total distance of 3,691 kilometers, and took the checkered flag 4.7 seconds ahead of its closest rival, the Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Audi Sport Team Attempto Racing. Another Porsche 911 GT3 R, that of Dinamic Motorsport, crossed the finish line 28 seconds later to secure third place and complete the podium at the 2020 edition of the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, held on Oct. 24-25.
The Rowe Racing crew of Nick Tandy, Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor took the lead at only the last hour of the race, starting to challenge the leaders at the 22nd hour mark when the team caught up with the multi-car battle between Audi Sport Team Attempto Racing, Audi Sport Team Sainteloc and the Ferrari of AF Corse and SMP Racing.
In this scrap for the lead, it was the Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Attempto which took control at the front amid increasingly heavy rainfall. With less than two hours left in the race, Attempto’s Frederic Vervisch turned over driving duties to Patric Niederhauser, who retained a seven-second advantage over the Sainteloc R8 LMS GT3 of Dorian Boccolacci. But Tandy in his 911 GT3 R was hitting his stride. With 90 minutes remaining, he overtook the AF Corse Ferrari to move into third place, then began closing the gap to Boccolacci.
A full-course yellow period with 75 minutes left in the race allowed the frontrunners to take their pit stops. Crucially, the Rowe Porsche chose to stay on track and was therefore able to leapfrog both Audi Sport teams. A safety car period meant no passing was possible—despite this a Mercedes-AMG managed to spin out of control in front of the main grandstand—and so Tandy’s 911 GT3 R moved into the lead and dominated from there.
The race was far from over, however. Tandy, driving on older tires, had to defend hard at two separate restarts, not to mention having to contend with developing mechanical problems. At the last restart, with just over 35 minutes remaining, Niederhauser began running a faster pace in his R8 LMS GT3, eking out a few tenths out of Tandy’s Porsche sector by sector, and eventually closing the gap to within just under two seconds of the leader.
That said, the two leading Porsches of Rowe Racing and Dinamic Motorsport seemed to enjoy a huge advantage in grip, with observers noting the cars were able to take on much more curbing on exits than any of their competitors without losing control.
This proved crucial to Tandy. In the race’s dramatic final few laps, his 911 GT3 R appeared to start coasting, its gearbox apparently stuck in a high gear. Onboard footage showed an alarming clatter filling the car’s cabin. It was spilling oil, too, making it difficult for Niederhauser, aboard the Attempto R8 LMS GT3, to launch an attack.
Behind them, the Dinamic Motorsport 911 GT3 R of Matteo Cairoli, Sven Muller and Christian Engelhart secured third place. Finishing a few seconds behind was the identical Porsche of GPX Racing team, which had managed to put behind the challenge of AF Corse’s and SMP Racing’s Ferrari 488 GT3 via a bold overtaking move near the entry to Spa-Francorchamps’ legendary Eau Rouge corner.
The R8 LMS GT3 of Audi Sport Team Sainteloc clinched sixth place, fending off the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Team HRT and the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Frikadelli Racing Team, which finished in seventh and eighth places, respectively. Rounding out the top 10 were the Honda Acura NSX GT3 of Team Honda Racing and the Bentley Continental GT3 of K-Pax Racing.
This year’s 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps saw more night running than ever before and was contested under difficult conditions, with changing weather typical of the region. Heavy rainfall resulted in a total of 18 full-course yellow periods and 14 safety car phases. In the close competition among the 55-strong GT3 grid fielded by 11 manufacturers, the lead spot changed almost by the hour. In the end, the top 10 finishers consisted of four Porsches, two Audis and one each from Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG, Honda Acura and Bentley.