•    Porsches hold advantage after part one of Michelin 12H SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS 
•    Christopher Froggatt, Jonathan Hui, Loek Hartog lead in Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
•    Very close battle in 992 headed by Van Berlo Motorsport by Bas Koeten Racing
•    Mercedes-AMG of Venture controls GT4, same true for J-Mec in TCE-TCX
•    No.701 Vortex and No.111 IRC GT in straight GTX fight with seven hours to go

Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (19 April 2025):

High drama and fantastic action were delivered from the outset of the first five hours of the Michelin 12H SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS this afternoon, part one of the second round of the Michelin 24H SERIES European Series ending with the Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) of Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing on top.

Fast, strong and consistent throughout, the No.193 car shared by Christopher Froggatt, Jonathan Hui and Loek Hartog took the flag over half a minute clear of the in-development SP4 class Porsche 911 GT3 R (25) of Herberth Motorsport’s Alfred Renauer, Ralf Bohn and Laurin Heinrich. The concluding seven hours tomorrow, Sunday 20 April, will begin with the Porsches three laps to the good.

Bright skies and a dry track were set for the duration of part one and, from the outright GT3 and GT3 AM class pole position, Alexander Prinz launched well in the No.11 HOFOR Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO to lead. Ayrton Redant held second place in the No.93 Red Ant Racing Mercedes-AMG and Antonio Sainero maintained third in the E2P Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO.

As the lead GT3 trio headed towards Bruxelles, further behind at Les Combes an incident involving the Juta Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II of Tim Muller and three 992 class Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) cars led to a very early Code 60 cautionary period. No sooner had racing re-started on lap three, the ARC Bratislava Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 hit the Raidillon barriers to trigger another Code 60.

Racing resumed with just under half an hour elapsed and Prinz was in control, building a lead of 10 seconds by the start of hour two. Behind, Froggatt was making rapid progress and scythed through to second place – having started fifth on the grid. Kyle Marcelli was even more spectacular, rising from the 10th row in the No.29 Pellin Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 to move into the top three.

Redant, now running fourth, had a major blow-out to the front left tyre on Kemmel Straight on lap 26 which caused serious bodywork damage as well. Marcelli also experienced misfortune at his first stop, a problem removing one of the wheels costing a significant amount of time.

With 30 laps in the book Prinz pitted from the lead, having been 14 seconds clear, and he was followed into the pits by Froggatt, Sainero, Gregory Servais in the No.21 HAAS RT Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II and several others. Into the second half of hour two, as early stops played out, Rik Breukers in the Red Camel-Jordans.nl 992 class Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) moved to the overall lead.

When the order settled Hui led, but Heinrich then moved to the front with 40 laps complete. With three hours to go, Jorg Dreisow – running seventh in the No.73 Proton Huber Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) – then made light contact with the Raidillon barriers which led to a Code 60.

Heinrich held first from Hui, while Xavier Knauf was now up to third in the No.21 Audi. After stops for the Herberth and Ziggo Sport squads, Knauf took the lead but at the halfway point he came to an urgent halt on track – marshals hurriedly extinguishing a fire as Knauf safely emerged from the car.

When racing again resumed, just over two hours to go, Era Motorsport’s No.81 Ferrari 296 GT3 in the hands of Kyle Tilley led Scuderia Praha’s similar Ferrari with Dennis Waszek at the wheel. Kessel Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3 had also made its way into the top four with Dustin Blattner driving, but with one hour and 45 minutes to go the car pitted with an issue and returned to the pits soon after.

Hartog, who had earlier set a lap record of 2m17.247 seconds, held the lead at this point but the No.91 development Porsche moved into first place with Alfred Renauer. Era, meanwhile, suffered a gearing issue with its Ferrari which necessitated a lengthy pit visit with 90 minutes to run. 

Another Code 60 was required with an hour to go, due to the BMW M4 GT4 EVO (G82) of Hamofa Motorsport becoming stranded on track with damage, but racing then continued to the flag. Torsten Kratz made a late stop to take on fuel, handing the HOFOR car over to Michael Kroll, before the squad – completed of course by Alexander and Chantal Prinz – ended third overall and leading GT3 AM.

Fourth overall and on the same lap as HOFOR was Scuderia Praha’s Ferrari 296 GT3 of Waszek, Miroslav Vyboh, Matus Vyboh and Josef Kral, also leading GT3 PRO AM. Notably, Klaus Bachler in the troubled No.73 Porsche set a new race lap record of 2m17.031 seconds in the final 15 minutes.

