GTWCE Spa 24 Hours Prologue: Porsche Impresses as Haase Tops Overall Times

Eastalent Racing leads opening day in mixed conditions after early stoppage.

Practice 1

The opening day of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Prologue saw Christopher Haase put the #84 Eastalent Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 at the top of the timesheets. The German driver set a 2:16.535 in Paid Practice 1, a time that remained unbeaten.

1. #84 Eastalent Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 – Christopher Haase (2:16.535)
2. #555 CSA Racing McLaren 720S GT3 – Lorens Lecertua (+0.747)
3. #64 HRT Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 – Thomas Drouet (+0.759)
4. #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche 911 GT3 R – Dorian Boccolacci (+0.888)
5. #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R – Mathieu Jaminet (+0.981)
6. #222 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Kiern Jewiss (+1.012)
7. #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche 911 GT3 R – Ayhancan Güven (+1.013)
8. #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R – Eddie Cheever (+1.185)
9. #56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 – Lorcan Hanafin (+1.192)
10. #28 Haas RT Audi R8 LMS GT3 – Steven Palette (+1.244)

Practice 2

Paid Practice 2 began in dry conditions, with light raindrops appearing early in the session. Ten minutes before the end, the drizzle intensified into heavy rain, prompting a red flag to avoid unnecessary incidents. Before the stoppage, Alessio Picariello moved the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche 911 GT3 R to the top with a 2:16.577 forming a Porsche 1‑2‑3 together with Lionspeed GP and Schumacher CLRT. Eastalent Racing continued to demonstrate strong pace.

1. #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche 911 GT3 R – Alessio Picariello (2:16.577)
2. #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 R – Thomas Preining (+0.051)
3. #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche GT3 R – Laurin Heinrich (+ 0.275)
4. #84 Eastalent Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 – Simon Reicher (+0.281)
5. #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 – Rocco Mazzola (+0.353)
6. #54 Dinamic GT Porsche 911 GT3 R – Francesco Simonazzi (+0.508)
7. #6 GetSpeed Team Bertone Bros Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Karol Basz (+0.648)
8. #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 R – Alex Fontana (+0.705)
9. #64 HRT Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 – Arjun Maini (+0.733)
10. #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 – Nicklas Nielsen (+0.766)

Schumacher CLRT Sets the Pace on Second Prologue Day, While Joseph Loake Maximises Perfect Morning Conditions

Practice 3

Amid intermittent rain, Joseph Loake put the #59 Garage 59 McLaren on top in the morning session with a 2:22.212. The young Brit timed his run to perfection, earning a commanding 1.837‑second advantage over the rest of the field.

1. #59 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 – Joseph Loake (2:22.312)
2. #60 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3 – Tim Heinnemann (+1.837)
3. #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Chris Lulham (+2.489)
4. #50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 – Arthur Leclerc (+3.512)
5. #111 CSA Racing McLaren 720S GT3 – Simon Gachet (+3.927)
6. #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 R – Thomas Preining (+4.704)
7. #96 Rutronik Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 – Patric Niederhauser (+4.874)
8. #24 Steller Motorsport Corvette Z06 GT3 R – Dennis Lind (+4.879)
9. #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 – Dennis Marschall (+4.883)
10. #86 High Class Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R – Kerong Li (+4.936)

Practice 4

With conditions improving significantly after the lunch break, drivers were finally able to edge closer to Tuesday’s reference times. Ayhancan Güven led the way in the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche, posting a 2:16.953 to outpace Nico Menzel in the Tsunami‑run 911. Notably, both cars are one‑off entries for this year’s 24 Hours.

1. #21 Schumacher CLRT Porsche 911 GT3 R – Ayhancan Güven (2:16.953)
2. #79 Tsunami RT Porsche 911 GT3 R – Nico Menzel (+0.190)
3. #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN‑FILTER Mercedes‑AMG GT3 – Lucas Auer (+0.248)
4. #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 – Ezequiel Perez Companc (+0.394)
5. #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R – Eddie Cheever (+0.406)
6. #23 Team RJN McLaren 720S GT3 – Ben Dörr (+0.408)
7. #84 Eastalent Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 – Christopher Haase (+0.452)
8. #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 – Dylan Pereira (+0.501)
9. #22 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Kiern Jewiss (+0.555)
10. #42 Oman Racing by Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 – Javier Sagrera (+0.574)

Spa 24H Prologue Inside Report: Teams Push to Prepare, Learn and Catch Up

#21 Schumacher CLRT – Laurin Heinrich

Q: How important is are these days of testing for the team? And where does the team need to improve or are already looking good compared to the rest?

