6 Hours of Spa – Race: Jota and Manthey EMA triumph for a new Porsche double

Ferrari outside the top rows for the start, Porsche and Cadillac had a clear field to start at the front in the 6 Hours of Spa.

Car number 5 from Penske started from pole position, close to being surprised by Proton car number 99, which started 3rd. The Cadillac seemed to have good pace, especially in the first few minutes. But the only American car in the WEC saw its pace collapse in the first hour.

Indeed, the N°5 had a clear field to unroll… until the Proton team’s private Porsche, in a spectacular move after Blanchimont, took the lead of the race!

But a lot can happen in six hours. If the Frenchman Julien Andlauer made a beautiful first relay, the competition was coming back behind. The threat mainly came from the official Porsches and especially from the Ferraris, whose race pace seemed formidable, despite the twelve kilos added via the BoP.

The poster was beautiful: the first six places were an enticing alternation between Porsche and Ferrari. But among the Reds, the N°83 from the AF Corse team was not ahead of the official ones this time.

Car number 50 (Fuoco/Molina/Nieslen) finally managed to quickly climb back up to the top of the field, after starting from 19th and last place in the Hypercar category.

And the French team could count, in the teams, on a fit Alpine No. 35: after accessing the Hyperpole, the trio Milesi/Chatin/Gounon continued to evolve in the Top 10, therefore in the points.

At Peugeot, the heaviest car on the grid, car N°94 started off with a pit stop for a mechanical issue. The two Sochaliennes, including car N°93, were not in contention for points in a conventional way.

And finally, Ferrari managed to outperform the competition in these 6 Hours of Spa, around the halfway point: N°51 (Giovinazzi/Calado/Pier Guidi) overtook N°99, which had a fantastic start to the race, notably with Julien Andlauer and Neel Jani.

Porsche from one misfortune to another

The advantage of numbers goes to Porsche, but it also multiplies the risk of retirements. The Jota N°38 was taken out of the race at the start of the event, after a collision with BMW N°46, driven by Ahmad Al Harty…Valentino Rossi and Maxime Martin were of course dismayed, after coming close to victory in Imola, in LMGT3.

Car number 5 (Campbell/Makowiecki/Christensen) seemed to suffer a suspension failure at the exit of Blanchimont. This led to their retirement, losing the opportunity to turn their pole position into a good result.

Car number 99, leading the race, almost lost everything during the Safety Car period following the crash of Jota and BMW, at Malmedy: the door refused to close! Neel Jani was in a panic, but fortunately for him, he was able to solve the problem.

The head was maintained until Ferrari placed its two official cars in the lead, in the order No. 51 and the surprising No. 50, which made people forget its relegation from the qualifications.

Cadillac: in all states

The V Series R N°2 seemed to have a promising pace at the start, following the pace of the leading Porsche N°5. But very quickly, the American car lost positions one after the other, falling to the bottom of the Top 10.

Then, at the start of the mid-race, Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn seemed more comfortable, under the bright Spa sun: car number 2 managed to gradually climb up, not far from the Top 5. Often benefiting from neutralizations, especially the Full Course Yellow and the Safety Car, hopes of a podium were somewhat restored.

Until the significant event of these 6 Hours of Spa: Earl Bamber tried to overtake Porsche Proton No. 99 at the entrance of Kemmel. But on the path of the two Hypercars was the BMW No. 31, driven by Sean Gelael: the Cadillac hit the front of the GT3 with the right rear and suffered a huge impact against the wall.

The American prototype, completely destroyed, nearly rolled over. But fortunately, the radio came to confirm that the driver was okay.

The spectators got extra

It is rare enough in endurance to be mentioned: the red flag was waved during the race due to the numerous debris and damaged barriers. The last time this happened was at Sebring in 2022, when heavy storms threatened to end the race prematurely.

The Spa 6 Hours race was interrupted for almost two hours. Then, the news came: the clock was reset to 1 hour and 44 minutes left, the moment the red flag was raised.

