A clean run during the Hankook 24H BARCELONA itself though, marred only by a collision with the Scherer Sport PHX Audi, saw Land Motorsport finish 6th overall after an impressive comeback drive and on top of the GT3-Am field. This marks the team’s first class win in the 24H SERIES since its outright win at the 2009 24H DUBAI, and a “well-deserved reward” according to team manager and namesake Christian Land.

“Our goal was to be consistent and get through the race without any mistakes,” Land explained post-race. “We succeeded and winning the class is a well-deserved reward for everyone who has worked so hard over the last few days. We got through the 24 hours without any penalties or accidents, everything just went well. This result also rounds off our first season in the 24H SERIES in a good way.”

Hyper-consistent running during a very wet qualifying meant the experienced Dr. Johannes Kirchhoff – who teamed with Tim and Ingo Vogler, Max Edelhoff, and Wiggo Dalmo – posted only the 22nd fastest lap of Q1 and the 12th fastest of the GT3 runners, the German driver’s 2m 12.914s more than nine seconds slower than polesitter IMSA LS Group Performance’s 2m 03.875s in the monsoon-like conditions. 

Race day itself however got off to a strong start, clean runs from the Vogler father-and-son duo propelling the #34 Audi to 17th overall by the end of the first hour, and an impressive 7th after the second. Max Edelhoff’s first stint was hindered slightly by contact with Michael Doppelmayr in the Scherer Sport PHX – the #1 Audi was later handed a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, and lost further time with a puncture-related spin at turn three – meaning Land Motorsport had dropped back to 9th overall at the end of four hours, albeit now 3rd in GT3-Am. Electrical-related retirement for early leader WTM by Rinaldi Racing meant Land Motorsport was up to 2nd in-class and 8th overall by the ninth hour, four laps behind new GT3-AM leader CP Racing. Though the gap increased during the night, the pair remained 1st and 2nd in-class for the next 13 hours.

Brutally, propshaft failure for the Mercedes inside the closing 90 minutes elevated the Land Motorsport Audi into the lead heading into the closing hour. The American team’s retirement inadvertently helped its German rival finish 6th overall on the road, ironically behind the Scherer Sport PHX Audi, and claim its first GT3-AM class win of the season, now ahead of Lithuania’s Juta Racing. 

The result was particularly apt, as the #34 Land Motorsport Audi R8 lost an almost certain GT3-Am podium to driveshaft failure at the season opener in Mugello with just 10 minutes left on the clock. 

The win in Barcelona, plus 2nd in-class at Spa-Francorchamps, meant Land Motorsport finished its comeback 24H SERIES season 3rd in the GT3-AM Team’s standings behind Spain’s E2P Racing and newly-crowned class champion, CP Racing.