At the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa, the Car Collection Motorsport team was able to finish second in the Pro-Am class with the Porsche 911 GT3 R from Centri Porsche Ticino, while the sister car entered for GMG Racing unfortunately retired in the absolute starting phase. At the same time, Car Collection participated in the GTC Race at the Nürburgring and was also able to shine here with victories and podiums.
Crowdstrike 24 Hours Spa For the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa, the biggest GT3 race in the world, the Car Collection Motorsport team travelled to the event with two Porsche 911 GT3 R cars. Both the #24 from Centri Porsche Ticino with drivers Ivan Jacoma, Niki Leutwiler, Alex Fontana and Nico Menzel and the #132 driven by Kyle Washington, James Sofronas, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Patrick Long competed in the Pro-Am class.
The #132 Porsche entered by Car Collection for GMG Racing was already so badly damaged by a collision in the first qualifying segment on Thursday that it was unable to take part in the rest of qualifying. As a result, the four drivers had to bear a heavy burden even before the race. The Car Collection crew managed to get the car back in perfect shape for the start of the race, but that was not the end of the streak of bad luck for this vehicle. Starting driver Kyle Washington, who switched to slicks in the first safety car phase immediately after the start, spun on wet track with cold tires and hit the barriers hard. Washington was fortunately uninjured, but the race was over for the #132 before it had even started.
The weekend went much better for the #24 car, with Ivan Jacoma, Niki Leutwiler and Alex Fontana, who pilot the Porsche 911 GT3 R together for the entire GTWC season, supported by Porsche Driver Nico Menzel at Spa. With second place on the grid in the Pro-Am Cup, the quartet laid the foundation for a successful race. Thanks to faultless driving and perfect work by the entire team, the four drivers were able to stay in the top group of the class throughout the race and take the lead on several occasions. Towards the end of the race, the drivers made up a larger gap to the top and missed the class win by only 10 seconds. With second place, the team celebrated a well-deserved podium success in this prestigious race. In addition, the three regular drivers were able to further extend their championship lead in the Endurance Cup.
GTC Race Nürburgring
At the same time, the GTC Race took place at the Nürburgring. Here, Car Collection Motorsport fielded three cars. The #2 Audi R8 LMS GT3 was again driven by the two GTC support drivers Julian Hanses and Finn Zulauf. Hanses, who is in the lead in the championship, made short work of his fellow competitors in his heat and, after taking pole position, also took the clear overall victory, thus further extending his championship lead. Zulauf, who was unable to take part in qualifying due to school commitments and thus had to start from last place in the race, nevertheless fought his way up to fourth place overall and thus showed once again that he is rightly in the GTC Race support squad. In the GT60 race, which they completed together, Hanses and Zulauf finished third on the podium to win the SEMI category.
The sister car with the #55 was driven by Klaus Koch and Johannes Siegler. Siegler achieved a ninth place overall in his race, equal to seventh place in the GT3 class and second place among the amateurs. His teammate Klaus Koch could also be satisfied with 10th place overall (eighth GT3 and P2 AM). The GT60 race, which took place in extremely wet conditions, saw both finish in 22nd place.
Junior driver Marc Bartels started with a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS in the GT4 class. The young driver again showed a good increase in performance and crowned his weekend with his first podium finish when he crossed the finish line in third place in the GT4 class in first race, also making him the third-best junior driver. In the second race, Bartels finished seventh, the same as fourth place in the junior standings.
Team boss Peter Schmidt: “I’m very happy with the whole weekend. I’m very satisfied with the second place of our number 24 car at Spa, because it means we’ve extended our lead in the championship as well. The drivers and the whole team delivered a top performance and in the end it was very thrilling again for the class win. The race weekend at the Nürburgring also went very well with Julian’s victory and the first podium for our youngster Marc. The only downer was the unfortunate retirement of the GMG Porsche at Spa, but that’s just how motorsport is sometimes.”
Credit: GTC Race