Autosport – 01 August 2019

32 AUTOSPORT.COM 1 AUGUST 2019

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GPX Porsche ringers

steal the show at Spa

Factory aces Estre, Christensen and Lietz triumph in

tricky conditions as Tandy’s late charge comes up short

GARY WATKINS

he GPX Racing squad might
have drafted in three recent
Porsche world champions for
last weekend’s Spa 24 Hours,
but it was hardly one of the
pre-event favourites. It was, after all, the
privateer team’s fi rst attack on the Spa
enduro and only its fourth appearance in the
Blancpain GT Series. Yet the GPX Porsche
911 GT3-R driven by Kevin Estre, Michael
Christensen and Richard Lietz came through
to claim victory on Sunday afternoon over
a fi eld packed full of factory entries.

Porsche’s fi rst victory in the Belgian

endurance classic since 2010, and its

seventh in total, had a lot to do with

inclement weather that dominated

the double-points round of the BGTS

Endurance Cup. The 911 GT3-R wasn’t

in the ascendency during the heavy rain

that blighted much of the fi rst half of the

race and eventually resulted in it being

red-fl agged for nearly six hours on Sunday

morning. Yet on a slick and greasy track

surface under light drizzle after the restart

at 1130, the rear-engined car came into its

own around the 4.35-mile Circuit de

Spa-Francorchamps.

The 71st running of the Spa 24 Hours

ended up as a fi ght between two of the

second-generation 991-shape GT3 racers,

Estre having to look over his shoulder as

Nick Tandy closed in on him in the fi nal

hour aboard one of the three cars fi elded

by Porsche’s factory representative in the

full BGTS, Rowe Racing.

Tandy, who shared the additional #998

Rowe entry for Spa with Patrick Pilet and

Frederic Makowiecki, was making progress

Relive this race at

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