Scuderia Praha triumphs at Spa-Francorchamps

The Ferrari 488 GT3 of Scuderia Praha won the 12 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the second round of the 24H Series European Championship, in a breathtaking race finale. With the Ferraris plagued by punctures, the car driven by Jiří Písařík, Josef Kral and Matteo Malucelli won the challenging Belgian marathon in an exciting race that culminated just six minutes before the chequered flag when it overtook the Porsche that had been out in front. Double The Czech team continued a winning streak begun at the 12 Hours of Mugello, repeating the perfect weekend in 2018 when it secured pole position and victory. With this win, Scuderia Praha takes the championship lead and is all set for the next race, at its home circuit in Brno.

Podium debut. The Ferrari 488 GT3 of HB Racing took third place in the A6-Am class and fifth overall, hampered by an electrical fault that lost it over a minute but was resolved by a car reset. Jürgen Häring, Taki Konstantinou, Tim Müller and Alfred Renauer made an excellent debut in the series and could have done even better if it wasn't for several punctures.

Punctures. Tyre problems led to the withdrawal of the other two Ferraris in the race. Just over an hour before the chequered flag, a left rear puncture sent the 488 GT3 driven by Rinaldi Racing veering off the track, with the Australian Martin Berry at the wheel. The car crashed along the Kemmel straight, careering on for a few more metres after the terrible compression of the Eau Rouge. The race officials applied a ‘code 60’, which sets a 60 km/h speed limit, thus allowing the stewards and rescue vehicles to go safely into action. This was a real shame for the crew of Klaus-Dieter Frers, Pierre Ehret, Andrea Montermini and Martin Berry who had been in the middle of the fight for the class podium. After the accident and so many punctures, the Wochenspiegel Team Monschau pit withdrew the car crewed by Georg and Leonard Weiss, David Perel, Jochen Krumbach and Oliver Kainz.

Next round. The 24H Series season resumes over the weekend of 24-25 May at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic.