Porsche Works Driver Ayhancan Güven and Schumacher CLRT fought for the podium of the Spa 24 Hours and chased down the top three. An unfortunate clash with the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche 911 GT3 Evo shook up the last phase of the race. Güven responds to the penalty he received.

Morris Schuring was competing for P2 after the Belgian outfit showed incredible pace and resilience to fight their way to the front. Morning chaos at Spa-Francorchamps shook up the order and resulted in an exciting fight for the leading position, with three Porsches chasing down the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Güven and Schuring hit in La Source, as the Turkish driver opted for the inside line.He got a five-second time penalty for that. “The penalty was okay,” Güven said when asked if he thought it was a fair verdict from the stewards. “I think I lost my position before the penalty, so it didn’t change much.”

Although the #22 Porsche didn’t loose too much terrain because of the penalty, it was a small setback considering the pace the car showed. “During the race we managed to improve the car a bit, by doing some technical changes. We improved and I think at the end the car was really good,” Güven continues.

Damage from collision: “McLaren hit us”

He seems to think that they mostly lost the race during the night stints, where some incidents shook up their rhythm and consistency. “Our pace was really good, and I felt that immediately when I got into the car. The plan was to survive until the end, which we managed, but during we collected some damaged and also some penalties.”

The 2025 DTM champion refers to the moment they got hit by a McLaren, which caused significant damage on the rear of the car. “Yes, McLaren hit us and in the morning put us a little bit on the back foot. We never managed to come to the front, as we couldn’t pass Ferrari and Mercedes. We tried different strategies, but they also covered us. Overtaking seemed to be impossible and while we were stuck behind them, we couldn’t go for the win.”

Güven got the maximum out of it: “There was nothing more”

After the incident with the #2 Boutsen Porsche, Matt Campbell was in the car for a stint, but he could not catch the Ferrari in front of him either. He and Güven swapped before the end again, so the Turkish driver could push. “We were just stuck there, and unfortunately missed the podium, but looking at it: there was nothing more. I did everything I could.”

As Schuring, Dorian Boccolacci and Alessio Picariello and were on their way to the podium and maybe even more, the disappointment was high in the Boutsen garage. Co-owner Olivia L’ainée told GT REPORT that Schuring could drive back safely to the pits and the damage was able to be prepared so they could make it till the end, but too much time was lost.

Schuring has not yet responded to the incident – however, he updated his personal social media channels, informing followers that the 2026 Spa 24H was one of the toughest 24-hour races of his career, and that more on the race ‘would follow’. To be continued, it seems.