BARCELONA (14 September, 2024) – The Saintéloc Junior Team currently leads a close, three-way fight for the overall lead of the 2024 Hankook 24H BARCELONA after six hours.

The Saintéloc Junior Team Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II (#18, Michael Doppelmayr / Pierre Kaffer / Elia Erhart / Stephane Tribaudini / Christer Jöns) is less than five seconds ahead of the Optimum Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 EVO (#4, Todd Coleman / Aaron Telitz / Robert Megennis / Frederik Schandorf) after six hours of racing. The German team has also led the second highest number of laps (47) around the 4.657km Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya so far this afternoon.

The pole-sitting Optimum Motorsport McLaren held its lead into turn one on the opening lap, and had pulled out almost a full minute lead prior to the opening round of pit stops. Despite being leapfrogged shortly afterwards, the British team has worked its way back up to 2nd overall, and has led 69 of the 184 completed laps. 

Three-time Hankook 24H BARCELONA winner Herberth Motorsport (#91, Scott Noble / Ralf Bohn / Jason Hart / Dustin Blattner) is just 32 seconds further back in 3rd (1st in AM). The Porsche 992 GT3 R slipped from 5th on the grid back to 7th on the opening lap, and was involved in a bizarre collision with the Razoon – More Than Racing KTM early on. A bold pit stop strategy though meant the 2017 Overall GT Teams’ ‘Continents’ champion leapfrogged into the lead during the second hour, and has been in contention ever since. 

The Poulsen Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 (#14, Kristian Poulsen / Roland Poulsen / Alfred Nilsson / Jens Klingmann) lies 4th. The Danish team managed to push its first stop further than any other GT3 team, bar only RD Signs – Siauliai racing team (#69, Audrius Butkevicius / Nicola Michelon / Paulius Paskevicius / Ramunas Capkauskas / Paulius Ruskys). The latter’s Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO led a lap outright, and remains in podium contention in 7th. 

Splitting the pair, E2P Racing (#90, Pablo Burguera / Antonio Sainero / Alvaro Parente / Javier Morcillo) has quietly worked its way up to 5th overall following a mammoth stint from Bathurst 12 Hours winner Alvaro Parente. The Spanish team is looking to secure its first GT3-PRO/AM Teams’ title in the 24H SERIES with its Porsche 991.2 GT3 R in Barcelona. In a one-off GT3 showing, the Red Camel by Juta Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II (#9, Ivo Breukers / Luc Breukers / Rik Breukers / Fabian Danz) is currently 6th.

Having missed qualifying altogether after a heavy accident in Free Practice, Juta Racing (#71, Arunas Geciauskas / Eimantas Navikauskas / Sigitas Ambrazevicius / Martin Ryba / Francois Beziac) was running an impressive 9th overall only to lose time to a moment in the gravel during the fifth hour. This has pushed the Lithuanian team back to 11th overall.

Hofor Racing (#11, Michael Kroll / Chantal Prinz / Alexander Prinz / Maximilian Partl / Kenneth Heyer) had been running a strong 4th overall when the Mercedes-AMG GT3 was forced to pit with suspension problems just over an hour into the race. Following its 20-minute stop, the Swiss team, winner of the Hankook 24H BARCELONA in 2013, has recovered to 15th overall.

Similarly, Land Motorsport (#34, Dr. Johannes Kirchhoff, Ingo Vogler / Tim Vogler / Wiggo Dalmo / Elmar Grimm) had been running 7th overall before alternator belt failure brought the Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II into the pits for a 45-minute stop. The German team dropped to the tail of the field, but has so far recovered to 27th. 

The ARC Bratislava Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (#44, Miro Konopka / Adam Konopka / Zdeno Mikulasko / Andrzej Lewandowski / Petr Brecka), which had struggled with electrical gremlins, has yet to re-emerge from its garage after a collision on-track caused significant damage to the gearbox.

992 polesitter Red Ant Racing (#903, Ayrton Redant / Yannick Redant / Kobe de Breucker / Lars Zaenen) has recovered to the class lead after dropping to 4th in-class on the opening lap. In an impressive showing, the QMMF by HRT Porsche 992 GT3 Cup (#931, Abdulla Ali Al Khelaifi / Ghanim Al Ali / Ibrahim Al Abdulghani / Julian Hanses) runs 2nd in 992 and currently holds the 992-AM lead. 

The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation-supported entry also took ‘AM’ class victory at last weekend’s Michelin 992 Endurance Cup by Porsche Motorsport. 

Red Ant’s sister entry meanwhile (#904, Brent Verheyen / Peter Guelinckx / Gavin Pickering / Jef Machiels) was running comfortably in the top three until the in-car radio worked itself loose during the third hour. The unscheduled stop for repairs has dropped the #904 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup to 4th in 992.   

992-AM Teams’ standings leader RPM Racing (#907, Tracy Krohn / Niclas Jönsson / Philip Hamprecht / Patrick Huisman) lies 3rd in 992 (2nd in 992-AM) after six hours. The fast-starting German team leapt into the lead of 992 on the opening lap, holding it throughout the opening hour. A collision with the TCE-entered J-Mec Engineering however, plus the subsequent 30-second time penalty, ended up costing the German team significant time on pitroad.

In a nod to the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup’s pace, the top three in 992 are running in the overall top 10 after six hours.