LH: This test is especially important for us because we’re not doing the full GT World Challenge Europe season. We’re a one‑off entry for the 24 Hours of Spa, so this is the only running we get this year as a team to prepare for the race.

Obviously, the other teams have already done races like Paul Ricard and Brands Hatch, where they were able to get some proper race mileage. For us, these two days are even more important than for the others, just to get everyone back into the rhythm of working together and to try to make some steps forward compared to last year.

I’ve been with this team for the past two years, racing in this event, and I think we’ve always shown great potential but we’ve struggled to bring it home. Most of it has come down to bad luck. That’s endurance racing. But I’m confident that we can have a strong run again this year. And don’t forget, we’ll be racing for the first time with our GT3 R Evo 2026 model. That’s something new as well, and I hope the car has improved compared to what we raced before.

Q: It’s a new car, what is the best aspect of the car and where does the car need to improve the most?

LH: The GT3 R Evo has some improvements on the aerodynamics; mainly on the front axle. So considering that this race is pretty busy on track with a lot of traffic, you obviously need to be able to follow other cars. I hope that our Evo model is going to help us. I think in terms of systems and drivability, also adaptability of the car to the race conditions which are obviously changing over 24 hours, the car made a good step there.

Q: You said you need to play the catch-up game. Do you think the car will still be competitive when the 24-hour race arrives?

LH: If I would not be confident that the car is competitive I would not be here. So yes I’m pretty much confident and we’ve shown great potential the last two years. So I don’t see a reason why it
shouldn’t be the same case this year.

#21 Schumacher CLRT – Ayhancan Güven

Q: Can you tell me where the team stands, where the car stands and where does the team need to improve? How important are these days of testing?

AG: Yeah, I think it’s important for us. We know the team from the last two years. We did the full season, but this year it was not possible. But it’s still nice to be back together. So I think the general team knows what to do. The drivers are also quite good, but I think we didn’t drive the Evo yet with this team. It’s all about learning now. We are giving direction, so these two days are quite important. Because this is our only time in the car together with the team before the 24 Hours of Spa. We are trying to get the maximum out of it.

Q: I also asked this question to Heinrich, but you need to play the catch-up game. Do you think when the 24-hour race arrives, the car will still be competitive?

AG: I think we will be there. I have no question. Last two years, we were there in terms of pace. So I expect this year the same.

Q: The car looked also to be strong in Nürburgring 24 hours. How pleased is the team and how important was that result going forward to the next 24 hours race?

MD: It was the first podium for us at the Nürburgring after many years of trying. Also for Paul Ricard. It shows that our car has really great potential everywhere, because it was one race that was missing on Aston. We have now great trust in the car for all the big 24‑hour races. We had a podium in Daytona as well. Le Mans showed that in the past Aston can be really quick, we won many times there, got many podiums, so it’s really good to have this flow now and we try to keep it going.

Q: How important are these two days of testing for the Spa 24 hours and what do you learn the most and where do you have to improve?

MD: It’s always important to do the prologue here because every year the tarmac of the track changes a bit after they resurfaced some corners a couple of years ago, every year the tarmac is different, so every year you need something else from the car. You start to get used to drive with the traffic because most cars are here. Also it’s the last chance we have to drive this track before the 24 hours race. Spa is a different track from the others, so you need always something else from unique tracks like this.

#80 Lionspeed GP – Thomas Preining

Q: The team had little preparation for the Nürburgring 24 hours, but still did really well. Now you have a lot of preparation. Do you think the team is ready to fight for victory at the Spa 24 hours?

TP: I think we’re working on getting ready. It’s obviously their first time in Pro, it’s in general a very challenging race. It’s on my bucket list, it’s something I would like to achieve. We’re preparing in the best possible way. Of course, there’s still some time to go until the race week, but I’m confident we have what it takes

Q: At the start of the season there were some reliability issues. Do you think those are gone now?

TP: Yes!

Q: How important are these days of testing for the team in general and for you?

