Haas RT, the brand-new team from Antigua, made its return to the 24H SERIES podium for the first time since the season opener in Mugello after a mix of on-track incidents and technical issues dropped the motorsport newcomer out of contention at the three previous rounds at Spa-Francorchamps, Monza and Estoril. In a strong comeback performance, and despite suffering “pronounced understeer” early on in the race, Haas RT eventually finished 2nd to overall winner IMSA LS Group Performance, just 1m 37s adrift. The result thus secured Haas RT the GT3 Teams’ title in its maiden season of competition. 

Detry meanwhile, as the only driver to complete the full European season with Haas RT, secured GT3 Drivers’ honours ahead of Scherer Sport PHX’s Elia Erhart and Pierre Kaffer. This marks the first series title for the young Belgian, who made the jump from TCR competition at this year’s Hankook 24H DUBAI. 

“We had encountered problems during the three previous races, and finishing on a good note was a great pleasure for the Haas RT team…” Detry explained to Speed Action TV’s Vincent Franssen. “I have been [competing] in the 24H SERIES for a few years now, and it was ultimately with a beginner team that I was crowned champion… in the premier category. And in front of a team as exclusive as Scherer Sport PHX – the new name of Phoenix Racing – and a driver like Pierre Kaffer!”

Miika Panu, back for his first start with Haas RT since Monza, got the weekend off to a solid start by qualifying the #21 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II 7th quickest in a rained-out session. At the start of the race, teammate Max Hofer – also entering his second event with Haas RT (Britain’s Gavin Pickering and Belgium’s Kris Cools completed the line-up with Detry) – impressed with a fighting drive against Herberth Motorsport’s Alfred Renauer and then Car Collection Motorsport’s Alex Fontana’s to 3rd overall by the end of the first hour. In the following stint, Panu even took the lead during his first stint, and by the end of the fourth, Haas RT was firmly in the fight for victory, just 41 seconds behind. 

The Antiguan team would start to drop back from overall leader IMSA LS Group Performance as the first third of the race ticked by, the Audi hampered by setup issues while the #76 Porsche 992 GT3 R prospered in the cooler temperatures. Setup changes during the night though saw a dramatic improvement in the Haas RT’s laptimes, and come daybreak – minus only an 18-second penalty for exceeding the speed limit during a Code 60 – the #21 Audi was back in the overall top three, having regained two laps on the IMSA Porsche. 

Max Hofer even posted the two overall fastest laps of the event – his best, a 1m 42.682s – in his pursuit of the Porsche. 

“Our Barcelona race was complicated at first, the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II suffering from pronounced understeer, so much so that in certain corners, the GT4s were faster!” Detry continues. “At the start of the night, we made an adjustment to the set-up, and everything was back to normal: from that moment, our lap times improved by 1.5 seconds!”

Having repeatedly swapped 2nd place with the delayed Herberth Motorsport for most of the night, Haas RT eventually overhauled its Bavarian rival and was starting to catch the overall leader: after his final stint, even IMSA’s Julien Andlauer admitted the Audi’s faster pace was a concern.

In the end, though Hofer could not close the gap to Andlauer in its entirety, the #26 Audi nevertheless finished an impressive run just over 90 seconds behind the #76 Porsche at the flag, securing the GT3-Pro/Am class win in the process.

“While our delay on the IMSA Porsche peaked at four laps, we finished the race only 1m 37s behind, which says a lot about the load we carried out. Above all, the car did not encounter the slightest problem.”

Neither Haas RT nor Mathieu Detry has confirmed whether they will defend their titles in the 24H SERIES in 2024, but Haas RT has confirmed an interest in returning to the Hankook 24H DUBAI and the Hankook 6H ABU DHABI next year. The Antiguan team finished in the overall top five in Dubai in 2023 (in its first-ever race start, no less) and secured its first-ever podium finish in Abu Dhabi one week later.

-       Our thanks to Speed Action TV for the quote. Read the original story HERE