+ Rackl and Piana hand Borusan Otomotiv its first GT4 Europe double
+ Tens of thousands of fans brave the heat to witness two thrilling races
+ Night race and Raidillon party set the scene for the 24 Hours
The GT4 European Series proved the star of the support card for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa this weekend, producing two thrilling races as temperatures rose both on the track and in the stands.
Tens of thousands of fans flocked to the picturesque Ardennes circuit, braving temperatures that at times inched above 40 degrees to catch two scintillating contests and a piece of history for the long-running Borusan Otomotive Motorsport team, which celebrated its first-ever GT4 Europe clean sweep thanks to Thomas Rackl and Gabriele Piana.
The opening GT4 Europe race on Friday took centre stage, with the 45-car field racing into the darkness, before thousands of fans poured onto the track for a party at Raidillon that truly kick-started the festivities of the world’s biggest GT race.
RACKL AND PIANA BOOST BORUSAN
Despite being a regular race winner across recent seasons, the Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport team had never celebrated a double GT4 Europe win, until now. The #12 BMW M4 shared by Rackl and Piana proved unbeatable, with two charging performances from GT4 veteran Piana helping the team to twin wins.
Their first came against the odds, and with a little luck after trouble for the #78 Elite McLaren that had led throughout. Rackl started way back in 15th after a tough qualifying but made solid progress, moving into the top 10 before pitting at the first opportunity for Piana. A rapid out-lap from the Italian helped the blue M4 climb higher, with Piana filtering back out in fifth. From there he pulled some sensational moves – including a two-for-one pass on both the Pro-Am Schubert Motorsport BMW and Team Floral Mustang into Les Combes – to work his way into second.
That should really have been the limit, but the pole-starting McLaren that had led throughout in the hands of first Charlie Hart and then McKenzy Cresswell was handed a 15-second penalty for speeding in the pits, opening the door for Piana. While Cresswell took the flag first, he could not pull big enough of a gap over Piana, putting Borusan on top in the revised result.
There would be no questions over Race 2 on Saturday morning, with Piana starting third behind the twin Elite McLarens of Cresswell and Harri Reynolds. When Cresswell ran wide at Raidillon, Piana went through to second and then grabbed a lead the car would not lose with a neat pass on Reynolds into Bruxelles. Even a mid-race safety car could not unseat Piana, who handed Rackl a five-second gap to control to the flag.
Rackl and Piana’s double came at a good time in championship terms, with the Silver points-leading SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG enduring a tough weekend. Enrico Förderer and Cedric Fuchs could manage only ninth and fifth, closing things up in the title chase.
Schubert Motorsport drivers Victor Bouveng and Joakim Walde consolidated their Pro-Am lead with a second win of the season on Friday and a further podium finish on Saturday, even if a Race 2 victory for Chris Salkeld and Daniel Drexel’s Razoon – more than racing BMW keeps the heat on in the title race.
Daniel Blickle jumped to the head of the Am points after two wins alongside Max Kronberg in the #30 W&S Motorsport Porsche. The pair were helped by problems for both their class rivals, with the GR Sweden Supra of Mikael and Christoffer Brunnhagen suffering a retirement in Race 2 and Julien Ripert’s Audi enduring a range of troubles across the weekend.
PARTY ON AND OFF THE TRACK
The CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa goes further for fan engagement than any other GT World event, with the sheer variety of activities drawing a mammoth crowd to Spa ahead of the start of the twice-around-the-clock classic.
The entire GT4 Europe field took part in the traditional parade into Spa on Wednesday, where thousands of fans lined the 10km route along public roads before over 150 GT cars were displayed freely to the public around the town centre.
The festivities continued at the circuit, with an undoubted highlight being the Friday night party at Raidillon where huge numbers of fans poured onto the track after the opening GT4 race to enjoy a party soundtracked by GT World DJ SiBE. Many took the chance to sign the famous kerbing, adding their names to the latest instalment of the great race.
Fans continued to flock to the circuit ahead of the start of the 78th CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, and as the GT3 cars charge up Raidillon later tonight the Fan Zone will once again come alive with the headline concert from Dimitri Vegas on the main stage.
The GT4 European Series returns to action at Misano in Italy over the weekend of July 17-19.