The night of the 2026 Spa 24 Hours saw the #51 Ferrari reclaim a place on the lead lap despite only a brief shower at Circuit de Spa‑Francorchamps, which was far less severe than the anticipated thunderstorms.
Multiple safety car deployments, a light rain, and several leading cars dropping out marked the night, which has now concluded. At 6 a.m. on Sunday, the headline story was the #51 AF Corse Ferrari’s comeback to the lead lap after a tire failure on Saturday evening.
Regaining a lost lap at the 24 Hours of Spa is a remarkable feat, given the scarcity of wave‑by‑wave opportunities for the Pro Cup class and the frequent full‑course yellow flags that precede safety cars.
Although no major storms occurred, a cluster of thunderstorms passed to the northwest, delivering a dramatic lightning display on the horizon. A peripheral rain shower later brushed the circuit near the halfway mark, but it was brief.
Both Garage 59 McLaren Out of Contention
Even before nightfall, the #63 Grasser Lamborghini entered the pits with engine trouble. After a short stint back on track, GRT Grasser ultimately retired the car.
Soon after, one of the favorites, the #59 Garage 59 McLaren, suffered a front‑right suspension failure, prompting the team to remove the brake and officially retire the 720S GT3.
Garage 59 also fielded the #58 Gold Cup entry, which made strong early progress. However, Louis Prette was spun by Morris Schuring’s #2 Boutsen‑VDS Porsche in the Bus Stop chicane, incurring a drive‑through penalty.
In the early hours, Garage 59 lost its second car when Oliver Goethe pitted with front‑end damage and a coolant leak; repairs were still in progress.
Many Safety Cars During the Night
Five full-course yellow‑to‑safety car sequences occurred after nightfall; the first, the fourth overall, was triggered just before the end of the seventh hour when Sébastien Baud in the #21 Comtoyou Aston Martin crashed violently at Courbe Paul Frère.
Only ten minutes of green‑flag racing elapsed before another safety car was required; Jonathan Hui’s #93 Tempesta Porsche spun out in the Fagnes curve, also known as Pif‑Paf.
As Hui’s car spun, it was hit by Alexey Nesov’s #9 Pure‑Rxing Porsche, which came to rest in the gravel trap, ending the race for both Porsche 911 GT3 R entries.
Following that, a period of 80 minutes of green‑flag racing ensued before the #60 JMW Ferrari stopped due to a technical issue and ignited.
During the safety car period, the #51 AF Corse Ferrari executed a strategic masterstroke, staying out instead of pitting, passing the leader and reclaiming the lead lap.
It rejoined the safety car queue, pitted under the safety car just before the restart, and returned to the track half a lap behind the leader, thereby regaining the crucial lead lap.
The #98 Rowe‑BMW suffered a tire failure while running third; for several hours it fell behind the lead pack, only to be re‑integrated when the sixth safety car brought it back into line, though outside the top ten.
Sole Pro-Audi Out After Crash
A safety car was deployed at the end of the eleventh hour when Markus Winkelhock crashed the #84 Eastalent Audi into the Blanchimont barrier; the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II had already fallen several laps behind the leaders.
Less than half an hour after the restart, Sarah Bovy in the #700 Comtoyou Aston Martin collided with another car and struck the tire barrier at Blanchimont.
This generated a prolonged full‑course yellow‑to‑safety car period, the fifth of the night and eighth overall. A brief rain shower fell during the FCY, but by the restart most cars had already reverted to slick tires.
All cars still in contention for overall victory observed the mandatory five‑minute service, which must be performed between the 12th and 22nd hour.
Minutes later, the #64 HRT‑Ford incurred a 60‑second stop‑and‑go penalty for Arjun Maini speeding under the full‑course yellow, leaving the Ford Mustang GT3 Evo needing another safety car period to re‑approach the leaders.
Soon after, the same #64 HRT‑Ford crew faced another 60‑second stop‑and‑go penalty for excessive speed during the full‑course yellow; the Ford Mustang GT3 Evo therefore required another safety car stint to get back into contention.
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GTWC points after 6 and 12 hours
After six hours:
- Eastalent-Audi #84 (Reicher/Winkelhock/Haase) – 12 points
- WRT-BMW #32 (van der Linde/Pepper/Weerts) – 9 points
- GetSpeed-Mercedes #48 (Auer/Stolz/Engel) – 7 points
- Garage-59-McLaren #58 (Fleming/Prette/Goethe) – 6 points
- Rowe-BMW #98 (Farfus/Dennis/Marciello) – 5 points
- HRT-Ford #64 (Maini/Scherer/Drouet) – 4 points
- Boutsen-VDS-Porsche #2 (Schuring/Boccolacci/Picariello) – 3 points
- Rowe-BMW #998 (de Wilde/Tramnitz/Klingmann) – 2 points
- WRT-BMW #46 (Rossi/Harper/Hesse) – 1 point
After 12 hours:
- Kessel-Ferrari #74 (Blattner/Tuck/Jaubert/Marschall) – 12 points
- Paradine-BMW #991 (Fourie/Leung/Pittard/Kellett) – 9 points
- Garage-59-McLaren #58 (Fleming/Prette/Goethe) – 7 points
- GetSpeed-Mercedes #48 (Auer/Stolz/Engel) – 6 points
- Lionspeed Porsche #80 (Feller/Preining/Buus) – 5 points
- Verstappen-Mercedes #3 (Juncadella/Lulham/Gounon) – 4 points
- HRT-Ford #64 (Maini/Scherer/Drouet) – 3 points
- WRT-BMW #46 (Rossi/Harper/Hesse) – 2 points
- Walkenhorst-Aston-Martin #34 (Day/Krognes/Chaves) – 1 point