This year, one of the most traditional World Endurance Championship races at Spa, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, is held the second week of May as the third round of the season. The race itself is traditionally held on Saturday, dating from the period when it was still part of the European Le Mans Series before 2012. And it was not changed even this year, so the first free practice sessions were on the programme already today, on Thursday.
When we are at the most traditional races of the current incarnation of the World Championship for sports cars, with the start dated back to 2012, actually only Le Mans and Spa were held each year and moreover for the same distance. Both were twice part of the Super Season 2018-19 when there was an attempt to make the June Le Mans a final race of the championship. This did not work well, but we lost the Bahrain and Fuji races. Another Fuji race was not held due to COVID restrictions, but it helped Bahrain get back the lost edition, and in one of the COVID years, there were two Bahrain races—it was in 2021, two following weekends, but they were run over different distances. Generally, Bahrain is run variously to 6 and 8 hours, while Spa is always a 6-hour race, and Le Mans has never been run to a different distance, unlike, for example, the traditional Daytona 24, which has also had 6-hour editions or 2000-kilometre editions in its history.
Well, now we have 13 Spa WEC races, while Le Mans and Bahrain will have to wait for a month or more as they are scheduled later this year. Actually, both first 2024 races were held on new tracks at the WEC. First was the Losail track for the Qatar WEC, which was held officially for a very unique distance of 1812 kilometers and was won by the Porsche 963, which dominated the entire podium, thanks to private entries. The next race was Imola to the most common distance of 6 hours, and the race was to be dominated by Ferraris, which started from the top 3 positions (also thanks to a private entry) and kept them for some time in the race, but later, due to various mistakes and mainly the strategic fault during the heavier shower, the victory came to Toyota, ahead of Porsches, while Ferrari completely lost any chances of a podium.
Today, during the first session, it still looks like Ferrari can dominate this weekend on pure speed as well, after claiming the first two positions in Free Practice 1, with the private entry as high as fifth. But the times were generally slower compared to previous years of Hypercar class, and with the Hypercar novices of Lamborghini and Alpine taking 3rd and 4th, respectively, it suggested that most of the top teams did not show their true potential. The Porsches were 6th to 8th, Peugeot, running their winged new car for the second time this year, was a decent 9th, while Toyota did not feature in the top 10 at all. Another Hypercar novice, the BMW M Team, struggles here so far, while the fourth novice, Isotta Fraschini, with a history in sports car racing into the 1920s, was not expected to be better than the last. It generally took over the role of ByKolles' Vanwall, which was not accepted this season and disappeared along with the Glickenhaus, which was the first team to challenge Toyota in the Hypercar class. However, with the invasion of many new factories and a lack of investments, the owner, James Glickenhaus, decided to quit WEC. His effort would be mainly remembered for a great record at Le Mans when it never retired and usually finished pretty high.
To summarise the situation in the top class, we currently have 9 factories in the field (Ferrari, Toyota, Porsche, Cadillac, Peugeot, Lamborghini, BMW, Alpine, and the Isotta Fraschini), something that cannot be remembered anytime in the history of sports car racing, dating back to about 1921. And next year, we have another one confirmed to return: the Aston Martin team, currently represented in the LMGT3 class. This class is completely new to the FIA WEC, replacing the previous GTE class. It brought way more variety, and FIA had to limit the number of entries per make to two. Despite that, we still had Audi and Mercedes-AMG, which were left out of the entries, and for that reason, they cannot be invited to Le Mans, where we usually have a lot of guest entries, mainly from IMSA and ELMS. The manufacturers represented in the Hypercar class had priority, plus some more, like Aston Martin, which was faithful to the FIA WEC for the entire period, or Ford, which was one of the active manufacturers during the golden years of the GTE class. A real novice to the WEC is the new McLaren team. Apart from those already named, in GT3, we have Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Lexus (of Toyota), and Chevrolet (of GM/Cadillac), which all field Hypercar entries. In total, we have 18 GT3 cars and 19 Hypercars.
