SPA, Belgium — For the first time since 1948, Aston Martin has won the Spa 24 Hours.Â
The centenary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, which drew more than 99,500 spectators to the Ardennes venue, featured a thrilling finish as Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3’s entry driven by Mattia Drudi, Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim secured the victory despite heavy rain hampering the final hour.
While Aston Martin reigned victorious, Ferrari suffered brutal defeat.Â
The AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 No. 51 entry driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, Davide Rigon and Alessio Rovera was blocked in the pits by Grasser Lamborghini’s entry as the team lost over 50 seconds, pinning them to the runner-up position.Â
Aston Martin led the way for the final 45 minutes.Â
The No. 998 BMW entry looked to be on course for second. However, the team had to head to pit lane on the final lap due to going over the maximum stint length by approximately 15 seconds.
That dropped the team to fifth at the checkered flag.Â
BMW claimed the final podium finish in third in the No. 32 Team WRT entry driven by Dries Vanthoor, Charles Weerts and Sheldon van der Linde. Initially, however, the team crossed the finish line in fourth.
The No. 34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin finished ahead but received a penalty for contact with the Ferrari during the final hour and was sent back to fourth. The pole-sitting No. 163 Grasser Racing Lamborghini completed the top five, fighting back from early issues to earn the Italian brand its best-ever finish at the event.
Gold Cup honors went to the No. 777 AlManar Racing by GetSpeed crew of Al Faisal Al Zubair, Mikaël Grenier, Dominik Baumann and Philip Ellis.
The Bronze Cup winner finished among the overall top 10. This class went to the No. 66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi, which took victory by a comfortable margin. After emerging from the night with a clear advantage thanks to its crew of Andrey Mukovoz, Dylan Pereira, Max Hofer and Aleksey Nesov, the Audi remained competitive all the way to the finish, taking 10th overall.
GetSpeed earned a second winner’s trophy by taking the Silver Cup class with its No. 3 Mercedes-AMG, which delivered a similar performance to the sister AlManar Racing car. Driven by Yannick Mettler, James Kell, Anthony Bartone and Aaron Walker, it rose to the top of its classification during the morning and ran cleanly thereafter.Â
On a day when its Pro cars faced disappointment, Mercedes-AMG could celebrate a hat-trick of class victories at the centenary. The third came courtesy of the No. 4 CrowdStrike Racing by Riley entry, driven by George Kurtz, Ian James, Nicky Catsburg and American Colin Braun, which ran an intelligent race to capture Pro-Am honors.
The 100th running of the event was televised live and free on SPEED SPORT 1 — the motorsports network. Click HERE for a complete list of SPEED SPORT 1 platforms and apps. Â
Following its recent launch on Amazon, SPEED SPORT 1 is now accessible in more than 175 million households and devices, serving as the exclusive North American broadcaster for this popular event. Expectations are high for a significant viewership.
To access SPEED SPORT 1 on Amazon Freevee, look for the Freevee app on your connected TV or navigate to free live programming via Amazon Prime. SPEED SPORT 1 content will also be available on-demand on Freevee and Amazon Prime. Select live content will be presented in the Live Guide on the platform as well.
For a complete list of platforms and apps, program listings and more, visit SPEEDSPORT1.com.