Muhlner Motorsport’s pole qualifying No.921 entry was penalised with a two-place grid penalty due to a technical issue, so the No.909 Red Camel-Jordans.nl Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) was elevated onto the 992 class pole. 

Both had a nightmarish start to the race, though, caught-up in the tangle at Les Combes on lap one which also involved the No.918 Mulhner car. Despite a lengthy delay, Rik Breukers managed to get the No.909 car moving again under its own steam while the No.918 of Nick Salewsky, David Jahn and Felipe Fernandez Laser had to be recovered and, soon after, retired.

Muhlner’s No.921, piloted by Julian Hanses, had a water leak as a result of the collision but superb work in the pits ensured the left radiator was swiftly changed. Out on track, Niclas Jonsson led in the RPM Racing Porsche before 9und11 Racing moved ahead with Tim Scheerbarth at the wheel.

Marlon Menden climbed to third for SebLajoux Racing, the top three all AM class runners, and as hour two progressed and the lead GT3 and 992 cars made stops, Breukers came through to assume the overall lead for a few laps.

After handing over the Red Camel car to Fabian Danz, the lead of 992 was taken by Sebastien Lajoux in his No.888 car and as hour two ended Glenn van Berlo was able to usurp Danz for second in the Van Berlo Motorsport by Bas Koeten Racing entry. Both then moved ahead of Lajoux.

Danz led 992 again in hour four, before making a stop with just over 75 minutes to go – as did second placed Holmgaard Motorsport with Martin Vedel Mortensen driving. Into the final hour, Luc Breukers was now at the wheel of the No.909 in fifth overall from the No.888 of Stephane Perrin, and Marcel van Berlo in the No.925 – also shared with Bart van Helden.

Up to a lofty fourth overall prior to the final 10 minutes, Breukers opted to pit and take on fuel in readiness for Sunday’s action and also handed the car to his father Ivo – thus ending third in 992, importantly on the same lap as the class leading Van Berlo car. Holmgaard Motorsport is second in 992 with Patrick Steen Rasmussen, Martin vedel Mortensen, Magnus and Jonas Holmgaard.

Daniel Studdard took the start for GTX class pole qualifiers 111 Racing and he delivered a strong opening stint in the IRC GT car, leading very comfortably for an hour and a quarter before handing over to Geoffrey Emery. Lionel Amrouche in the No.701 Vortex 2.0 assumed the lead of class but as the strategies played out during the afternoon the IRC GT moved back ahead. 

With 90 minutes to go in part one, Darren Currie led for 111 Racing by 40 seconds from the Vortex, Philippe Bonnel aboard, but it was the No.701 machine of Amrouche, Bonnel and Cyril Calmon which came through to lead GTX at the flag and set up a great battle for the remaining seven hours.

In GT4, Harley Haughton made the best start to get the early lead in the No.452 SRS Team Sorg Rennsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport but prior to the second Code 60 he had been passed by Matthew George in the No.421 Venture Mercedes-AMG GT4. 

The battle at the front stayed very tight and as the action moved towards mid-distance, Kris Verhoeven had climbed into the lead in the pole qualifying Hamofa Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO (G82) ahead of the Venture Mercedes with Neville Jones at the wheel.

Venture took control of GT4 in hour four with Matthew Higgins now driving, and Christopher Jones took the final stint to end part one two laps clear. SRS Team Sorg Rennsport’s No.452 entry of Haughton, Benito Tagle, Guy Stewart and Maximilian Hill goes into Sunday second in GT4, after a dramatic final hour for Hamofa Motorsport. 

Coming to a halt down the hill on the run from La Source, as a result of a front right puncture and additional damage, the BMW M4 shared by Mark, Rob and Chris Verhoeven was recovered to the pits and following repairs did rejoin before the finish – albeit the thick end of 15 laps off the lead.

J-Mec Engineering’s Kevin Clarke bossed the TCE-TCX class from the outset in the squad’s BMW M3 E46, progressively moving away and building the lead hour by hour. Teaming with James Collins, the duo look well on course to claim the spoils tomorrow, although absolutely anything can still happen! 

Part two of the Michelin 12H SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS starts at 10.50 local time tomorrow, Sunday 20 April, for the concluding seven hours. Watch live at Creventic Motorsports TV via YouTube or through www.24hseries.com