Under this procedure, the meters were not completely reset, since only the tires could be changed. The energy levels were uneven, which completely disrupted the ranking. And caused a real final sprint in a race that did not lack twists and turns and uncertainty!

Fight everywhere!

The 2024 vintage of the WEC has the particularity that the competition is extremely intense, in both categories. When direct battles loomed in the traffic, the drivers did not hesitate to take all the risks. A feast for the eyes, despite the few scares caused!

All this commotion has benefited Porsche… but not the official structure: car number 12 Jota (Stevens/Illott) took the lead in the race and was engaged in a remote duel with car number 6 (Estre/Vanthoor/Lotterer) and Ferrari number 51, slightly behind in energy consumption.

Behind, a beautiful mano a mano opposed a previously anonymous Toyota N°7 to Ferrari N°51: the latter, after a good fight, managed to take the lead, led by Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Among the French, the points for 9th place were contested between the Alpine No. 35, ultimately little penalized by the red flag, and the Peugeot No. 93, which managed to secure the points zone, despite a massive weight.

Jules Gounon, in the middle of learning the prototype, finished the race and was able to pass the first of the 9X8. Even if the competition was unplayable for both teams, hopes of performing well at Le Mans are not illegitimate.

At the end of the race, Julien Andlauer made a beautiful comeback by taking down the Toyota No.7. The Japanese manufacturer finished outside the Top 5, having an anonymous race. In addition to that, there was a contact with the Iron Dames Lamborghini at the Source corner, which resulted in Kamui Kobayashi receiving a five-second penalty.

The best deal at the championship was obviously to be credited to the Porsche No. 6: even without a victory, the 2nd place was enough to widen the gap in the standings of the teams.

But Jota N°12 achieved a perfect race, becoming the first private team to win a round of the WEC in the overall standings since the arrival of the Hypercar in 2021. Penske N°6 finished 2nd and Ferrari N°50 3rd, after a strong comeback.

LMGT3: Iron Dames miss the mark

It was a nice story for the all-female WEC crew: the transition from the Porsche GTE to the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 has been tricky at the beginning of the season, with a significant lack of pace.

But the trio Sarah Bovy/Rahel Frey/Michelle Gatting managed to secure a sensational pole position and opened up a big gap with the competition during the first hour. However, in endurance racing, not everything is just about pace.

As the neutralizations, just like the red flag, thwarted the already established strategies. This notably allowed the other Lamborghini, #60 from Iron Lynx, to aim not more or less than the podium! Yet another proof that the Huracan is very comfortable on fast circuits.

McLaren, with the United Autosport No. 59, also had its say in the fight for victory! It must also be said that BMW, with the No. 46 and 31, were both swept out of the race by two accidents with Hypercars. Quite a contrast, two weeks after achieving a beautiful double at Imola.

Ferrari No. 54 from Vista AF Corse was leading in the final half-hour, but still had to make one more stop. This was happening in front of McLaren No. 59, the virtual leader at this stage… and Porsche No. 92 from Manthey PureX Racing! The winning crew at Losail, in the opening of the season, fell victim to a big crash in qualifying, fought back through the race incidents to battle at the top, while the Iron Dames were, involuntarily, pushed out of the running for victory.

Even more frustrating for them when their Iron Lynx counterparts, in the other Lamborghini, took the lead in the LMGT3 category, just before the start of the last quarter of an hour! Franck Perera took advantage over the Swiss Grégoire Saucy, in the No. 59, while the No. 95 had retired. McLaren was too short on energy to go the distance and had to let the podium slip away.

But with energy management, the top teams were all on the brink! The Iron Lynx and the Porsche Manthey PureX were both very close to the limit in the final minutes… the tension was huge in the last lap!

Porsche Manthey EMA No. 91, with enough power to make it to the end, took the lead on the final lap to become the third winner in three rounds. Iron Lynx ultimately finished in 3rd place, ahead of the Iron Dames. And No. 92, leading the championship, finished with just 0% energy left!

Hypercar ranking

LMGT3 rankings