TP: It’s really important. It’s a very challenging track, it’s a long race. You need to have a car that’s really in the window, that’s quite neutral, because you never know in what direction the balance will go when the track rubbers up. You need not only a quick car, but a good teamwork, you need a good pit stop crew, you need the right strategy, you need no penalties, you need three drivers that are on it. In the end, it’s a lot of ingredients that need to come together. But like I said, we’re trying to use those two days as best as possible. The team obviously did a good job at Nürburgring to finish in the front. In the end, I think they are experienced, they know what they’re doing and so do we as drivers. Now we just need to all come together and maximise.

Q: Are there still maybe some things the team needs to work on or issues or anything?

TP: In the end, there’s always stuff you need to improve on. Generally, like I said, the team is for sure improving race by race. Us drivers, we are growing together race by race. Obviously, it’s our first season together, so this is natural. Mainly at this test we focus on the car balance, so we are step by step moving forward with that as well.

#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing – Chris Lulham

Q: Despite the massive setback from Nürburgring 24 hours, it was looking really good at Brands
Hatch and at the race last weekend. How do you keep that momentum going?

CL: Well i wasn’t there, in the team, last weekend but Brands Hatch was a rollercoaster weekend. We had a good qualifying, good races and it’s the first time they run in the sprint championship. They executed everything really well. But to get the penalty and lose the win in the way that I did was upsetting. But again, we see the performance and we see the front row potential, the race winning potential that hopefully we can carry, especially to Spa, because it’s the same car that we bring to Spa as well, and Monza next week also. If we just continue the way we are, I don’t see why we can’t be fighting also for the win.

Q: How important are these days of testing for the team? I also got told you got a brand new engine. How is that going?

CL: We already had the new engine in Brands Hatch, as far as I’m aware. But yeah, we came already to Spa two months ago for a winter test, where we explored everything and built a good and strong baseline as reference for the prologue. That baseline is proving itself as a strong point. We are not really improving on it. So maybe it will also be good to get some mixed‑conditions running, because you never know what the weather can be like on the circuit. It’s also very good to get running with 60, 70 cars on track at one time, all on the same tyre compound, where when you go testing in the winter, there’s not always that many Pirellis running, which does make a big difference to the car feedback, the tyre windows, the balance. How you really optimise your tyre performance is always different when there are 70 Pirellis running on the circuit. And that’s the main thing when you come to a prologue. The main thing is that you learn.

Q: You are obviously with experienced teammates, teammates that have won a lot. But you have also won Spa Gold Cup last year driving in the Aston. What are the expectations of targets for you personally and for the team?

CL: We really get a good expectation of where we are from Monza, because in there the performance aspects are quite similar to Spa, whereas Brands Hatch is a bit more of a unique circuit. So I think after Monza we see more or less where we will stand in Spa, actually. But I like to think that we can finish on the podium based on our pace. And that’s the goal of the team, to be honest. I mean, the goal for everyone is to win the race, but I think a podium would put us in a strong position for the championship standings, because you score so many points in this race with the intervals every six hours.

Q: Are there still aspects that the team needs to improve on, or you personally are looking to improve on?

CL: There’s always things to improve on. You can minimise your pitstop time, you can really refine the pitstop procedure as much as possible, because this will always play a factor regardless. From myself, I’ve driven enough laps at Spa now to know the fastest way to take a GT3 car on Spa, but to be able to nail it under pressure in the night, in the rain, in a one-shot qualifying, that’s where the margins appear.

#58 Garage 59 – Benjamin Goethe

Q: How important is this day of testing for you and for the team?

BG: It’s super important. Just gathering data, looking at different setups for when we come here for the 24 hours. So yeah, very important day for both cars.

Q: Do you maybe know where the team stands compared to the others and where the team needs to improve?

BG: It’s very hard to tell these days. Everyone is trying different things and I don’t think anyone is pushing 100% all the time. So it’s really hard to tell. We’re just kind of focusing on ourselves, on how the car feels for us. Then I think we’ll get a bit better idea when we come here for the 24‑hour event.

Q: What do you personally learn the most from these days of testing?

BG: I’ve done a lot of laps around Spa. But more and more learning about how the car behaves here around the track, different setups. We have a bit of a mix between rain and dry conditions so we are also learning about the car behaviour there.

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