The pole-sitting #50 Ferrari leads the way in Belgium after a hectic opening couple of hours, but the Prancing Horse is under threat from a dual French challenge in the shape of Alpine and Peugeot…
The early exchanges of the race saw some ferocious action throughout the field, as Nicklas Nielsen led an initial Ferrari one-two-three in the #50 Ferrari 499P.
The #51 car vaulted from third to second after James Calado made a move on Phil Hanson’s #83 AF Corse Ferrari.
But both cars were then overtaken by a flying Frédéric Makowiecki, who took the #36 Alpine through from a fifth-place start after he had already despatched Loïc Duval’s #93 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 Hypercar.
Makowiekci was the star of the opening two stints, carrying the Alpine to second and onto the tail of the leading Ferrari.
The #83 AF Corse Ferrari pitted just before the first hour was out with a suspected turbo issue, after Hanson lost several positions wrestling with the issue.
Several battles entertained the bumper Spa crowd, including a hair-raising incident in which Kevin Magnussen, in the #15 BMW, took to the grass at 290km/h on the Kemmel Straight while cutting through traffic.
Sébastien Bourdais was forced to serve a drive-through penalty in the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry after a lap two collision with the #5 Porsche Penske 963 driven by Julien Andlauer, who spun to the rear of the Hypercar field.
There was also early-race trouble for the #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GR010 Hypercar driven by Mike Conway, who suffered a right-rear puncture and was forced to make an unscheduled pit-stop.
Issues struck for the Proton Competition Porsche 963 Hypercar started by Nicolas Pino, as it stopped at Les Combes with a mechanical problem that triggered a Full Course Yellow period after 45 minutes of the race. Pino made it back to the pits, where the car was checked over.
The first safety car of the race came after 1hr15min as Yasser Shahin beached the #31 BMW at La Source. The car returned to the pits for repairs.
All teams took the opportunity for a free pit-stop, and upon resumption of racing after 1hr42min it was Miguel Molina leading Makowiecki’s Alpine, the #93 Peugeot of Paul di Resta and Giovinazzi’s #51 Ferrari 499P Hypercar.
The rest of the top six was filled by the #20 BMW (Robin Frijns) and the #7 Toyota (Conway).
The #15 BMW which ran inside the top six in the first hour dropped back after Kevin Magnussen was penalised for a Virtual Safety Car offence, and was also placed under investigation for pit-lane speeding.
Arnold Robin led away from pole position in the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus, opening up a small margin over the two Proton Competition Ford Mustangs driven by Stefano Gattuso and Bernardo Sousa.
The shape of the leading group in LMGT3 changed during the first scheduled pit-stops, as Ahmed Al Harthy gained track position in the #46 Team WRT BMW to lead before the safety car period for sister car, the #31 BMW’s problems.
The #88 Proton Ford Mustang held sway for a short period, but Al Harthy reclaimed the lead when Gattuso pitted as the race returned to green.
The BMW was subsequently hit with a drive-through penalty, after Al Harthy was adjudged to exceeded the 60km/h speed limit in the pit-lane. That elevated the #21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 piloted by François Heriau to the class lead, but the Frenchman himself was facing the threat of an investigation for a Virtual Safety Car offence. That was triggered, meaning the advantage passed to the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin LMGT3, with Ian James at the wheel.
Second after two hours was the #85 Iron Dames Porsche driven by Célia Martin, while the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus of Robin sat third.
The top six was completed by the #59 United Autosports McLaren (James Cottingham), the #81 TF Sport Corvette (Tom Van Rompuy) and the #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin (Derek Deboer).
The #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus came unstuck on the same lap as Shahin, with Petru Umbrarescu parking the car just before Les Combes.
Click HERE for the positions after two hours.
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