Back to the track action. The afternoon session was, as expected, a bit quicker, but the times were still some 4 seconds off the times from 2023 or 2021 when the Hypercars ran fastest at Spa. The best times were set early in the session, and even later, the time improvement of Cadillac did not change anything in their 3rd position, behind a factory Ferrari and the fastest of Porsches, which so far set the best time of all sessions. Toyota also improved a lot (4th and 7th), and the best Peugeot was again 9th; thus, the fast Hypercar novices had to settle behind the top 10 positions. Lamborghini was again the best of them (11th), beating two Porsches and a Peugeot, while all the rest (BMWs, Alpines, and the Isotta Fraschini) were ordered at the bottom of the Hypercar classification. It is worth noticing that this time the Isotta Fraschini beat one of the Alpines. But in combined timesheets, it is still the last one, but less than 0.3 behind one of the BMWs. They, BMWs, generally struggle in WEC. While in IMSA they are nearly at the level of Porsche and Cadillac, here they have no chance, running 3 seconds off the pace of their IMSA counterparts. After their promising race at Imola, where they finished 6th, by far the best of the new teams, one would expect more than only 16th and 18th positions in the combined results of FP1 and FP2, i.e., after the first day of running.
With the current field very closely matched (partially due to BoP, but we believe also due to the high level of competition in the current WEC, as BoP is not going the like of Vanwall, underfinanced Glickenhaus, or a very new Isotta Fraschini), anything can happen tomorrow, and especially on race day, where many other aspects than just pure speeds decide the final results. Currently, it is believed that Ferrari, Porsche, and Toyota will prevail over the rest, while Toyota believes that Ferrari will still be faster. The first actual strength of individual cars should be revealed tomorrow during the 12-minute qualification session, in the afternoon. There will still be one 1-hour Free Practice before, but it will probably continue similarly to the first two when the cars were 4-5 seconds off the pace of Spa Hypercar records. Even in practice sessions in the previous year, the times were notably better. Tomorrow's qualifying session will be followed by a Hyperpole session for the 10 fastest cars in each class. This model was introduced this season, and so far, it seems to be the best qualifying format in modern WEC history. The former short single qualifying sessions were too short and less dramatic, while the earlier experiment with two drivers' average per car was confusing and nowhere near the drama of the current format.
Friday
The third and final free practice session started exactly at 11 AM and it was really warm, sunny and nice weather. Also, the forecast for the race looks good, so the wet tyre strategy should not play against Ferrari like here at Spa last year, or the previous race at Imola. The times were only marginally better than during yesterday's afternoon session but the Porsche no.6, the championship-leading car, was once again at the top. Ferraris were 2nd and 4th, Toyotas 6th and 7th. Among the pleasant surprises, it was third place for one of the new-style Peugeots, and also 5th and 9th for BMW, finally setting a good pace. Alpines also had a decent session, placing both cars 8th and 11th.
Private Hypercar teams did not feature this time. The private Ferrari spent most time in the garage and with 10 minutes to go, it was still classified among GT3 cars and improved only in one of its final 4 quicker laps. First beating all GT cars, then the Isotta Fraschini, and that was all. Hopefully, they are set for the qualifying which starts in a few minutes. Among other cars that did not get into top 13, those were not only Cadillac and Lamborghini but also second factory Porsche no.5, placed only 17th.
The GT3, it was now Porsche, Lamborghini, Corvette, Ferrari. So usually not very successful that was fastest yesterday afternoon, could not defend its strong result and had to settle 12th with their best cars. But in combined results, it was Corvette at the top, thanks to FP1. The next positions belong to Porsche, Lamborgini and Lexus. In overall standings in combined times, we have Porsche, Ferrari, Ferrari, Cadillac, Peugeot, BMW, Toyota, Toyota and Alpine in the top nine places.
Qualifying
The GT3 qualifying session produced an interesting outcome. Of the nine presented manufacturers presented, eight of them qualified for the Hyperpole from the top 10 qualifiers to decide the positions. The missing one was Ford, which qualified both cars in positions 11 and 12. Thus, we had only two of the same cars in the Hyperpole. Those were McLarens and Porsches. All others, including, surprisingly a Lexus, had just a single car in this Hyperpole session. Unfortunately, one Porsche crashed heavily in its first flying Hyperpole lap, spinning in Eau Rouge heavily into the barriers. The session was obviously red-flagged, and after the restart, for most, it was possible to do just one or two flying laps. Unfortunately, the Lexus had a problem with the battery and did not take any further part in Hyperpole. Iron Dames Lamborghini, alias Sarah Bovy at the wheel, was once again the fastest of all, just like in qualifying, and claimed the GT3 pole position. McLarens, actually the only manufacturer that set time with both cars in Hyperpole, will start from the 1st and 3rd GT3 rows after claiming the 2nd and 5th places in Hyperpole.
