6 Heures de Spa – Race: Virtual safety cars save Ferrari, Alpine back on the podium

Running low on fuel at the end of the race, the two Ferraris were saved by two late interventions from the virtual safety car. Alpine secured another podium finish after six hours of indecisive racing, its second in a row.

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Rédigé par Par

A close race from start to finish. Throughout these six hours of competition, several manufacturers were able to fight for victory: Ferrari, of course, but also Alpine, Peugeot, BMW, and even Toyota.

The different strategies implemented during this challenge allowed each crew to fight for the lead of the race at some point.

Read also: 6 Heures de Spa – H+1: Alpine makes you dream

Alpine made the public dream for a large part of the race, first by performing an impressive comeback thanks to the #36. The A424 even managed to overtake Ferrari, which was so fast on this Spa track, after a daring overtaking maneuver by Jules Gounon approaching Eau Rouge.

Peugeot was completely in the rhythm, but a strategic error on the #93 and a contact on the #94 caused the brand to plummet to the depths of the standings. Moreover, only the #93 managed to cross the finish line.

Read also: 6 Hours of Spa – H+2: Two incidents neutralize the race

Several accidents disrupted the event. The BMW #31 took a trip into the gravel at the first turn, while the Lexus #87 encountered a mechanical issue. This caused a significant neutralization lasting more than 30 minutes.

Shortly after, the McLaren #95 was sent into the wall at Les Combes by the Mercedes #60. The impact was violent and required a second intervention by the safety car. Finally, a last contact between the Aston Martin #10 and the McLaren #59 led to a final intervention by the safety car.

Read also: 6 Hours of Spa – H+3: Alpine and Peugeot Threaten Ferrari

No matter the category, all the drivers delivered magnificent battles, sometimes with very daring actions. Whether it was at Raidillon or Blanchimont, courage was present every time. Sometimes, the overtakes and attacks went beyond the limit, hence the aforementioned accidents.

Read also: 6 Hours of Spa – H+4: Alpine in the running to win the race

The BMW #20 lost everything in the money time. At the wheel, Robin Frijns reported a braking problem. The hypercar was brought back into the garage and dropped down the ranking before throwing in the towel.

Half an hour from the end, the Alpine #36, then in the lead, made a final stop to put a minimum amount of fuel in the A424’s tank to finish the race. According to the strategists’ calculations, victory was possible at that moment.

Read also: 6 Hours of Spa – H+5: A wild battle for the podium

Starting from fifth, Mick Schumacher attacked like crazy to try to catch up with the leading cars. Up front, Ferrari opted for two different strategies to try to leave Alpine behind. The #51 was running flat out, while the #50 was saving fuel.

With 21 minutes remaining, the race management deployed a new virtual safety car. This intervention occurred just as Mick Schumacher overtook the #7 Toyota. With 12 minutes left, the #51 Ferrari made a pit stop to refuel. Despite this, it rejoined the race in first place.

In GT3, the Ferrari #21 dominated the race. The team was able to implement an optimal strategy and even control its final stint thanks to a considerable lead gained beforehand.

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