Optimum McLaren Wins 12H Spa in Rain-Soaked Final Hour

Optimum Motorsport took a dominant victory in the Michelin 12H Spa-Francorchamps after overcoming a late-race rain shower.

The British team’s No. 77 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo cruised to victory by more than 40 seconds ahead of the HAAS RT No. 2 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

GetSpeed Team JR286’s No. 286 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo completed the overall podium after a trouble-free charge up the leaderboard.

The sole McLaren on the grid took pole position for the 12H Spa and finished the opening part of the race in the lead on Saturday.

Salman Owega maintained the lead when the race resumed on Sunday morning in the McLaren that he shared with Freddie Tomlinson and Harry George, the only completely Semi-Pro lineup in the field.

The German driver edged out a gap on both HAAS RT Audis and set the fastest lap of the race with a 2:15.717.

Owega was 0.72 seconds quicker than the fastest lap on Saturday which was also set by Optimum’s McLaren.

The No. 41 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, which led the most laps during Saturday’s racing, held a fuel advantage on the rest of the field after a late pit stop before the overnight intervention.

Comtoyou’s entry was taken out of contention for victory when it encountered mechanical trouble on the way to the grid on Sunday. It spent much of the race going in and out of the pits, eventually finishing in 28th position.

Optimum conceded the lead after the opening round of pit stops, leading to a lengthy back-and-forth battle between both HAAS RT Audis.

Tomlinson cycled up into second place after a pit stop under a Code 60 caution period, just over 20 seconds behind the leading No. 21 HAAS RT car.

The British driver set consistently fast lap times to whittle down this lead, eventually overtaking the HAAS RT machine and edging out a gap of nearly 40 seconds on the rest of the field.

A brief rain shower inside the third hour of racing saw the No. 21 Audi hit the wall at Raidillon.

Belgian driver Nicolas Guelinckx fell victim to the slippery conditions and damaged the HAAS RT Audi’s suspension. The team lost time repairing the damage, finishing in seventh place.

This provided the Optimum McLaren with a healthy lead for the rest of the race. A heavier downpour in the final hour saw the team scramble to switch to wet weather tires, but it maintained its lead to take victory.

Reigning champions Proton Competition took GT3 Pro-Am class honors after a controversial fight with the No. 93 Ajith RedAnt Racing Mercedes-AMG in the final minutes of the race.

Mercedes-AMG driver Yannick Redant span as the rain reappeared, bringing out a Code 60 caution and damaging his car. Redant limped back to the pits for repairs.

The Belgian emerged just three seconds ahead of Manuel Lauck in the No. 73 Proton Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo.

The duo fought for the class lead until the flag, with the RedAnt Mercedes-AMG taking the lead on the final lap.

However, a stewards decision immediately after the race saw the RedAnt team handed two 10 second penalties – one for overtaking off track and the other for causing a collision.

This dropped the No. 93 Mercedes-AMG down to second place in class, handing the win to Proton Competition.

In the 992 Class, Mühlner Motorsport’s No. 921 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup won overall after a race-long fight with QMMF by HRT Performance.

The Qatari-backed HRT team claimed the 992-Am class win.

The second part of the 12H Spa saw fewer Code 60 caution periods than the opening five-and-a-half hours on Saturday.

A heavy shunt between the No. 69 Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport Audi and the No. 702 Vortex 2.0 brought out the longest Code 60 of nearly 20 minutes.

Not Only Motorsport took a convincing TCE-TCX class victory with its No. 114 Ligier JS2 R, and the No. 701 Vortex 2.0 won its class after troubles for the rest of the GTX field.

The third round on the Michelin 24H Series calendar will take place at Circuit Paul Ricard on June 5-7.

Results: Race Part 2