Hypercar qualifying also created an interesting outcome. Both Toyota and Ferrari lost one car for the Hyperpole session, with Ferrari only one place off the top. Lamborghini and Isotta Fraschini pitted during the session, actually limiting their qualifying attempt to a single lap, which did not appear to be the best strategy. Peugeots also had bad luck, staying with their much better cars than last year, only 14th and 16th. On the other side, Alpine surprised with a 5th position, as did BMW, just 0.02 seconds back in the 6th position. The last car to get in was the lone Cadillac. The rest of the cars qualifying for Hyperpole were various Porsches, with number 5 fastest, claiming 3rd behind second Toyota no.8 and provisionally leading the grid, Ferrari no.50. The private Ferrari no.83 was ranked 4th as the best non-factory team car.
The Hypercar Hyperpole session saw the times getting slightly worse. Ferrari no.50 driven by quick Fuoco, defended the provisional pole position and will start from the first row tomorrow, along with Porsche no.5. In Superpole, none of Toyota, BMW, or Alpine could repeat their best performance, which could be said also for the lone private Ferrari, thus Porsches and the Cadillac moved up. While Cadillac ended 3rd, the four Porsches will fill all other positions in the first three rows.
Sunday
The first news this morning was a post-qualifying scrutineering disqualification of the provisionally Pole-sitting Ferrari due to about 1 kg underweight (apparently following some part replacement on Friday following a small collision). Thus, the Porsche no.5 will start from the Pole Position, with the Cadillac promoted to the first row for the first time in the WEC. For the same reason, the send placed McLaren in GT3 will start from the very last on the grid. The Ferrari is 19th, the last in the Hypercar field.
Race
The race held under sunny, warm and dry conditions in front of a huge crowd (later officially announced as 88.180), was influenced from the start by the disqualification of Ferrari in qualifying. Porsches largely dominated the first hour, while Ferraris were approaching from the rear, Cadillac starting from the first row was losing one position after another being classified only 12th after 60 minutes of racing. That helped to shine other cars, like BMW (8th & 9th) and especially Alpine no.35, running 5th at the end of the first hour, strongly dominated by 4 Porsches, which were however caught by the Ferraris (4th, 6th and 10th).
A bit surprising, the private Proton entry was the fastest of the Porsches and soon took over the lead from factory no.5. Ferrari no.50 was only slowly approaching the leaders, after gridded 19th, and a careful start, which generally went smoothly, without any collision. Drivers were probably more careful not to lose the race in the first corner. Porsches were at the top, but Ferraris looked like favorites. Toyotas did not feature at the top, moreover, car no.8 got a drive-through penalty. Peugeot no.94 was penalised even more and since Peugeots were running slower than the leading Porsches and Ferraris, it was soon lapped and never recovered. The other Peugeot no.93 also did not perform to the expectations of the team, after the cars were completely rebuilt, with the rear wing, now looking much better, and handling even more. Despite failing to meet the expected performance, number 93 appeared at the top of the sheets in lap 74 during pit stops. We believe that BMW no.20 was also shortly in the lead, following the Peugeot late pit stop but before the BMW crossed the line one lap later, we already had the Ferrari no.51 in the lead.
This was at the beginning of the 4th hour. Most of the Hypercars were still in the lead lap and they were close together due to the Safety Car period, when BMW no.20 touched slower JOTA Porsche no.38 (the only Porsche not running among the top 6 for most of the time), which crashed into GT3 BMW no.46 and both ended up in the barriers. The race was over for both of them. The BMW no.20 was later penalised by some kind of pit lane visit penalty, but this really did not help the situation. Proton Porsche lost its huge lead, the same can be said for Iron Dames. Sarah Bovy was excellent and led by a huge margin, with the McLaren no.59. The other McLaren, disqualified from qualifying, never really recovered from its last starting position, and later disappeared from the race with a gearbox problem.
