All through the night of the 66th edition of the Total 24 Hours of Spa the battle for the lead raged on. Depending on the pitstops, the #77 BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS BMW and the #1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi took the lead of the race, with the #3 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi not far behind after 15 hours of racing.
When the #3 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi took its drive-through penalty for having pitted during the red flag-period on Saturday evening, the order at the top of the rankings was established for the rest of the night. The #1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT led the race, with the #77 BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS BMW more or less a minute behind. With the Audi having its regular pitstops around quarter to the hour every hour, the BMW could briefly take first place, up until the Marc VDS had to perform their pitstop, around quarter past the hour every hour. That meant that at 4.30 am, after 12 hours of racing, the #1 Audi was leading, from the #77 BMW and the #3 Audi.
Among the retirements during the night were both the ART Grand Prix McLaren, and the #66 BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS BMW. The latter had Jörg Müller at the wheel when the car hit a rabbit, damaging the car’s radiator of the car beyond repair.There was one safety car period during the night, when the #44 Oman Racing Team Aston Martin went off track in Turn 17. That brings the total of safety car interventions to six, for a total of 218 minutes.
Pro-AmIn Pro-Am category the #90 Scuderia Villorba Corse Ferrari dominated the race all through the night. Its lead was small, with the #53 AF Corse Ferrari and #79 Ecurie Ecosse BMW not far behind. However, both cars encountered some setbacks, promoting the #12 TDS Racing BMW to second in class. Just before the 15-hour mark, and on his outlap after a pitstop, Henry Hassid went off in turn 11. The #12 BMW had to be towed and did not seem to be able restart. That meant that the #52 AF Corse Ferrari, with V8 Supercars-champion Craig Lowndes in its line-up, in second in class, closely followed by the #53 sister car.
Gentlemen TrophyThe fight in Gentlemen Trophy was as close as it gets, with the #42 Sport Garage Ferrari and #51 AF Corse Ferrari driving on the same lap all through the night. It was the Sport Garage Ferrari who was leading at the half-way point, but after fifteen hours of racing, the AF Corse 458 Italia was in first position. The #228 Delahaye Racing Porsche was third, but had lost contact with the leaders during the morning, and was four laps behind with nine hours of racing to go.
Provisional points standings after 12 hours:
Pro Cup Drivers Top 3:1 Andy Meyrick/Guy Smith/Steven Kane 57pts; 2 Edward Sandström/Stephane Ortelli/Grégory Guilvert 55 pts; 3 Gregoire Demoustier/Alvaro Parente/Laurents Vanthoor 49 pts.
Pro Cup Teams Top 3:1 ART Grand Prix 69pts; 2 M-Sport Bentley 68pts; 3 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 64pts.
Pro-Am Cup Drivers Top 3:1 Andrea Rizzoli/Stefano Gai/Francesco Castellacci 67pts; 2 Andrew Smith/Alasdair McCaig/Oliver Bryant 47pts; 3 Stefano Comandini/Eugenio Amos 41pts.
Pro-Am Cup Teams Top 3:1 Scuderia Villorba Corse 67pts; 2 Nissan GT Academy Team RJN 54pts; 3 TDS Racing 52pts
Gentlemen Trophy Drivers Top 3:1 Alexander Mattschull 76 pts; 2 Franck Schmickler 75pts; 3 Peter Mann/Francisco Guedes 72pts
Gentlemen Trophy Teams Top 3:1 GT Corse by Rinaldi 81pts; 2 AF Corse 72pts; 3 Sport Garage 45pts;
Kings Cup standings after 12 hours:
1. Ferrari 2. Audi 3. BMW
