GRT does it for Lamborghini: the long awaited win in the 24 hours of Spa

Text: Rick Kiewiet

Images: SRO

After decades of near-misses and heartbreaks, Lamborghini has finally done it. In a dramatic and often unpredictable 77th running of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, the Italian brand stood atop the podium at Spa-Francorchamps for the very first time. The #63 GRT Grasser Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, driven by Mirko Bortolotti, Jordan Pepper, and Luca Engstler, secured a long-awaited triumph after a masterclass in pace, patience, and execution.

Starting at 16:30 on Saturday and running uninterrupted through a dry and fast-paced race, the iconic event delivered strategic curveballs, attrition among frontrunners, and high-stakes drama right until the final hour.

A Win Years in the Making

The #63 Lamborghini didn’t dominate from the outset. In fact, the early hours were headlined by the pole-sitting #59 Garage 59 McLaren, the #163 VSR Lamborghini, and the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed car—until the latter two fell away, both retiring before dawn with mechanical trouble and contact-induced damage.

Grasser’s charge to the front began after nightfall and matured into control by Sunday morning. The main threat emerged from Rutronik Racing’s #96 Porsche 911 GT3 R, which used a perfectly timed Full Course Yellow pit stop to leapfrog into the lead with three hours to go. But the fight was far from over.

A slow puncture on the Porsche allowed Bortolotti to make a decisive move at the Bus Stop chicane. Despite a brief scare during the final pit stop—where the Lamborghini refused to fire up instantly—the #63 held on. With just over eight seconds in hand at the flag, the victory sealed Lamborghini’s first ever Spa 24H win, making them the sixth different manufacturer to win in the last six editions.

Ferrari’s Fierce Comeback, Porsche’s Strategic Brilliance

While Lamborghini made headlines, the battle for the remaining podium places was equally compelling. AF Corse’s #51 Ferrari of Vincent Abril, Alessio Rovera, and Alessandro Pier Guidi mounted an impressive comeback after an early brake issue dropped them a lap down. Relentless pace in traffic brought them back into podium contention, and a late penalty for the #98 ROWE Racing BMW—30 seconds for track limits—promoted the Ferrari to third.

The #96 Rutronik Porsche of Patric Niederhauser, Sven Müller, and Alessio Picariello finished second on the road after briefly leading, thanks to a savvy alternate strategy and timely caution periods. Their challenge faded only in the final stint, when they were unable to match Bortolotti’s pace.

ROWE Racing endured heartbreak: the #998 car was retired in the final minutes due to a brake failure, while the #98 BMW of Marciello, Farfus, and Krohn dropped to fifth with a penalty after briefly snatching third in a last-gasp move on Pier Guidi.

Gold Cup: Verstappen.com Racing Strikes Late

In Gold Cup, it was a two-way war between the #33 Verstappen.com Racing Aston Martin and the #58 Garage 59 McLaren. The lead changed hands multiple times, and Frederik Schandorff looked to have secured the class win for McLaren—until a cruel puncture through Blanchimont inside the final 10 minutes dropped them down the order.

The door opened for Chris Lulham, Thierry Vermeulen, and Harry King in the #33 Aston Martin, who seized the opportunity and crossed the line ninth overall and first in class.

Silver, Bronze and Pro-Am Winners

The Silver Cup victory went to the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin of Matteo Villagomez, Romain Leroux and Oliver Söderström, outlasting its main challengers in a race marked by attrition. The #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Dennis Marschall, Conrad Laursen, Zach Robichon and Dustin Blattner took Bronze Cup honours after fending off the #81 Mercedes in a thrilling duel that lasted nearly an hour.

In Pro-Am, the spoils went to AV Racing’s #29 Porsche shared by Mathieu Detry, Fabian Duffieux, Bo Yuan, and Noam Abramczyk, who survived multiple lead changes and on-track battles to emerge on top of the class.

British GT Drivers Make Their Mark

This year’s Spa field once again featured familiar names from the British GT Championship. Notably, Garage 59 fielded two cars with crossover names: Adam Smalley and Joseph Loake stood out, the latter making a highly promising 24H debut with a run to sixth overall in the #59 McLaren. Dean MacDonald came heartbreakingly close to a Gold Cup victory, only to be denied by a puncture in the final laps.

2 Seas Motorsport’s Thierry Vermeulen and Chris Lulham, both Spa rookies in British GT terms, left a strong impression by taking Gold Cup honours in the #33 Aston Martin. The event once again underlined the depth and potential of British GT talent on the international stage.