Aston Martin's Surprising Victory in the unbelievable 2024 24 Hours of Spa Centenary!

One year after Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamps celebrated the centenary of its legendary 24 hours race. Unlike Le Mans, this event only features GT3 cars, with no fewer than 76 vehicles from the GT World Challenge and theIntercontinental GT Challenge on the starting grid. On such a legendary circuit, the battle was always set to be fierce.

Among the novelties marking the centenary of the 24 Hours of Spa, the usual parade took the old 14-kilometer circuit before heading to the center of Spa, reviving the history of this iconic race. This additional lap was even more charming this year thanks to the collaboration between SRO and Peter Auto, who organized two historic grids showcasing the great eras of the race, from 1966 to 2013, with theHeritage Touring Cup and theEndurance Racing Legend. On the racing side, the competition lived up to expectations: right from the qualifiers, a Lamborghini surprised everyone by securing pole position.

While the first hours were relatively uneventful, aside from a major crash at Eau Rouge, tension rose when the Belgian government issued a weather alert for the entire Ardennes region. This message certainly gave the organizers some cold sweats, with a record crowd of over 110,000 spectators filling the stands. The rain, which had been anticipated by all in the early evening, soon arrived: the night was marked by violent thunderstorms, reminiscent of the dramatic weather conditions earlier in the season at Le Mans and the Nürburgring. Disappointed not to have captured these conditions a few days earlier (article to be found here), this second chance for spectacular photos was too good to miss! Needless to say, the night was short.

While Ferrari and AF Corse-Francorchamps Motors seemed to be dominating with their Ferrari 296 GT3 n°51, a stroke of bad luck dramatically changed the course of the race: a Lamborghini, stuck at the entrance to the pits, blocked the Ferrari during its final stop, ruining its chances of victory. Ultimately, it was the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 n°7 from the Belgian team Comtoyou Racing, driven by Mattia Drudi, Marco Sørensen, and Nicki Thiim, who inherited this historic victory, marking Aston Martin's second success at the 24 Hours of Spa since 1948. Just as we all remember the Toyota n°5 stopping on the final lap of the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, the cruel image of the Ferrari blocked in the narrow Spa pit lane will also be etched in our memories.

An incredible ending to a centenary that will forever be remembered.