The last third of the 6 Hours of Spa offered an absolutely thrilling spectacle, with a succession of twists that completely reshuffled the cards in the fight for victory.
At 2:15 from the finish, everything changed when Matteo Cressoni, at the wheel of the Mercedes No. 79, made a mistake at Les Combes and took down in his accident the unfortunate Malthe Jakobsen, poleman in the Peugeot No. 94, completely innocent in the incident.
The Virtual Safety Car was then deployed, benefiting competitors who were off-strategy, notably the BMW No. 20 from Team WRT. The neutralization also came at the perfect moment for the BMW No. 15, which benefited from a free pit stop.
GT cars disrupt the debates
A little over an hour from the checkered flag, the race took another turn when the Porsche No. 91 clipped the BMW M4 WRT No. 32 at La Source, which then collided with the Ferrari No. 51 driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi. This new neutralization fully benefited the BMW No. 15, which climbed to second place thanks to the pit stop strategy.
And the chaos was not over. Another Safety Car came out after Alex Riberas went off track in the Aston Martin No. 009. Too optimistic when overtaking an Alpine on the Kemmel straight, the Spaniard lost control before violently hitting the barriers.
During the final restart, while António Félix da Costa made a mistake at the top of the Raidillon, the two BMWs from Team WRT executed a perfectly coordinated team strategy.
Home team race
While Robin Frijns extended the gap with the BMW No. 20, Kevin Magnussen, in the No. 15, resisted attacks from Antonio Fuoco in the Ferrari No. 50 as well as from Kamui Kobayashi at the wheel of the Toyota No. 7. The tactic worked wonderfully: the BMW M Hybrid V8 No. 20 sped towards victory and crossed the finish line first shortly after 8 p.m.
This is the very first victory for BMW and Team WRT in WEC in the Hypercar category, allowing the Belgian team to win on their home ground. BMW also secures its first overall win in a competition organized by the ACO since its victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1999 and takes the lead in the World Manufacturers’ Championship.
Cherry on the cake, the BMW No. 15 completed a superb one-two finish by coming in second thanks to Kevin Magnussen’s fierce defense against the Ferrari No. 50. A performance that also delighted Dries Vanthoor, who thus equals his best result in WEC.
Aston Martin, Genesis, and McLaren in the spotlight
After decisively overtaking Kamui Kobayashi, Tom Gamble gave Aston Martin its best result in Hypercar with a remarkable fourth place. Behind the Ferrari No. 83 of the Hanson-Yé-Kubica trio, Stoffel Vandoorne also took advantage of the many incidents to secure seventh place overall, while the Peugeot No. 93 had long been outside the points.
The Belgian driver finished just ahead of the Genesis No. 17 of Derani-Lotterer-Jaubert, allowing Genesis to score its first points in WEC in only its second appearance in the championship. Finally, note McLaren’s first success in the GT category as the papaya brand will debut in Hypercar next season. A spectacular dress rehearsal before the big event of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in mid-June.