Mühlner Motorsport (#918, Bryan Sircely / Antal Zsigo / Martin Rump / Ben Bünnagel) rounds out the 992-AM podium so far, and is running 5th in 992 overall ahead of HRT Performance (#967, David Holloway / Jonathan Kearney / Gary Terclavers / Bradley Ellis / Kim André Hauschild). MRS GT-Racing (#988, Rolando Saca / Amadeo Quiros / Jukka Honkavuori / Antti Rammo / Charlie Fonseca) was at one point in the 992 lead after a strong opening stint from 9th on the 992 grid, but has since dropped back to 8th.

Spain’s Road to Le Mans (#949, Agustin Sanabria Crespo / Pablo Bras Silvero / Fernando Gonzalez Gonzalez / Pedro Miguel Lourinho Bras / Francesc Gutierrez Agüi) has battled brake issues, and even ground to a halt on-track at one stage, but is still running 10th.

Francesc Gutierrez celebrates his 25th entry at the Hankook 24H BARCELONA this weekend, and took part in a special presentation on the grid alongside fellow 1998 race winners Javier Buch, Pau Romero and Santiago Puig. The BMW M3 with which the Spanish quartet won the inaugural 1998 24 Horas de Barcelona acted as the pace car for this year’s race.

After suffering engine failure during the second hour, Holmgaard Motorsport (#902, Magnus Holmgaard / Jonas Holmgaard / Martin Vedel Mortensen / Stéphane Perrin / Michel Sallenbach) is currently performing a full engine change. The Danish team hopes to be back on-track during the night.

Razoon - More Than Racing KTM X-BOW GTX (#714, Artur Chwist / Christian Loimayr / Daniel Drexel / Simon Birch) held a comfortable lead in GTX during the opening two hours, but has since lost several hours to repairs after a collision with the Herberth Motorsport Porsche. Alongside heavy front-end damage, the KTM was also deemed at fault for the incident and handed a 30-second time penalty.

GTX Teams’ champion-elect Vortex V8 (#701, Philippe Bonnel / Solenn Amrouche / Gilles Courtois / Lionel Amrouche) now leads GTX ahead of its sister Vortex 2.0 (#702, Lucas Sugliano / Cyril Calmon / Miguel Moiola / Pierre Fontaine).

2021 Overall GT Teams’ champion ST Racing BMW M4 GT4 (#428, Samantha Tan / Neil Verhagen / Jon Miller / Pippa Mann / Fabian Duffieux) currently leads the GT4 class after six hours, and has pulled a commanding lead over the Lionspeed GP Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport (#424, José Garcia / Daniel Miller / Patrick Kolb / Dennis Bohn) in 2nd.

Despite suffering fuel feed issues early on, the Venture Engineering Mercedes-AMG GT4 (#421, Neville Jones / Christopher Jones / Matthew George / Owen Hizzey) lies 3rd. The British team is appraising a potential campaign with CREVENTIC in 2025. 

NM Racing Team (#415, Keith Gatehouse / Igor Sorokin / Guillermo Aso / Manel Lao Cornago / Maximilien Huber), the overall winner of the Hankook 24H BARCELONA in 2017, lies 4th overall with its Mercedes-AMG GT4, just ahead of the Apex MP Racing KTM X-BOW GT4 (#414, Milos Pavlovic / Petar Matic / Alessio Ruffini / Mihael Ambroz). The latter was the last car in the field to make its first fuel stop, and, at one stage, was running 9th overall!

GT4 polesitter GSR Motorsport (#405, Mindaugas Liatukas / Rokas Kvedaras / Aras Kvedaras / Dovydas Ketvirtis / Egidijus Gelūnas) has dropped to 6th in GT4 after a collision on the opening lap. The Ginetta G56 GT4 lost more than an hour in the pits repairing wishbones both front and rear, and replacing the radiator.  

Team Africa Le Mans Ginetta G55 GT4 (#455, Emanuele Pirro / Jan Lammers / Greg Mills / Jeroen Bleekemolen / Cristoforo Pirro) missed the start altogether owing to problems with its fuel cell. The South African team also lost time in the gravel at turn 14, but is still running 7th in-class. 

Five-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro makes his 24H SERIES return this weekend, and is competing with three-time Hankook 24H DUBAI winner Jeroen Bleekemolen. 1988 Le Mans winner Jan Lammers is set to join the race later.

The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS (Type 982) of 2020 Overall GT Teams’ ‘Continents’ champion SRS Team Sorg Rennsport (#127, Henning Eschweiler / Benito Tagle / Tommy Gråberg / Richard Jodexnis) currently leads TCE after multiple issues for J-Mec Engineering (#133, James Collins / Kevin Clarke / Nigel Greensall / Jimmy Broadbent). The BMW M3 E46 started from TCE pole, but lost time first to its earlier collision with RPM Racing and, on the cusp of the sixth hour, a further 20 minutes in the pits when the front left wheel hub failed. The British team still lies 2nd in TCE.

CWS Engineering (#178, Colin White / Daniel Morris / Paul Buccini / Alistair Mackinnon) is running 4th after a collision with the asBest RACING SEAT León Cup Racer (#101, Peter Baumann / Thomas Ardelt / Junichi Umemoto / Kim Berwanger) in the opening stages tapped the Ginetta G55 off-track at turn five. Ironically, the SEAT, which had been battling its own handling issues early on, is just ahead of its British rival in 3rd.   

The 2024 Hankook 24H BARCELONA is set to run uninterrupted until the chequered flag is flown tomorrow afternoon – Sunday 15 September – at 12.00 hrs local time. The action will be live with commentary from radiolemans.com on the official 24H SERIES YouTube channel. Regular updates will also be published on X (@24HSeries), Facebook (24H Series) and Instagram (24H Series).