Pure Rxcing’s Sturm Crashes Out in Hour 17

Image: SRO

Joel Sturm has crashed out of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in dramatic fashion in the 17th hour while running in second.

Sturm appeared to lose control of his No. 911 Pure Rxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R and drove through the gravel before hitting the barrier and rolling his car.

The German driver climbed from the Porsche under his own power but has resulted in the race’s 18th Full Course Yellow.

The No. 998 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Max Hesse led the race after capitalizing in the previous FCY to pit for slick tires while the majority of the other leaders had made green-flag pit stops during the changing conditions.

Raffaele Marciello ran second in the No. 46 Team WRT BMW, with Mattia Drudi third in the No. 7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

The No. 163 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 dropped off the lead lap after making its five-minute technical pit stop during the 17th FCY period, prior to Strum’s roll.

Two contending Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos have since been retired, with the No. 2 GetSpeed entry dropping out with suspected mechanical issues, while the No. 130 GruppeM entry is out after sustaining floor damage.

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