Up2Race Secures Commanding 24H Barcelona Win

Up2Race claimed a commanding victory in the Michelin 24H Barcelona with a margin of over two minutes to HAAS RT.

A clever pit stop strategy in the final hour of the race helped to secure a win for drivers Tim Heinemann, Oleksiy Kikireshko, Fabio Grosse and Alfred Renauer.

The No. 88 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo assumed the lead at the midpoint of the race and stayed at the head of the field for the remainder of the event, leading nearly 500 laps in total.

Though Belgian team HAAS RT’s No. 21 BMW M4 GT3 EVO was unable to take the win, its efforts were rewarded with a GT3-Am class victory and a second place finish on the overall rostrum.

The 24-hour enduro was only the team’s second race since switching to BMW machinery.

Hofor Racing – winners at last year’s event – rounded out the top three in the No. 11 Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo. The Swiss team was able to finish the season on a high note, having previously confirmed that it would not return as a full-season entrant in the 2027 24H Series.

The race started with an aggressive six-way dice for the lead after several teams elected to start the race with their FIA Gold and Silver-rated drivers.

Maxime Martin was forced to concede the lead on the opening lap in the pole-sitting GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG.

Fellow Mercedes-AMG factory driver Mikael Grenier had a pace advantage over the rest of the field early on. The Canadian led the field in the No. 93 Ajith RedAnt Racing machine until the first of eleven Code 60 caution periods occurred at the beginning of the second hour.

This marked the start of a rapid succession of Code 60 stoppages which muddled the initial race order as teams jumped in and out of the pits for fuel.

It was the GT3-Am teams which benefitted most from these repeated cautions as they were able to take on more fuel than their Pro and Pro-Am rivals.

Hofor were put in prime position to take the lead as a result. The team, which had a full Am driver lineup, was able to take 40 percent of fuel onboard under caution compared to 15 percent for crews with higher ranked drivers.

The caution-filled opening stints were followed by three hours of green-flag running. This meant that the Am class cars which had taken on more fuel were able to cycle up the race order as other teams were forced into the pits.

The only car which defied this trend was the Up2Race Porsche, which displayed rapid pace early on. A combination of fuel saving and clean racing saw it able to take one fewer pit stop and adopt a similar fuel strategy to its GT3-Am competitors.

The German team were able to claim the race lead as it reached the midpoint and extended its lead to nearly three laps during the overnight period.

Up2Race continued to dominate the event for much of the morning, receiving yet more good fortune when a caution was brought out following a hefty crash for Dwight Merriman in the No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

Lenghty barrier repairs allowed the No. 88 Porsche to put its Am-ranked driver Kikireshko in the car to finish off his minimum driving time under Code 60 conditions.

When the race resumed, FIA Gold-ranked driver Heinemann got back in the car and continued to grow his gap to the rest of the field.

Its victory appeared to be in jeopardy after a late-race caution for a stalled Juta Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

Hofor and HAAS RT, which were both a few minutes behind Heinemann at the time, made use of their fuel stop advantage to once again take on more fuel while the race was neutralized.

It appeared as though Up2Race may lose its win as it would have to take a longer pit stop to take on more fuel.

However, the No. 88 crew – in just its second race in the 24H Series – decided to pit early for fuel and fresh tires.

With a gap of just under a minute to Hofor in second, Grosse then went back out on track with an aggressive fuel-saving strategy. This allowed the team to take a quick splash of fuel just before the end of the race (instead of another full service pit stop) to get its Porsche to the checkered flag without sacrificing track position.

Just behind, Hofor and HAAS RT found themselves in their own battle out of pit lane.

By a narrow margin, the No. 21 HAAS BMW was able to complete its final pit stop faster than the Hofor squad.

Top honors in GT3 Pro-Am went to Sainteloc Junior Team’s No. 18 Audi. The 12H Mugello winners did not have the pace to challenge for outright victory, but a final stint from long-time Audi stalwart Pierre Kaffer was enough to keep the team in the top five.

Fifth place went to Ajith RedAnt Racing with Viper Niza Racing’s No. 65 machine in sixth. The all-Malaysian crew also led the race for brief period overnight.

Maxime Martin crossed the line seventh in the No. 28 Team PCX car. The GetSpeed-run entry suffered a wheel bearing issue during the night which necessitated a comeback drive from the back of the field.

Series debutants Gamota Racing completed the race in eighth position ahead of E2P Racing in ninth.

GetSpeed Team JR286 finished a distant 17th after losing over an hour in the pits for a gearbox change.

Muehlner Win in 992, CP Motorsport Take Double Victory

Muehlner Motorsport claimed the 992 class win as its rivals fell foul of technical issues.

The No. 921 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup inherited the lead in the final hour after RPM Racing suffered a driveshaft failure while at the head of the field.

Red Camel-Jordans.nl and the No. 928 HRT Performance Porsche had led the race for a period, but both cars suffered mechanical problems during the race which forced them to retire.

In TCE-TCX, CP Motorsport took the win with its No. 142 CUPRA TCR DSG as one of the only cars in its class that didn’t end up in the garage at any point in the race.

CP Motorsport doubled-up with an additional win in the GT4 class.

Vortex won the GTX class as the only car entered in its category.

RESULTS: Michelin 24H Barcelona