Spa Thursday Notebook

Photo: Andrea Lorenzina/DPPI

***The opening day of track action for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps saw the No. 36 Alpine A424 of Jules Gounon post the quickest time of the day, thanks to a 2:01.816 lap time set in the afternoon session, which was a second quicker than Antonio Fuoco’s pace-setting time from the morning in the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. Alpines went 1-2 on Thursday, with Charles Milesi second quickest in the sister No. 35 machine.

***The No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo served a five-minute stop-and-hold penalty at the start of Free Practice 2 after it was found that Ian James did not reduce his speed at the time of the red flag period. Logan Sargeant’s No. 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 EVO will face the same five-minute penalty in Friday’s FP3, also due to Sargeant not slowing down quick enough during a red in FP2.

***Additionally, the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 has received a 5,000 Euro fine, 2,500 Euros of which has been suspended until the end of the season, due to having a wheel fall off its car in Turn 17 on its out lap. Tom van Rompuy was driving at the time, resulting in one of the two red flags in the afternoon session.

***In a rare occasion, WEC race director Eduardo Freitas issued a communication to all participants on Thursday clarifying that any driver who is shown a Black-and-Orange flag, they must comply with the FIA’s International Sporting Code and pit on the next lap, regardless of the pit entry status.

***Tom Gamble believes Spa will better suit the Aston Martin Valkyrie than Imola. The Heart of Racing squad enjoyed a strong beginning to the Belgian event with Alex Riberas ending FP1 second quickest in the No. 009 machine. “We had a pretty solid start to the season at Imola,” reflected Gamble. “I think we exceeded our own expectations a little bit, grabbing a few points. We knew that was going to be a tough track for us, so it’s nice to get that one out of the way. The field’s incredibly competitive so it’s not going to be an easy task [at Spa] but we’re in a pretty solid position.”

***In contrast, Brendon Hartley was less positive about Toyota’s chances of repeating its victory from the opening event at Imola. “Historically the last couple of years Spa’s been a tough race for us,” he said. “We weren’t particularly competitive this morning but we’re working hard to see if we can move up the grid.”

***Nicky Catsburg confirmed that plans are still in place for Ben Keating to return to the wheel of the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Keating again on-site this weekend to support the crew. Blake McDonald is subbing for the second consecutive race as the designated FIA Bronze-rated driver in the lineup.

***Catsburg claimed that Keating broke his elbow in a ‘Hobby Horse’ incident, even showing this reporter what appeared to be an AI-generated image of the Texan in such competition. “Ben is a very big hobby horsing enthusiast,” Catsburg told Sportscar365. “He wanted to jump higher than he’s ever jumped before and he fell down and he broke his elbow.”

***However, Sportscar365 discovered Catsburg attempted to trick the media for the second time in three years, after claiming in the post-race press conference for the 2023 Six Hours of Portimao that his No. 1 mechanic broke his collarbone while playing table tennis, which was actually printed in this publication’s post-race notebook.

***Sportacar365 has confirmed and cross-verified that Keating’s injury was actually sustained in a mountain biking accident.

***With Keating missing the first two WEC races and Catsburg’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship commitments at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to result in him missing the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, where Nico Varrone is expected to deputize, it means that only Jonny Edgar will have a chance of winning the title, as a solo driver, in the No. 33 entry.

***In addition to the No. 69 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO, which will have rotating liveries all season, Iron Lynx’s No. 79 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo is sporting a bright red flame design on its LMGT3 entry, for Lin Hodenius’ sponsor Flow Traders. Spa is the closest WEC event to the Dutch-based trading firm.

***As was the case in Imola, Hypercar teams are again utilizing the Soft and Medium compounds of the Michelin Pilot Sport Endurance tire this weekend. Each car will have 12 tires for Free Practice, four tires for the Hyperpole session (Medium), and 18 tires for qualifying and the race.

***Michelin Motorsport endurance manager Pierre Alves said: “This track is characterized by a clever mix of very high speeds and demanding technical sections, notably through the Eau Rouge and Blanchimont sequences. Added to this are significant ‘energy’ constraints generated by the heavy loads placed on the tires. With higher operating temperatures than at Imola, wear is logically expected to increase, opening the door to potentially different race strategies.”

***LMGT3 teams are again using Goodyear’s Medium compound, as will be the case for the full season with the Hard compound run for what’s believed to have been the final time in last month’s European Le Mans Series season opener in Barcelona.

***Goodyear endurance program manager Stephen Bickley said: “We expect to see less variation in race strategies at Spa. The nature of the circuit means degradation is higher, so teams will focus on extracting maximum performance and are likely to equip new tires at each stop.”

***All four Team WRT BMWs are sporting ‘Grazie, Alex – Our Hero – RIP’ stickers in memory of Alex Zanardi, who passed away last week at the age of 59. The ex-Formula 1 and CART star, before becoming a BMW factory driver and brand ambassador, took part in the 2015 running of the 24 Hours of Spa at the wheel of a ROAL Motorsport-entered BMW Z4 GT3.

***Genesis Magma Racing has launched the GMR Esports team, which will compete in official events organized to support the FIA World Endurance Championship on Le Mans Ultimate. The creation of the team is aimed to bring “further visibility” to the Korean automaker’s entry into sports car racing, with drivers of Dutch, Danish and Korean nationalities set to compete virtually.

***Among the series on the support bill this weekend at Spa include the Legends of Le Mans for the second consecutive event, along with Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, which hosts its opening round of the season. Of note, SUPER GT driver Bertrand Baguette, the 2013 WEC LMP2 champion, is making a cameo appearance.

***Among the notable drivers (and cars) taking part in the Legends of Le Mans event is Francois Perrodo at the wheel of a Porsche RS Spyder, longtime WEC driver and 24 Hours of Le Mans podium finisher David Cheng in an Greaves Motorsport Gibson 015S, and a pair of Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs, driven by Shaun Lynn, the father of Cadillac factory driver Alex, as well as Kritton Lentoudis.

***Lentoudis is slated to contest the upcoming Asian Le Mans Series in one of the ‘wingless’ Peugeot 9X8s that will be run by Bob Berridge’s BBM Sport, which are also operating the 908s here this weekend.

***Friday’s track action for the WEC kicks off at 10:10 a.m. CET (4:10 a.m. EST) for Free Practice 3, which will be streamed live on the FIAWEC+ app, as well as qualifying and Hyperpole, which is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. CEST (8:30 a.m. EST).

Stephen Lickorish contributed to this report

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John