After the restart, the Proton Porsche no.99 still led for some time but the Ferraris were now quicker and at first, no.51 overtook Proton, and some 15 laps later also the no.50 Ferrari took over the 2nd spot from the private Porsche. By that time, we also lost Lamborghini no.63 with a broken suspension in lap 59, and only five laps later the same reason led to the retirement of the factory Porsche no.5, by the time it was running 3rd overall, still between the Ferraris and well better than the championship leading car no.6 of their teammates.
By lap 87 Ferraris were 1-2, the first leading with a huge margin over the next closest manufacturer entry and it looked as nothing could stop them from winning the race. By that time of the race, the Cadillac was improving, running much better than in the early hours of the race and continuously took over Toyotas, the private Ferrari, then JOTA Porsche no.12, remaining factory Porsche no.6 and it started looking as it could end up with a result Ferrari, Ferrari, Cadillac. By the way, even during the time, Cadillac was well behind the top 10, it kept the provisional best lap.
Unfortunately at one moment, early in the 5th hour of the race, the Cadillac went so close to the Proton Porsche, apparently going to overtake it before the Les Combes, that it had to turn quickly to the right, and while still not fully ahead GT3 BMW no.31, a huge collision at the top speeds was inevitable. The Cadillac was even airborne, fortunately not flapping but the accident was huge. The Safety car was soon replaced by a red flag. And this situation took nearly two hours. It was even possible the race would not be restarted. Drivers were OK, the cars were destroyed, especially the Cadillac but transported to the garages, but the problem was damaged barriers. Repairing them took too long, so it was decided the race would be restarted 10 minutes after the planned finish and would continue for 1 hour 47 minutes, the time of the neutralisation of the race.
It would be all nice unless the rules were not thought-through enough properly and the race was not completely influenced by the fact that two Porsche with higher consumption refueled a lap before the accident happened. Thus in the final 100 minutes of racing, they had a huge advantage ahead of all other cars, including both Toyotas, all Ferraris and the fastest Proton Porsche.
Simply the restarted race after 4 laps behind the Safety Car, saw nearly the entire Hypercar field turned to the pitlane, and two Porsches 9th and 12th after pitting (before 5th and 6th) appeared with more than half a lap ahead of the rest. The race lost most of its drama and especially any sense of fairness. Hertz JOTA Porsche earned the victory, running quicker than the factory no.6. Really not a result both deserved. And rule makers should think way more next time if they intend some safety intervention to the races. This was really not a matter of strategy, but simply the cars with better fuel-saving strategy and performance were in huge disadvantage.
The only interesting parts were local battles between Ferraris and Toyotas, which were later diversified by the faster Proton Porsche attack on both Toyotas, which was in the end successful. On the other side, the private Ferrari no.83 made attempts to overtake the slower Toyota no.8 but after several laps it was given up and the Ferrari settled 8th. There was also some interesting battle between Alpine no.35 and Peugeot no.93, which at one moment overtook themselves twice within the same lap. But later the Peugeot backed off and settled for 10th behind the Alpine. BMWs had again disappointing results despite running well at some stages of the weekend, Alpines also looked stronger than the final result suggests. Isotta Fraschnini finished the race without many issues but it seems, they should also hire faster drivers. While Verney was nearly able to match the back of the Hypercar field, the other two were visibly slower than anyone else in the class. While the slower Hypercar drivers still ran in 2:09, the two Isotta Fraschini drivers hardly broke into the 2:11.
In GT3, it was Porsche 1-2 but the decision came only in the final lap when the leading Lamborghini no.60 had pit for a short splash & dash. Still, it finished ahead of the Iron Dames, which might have won, were there no unfair race interventions and injustice. It spoiled an otherwise fantastic race a lot. We can only hope not too many spectators noticed and cared about those things. Less sure it is how the teams and drivers who were hit by such rules feel that. I like JOTA cars, I would wish them a victory - but not under these circumstances. It could rarely make happy anybody with a huge sense of fairness and justice. Simply not.
