Total 24 hours of Spa half distance report

Torrential rain now as the heavens open and everything gets a bit dark. And I do mean dark. One very noticeable difference between here and Le Mans is the almost complete lack of incidental light. This proves a little difficult if you are a spectator without a torch as there are few if any lights to see by outside of the Paddock. Heaven only knows what it is like to drive in. Whereas at Le Mans all of the main corners are floodlit by diesel generator powered halogen lamps needed for the television cameras. From the exit of the Porsche curves round to Tertre Rouge is lit as is Mulsanne Corner, Indy, and Arnage. Basically anywhere you are allowed to walk, you can very likely see where you are going. Not so here. There are no night time TV pictures and, outside of the Paddock, very little in the way of lighting other than the moon. In a word, darkness.

The seventh and rainiest hour yet saw the ï€£79 BMW Motorsport continue to show how it is done in GTN, whilst Marcel Fassler in the ï€£50 Phoenix Racing GT3 Audi shows his skills at carving through the rain increasing his lead over the Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3. Gianmaria Bruni had the ï€£2 ALD Team Vitaphone Ferrari F430 back up to third overall and leading GT2.

The eighth hour saw the rain finally relent and the track start to dry and the braver drivers sent for slick tires. Marcel ‘The Duck’ Fassler who was so impressive in the wet, getting to within 38 seconds of the leader at one stage, couldn’t repeat the trick as conditions improved and dropped back to fifth. Bruni continued his charge and piloted the ï€£2 Ferrari into 2nd overall, closely followed by the ï€£16 IMSA Performance Porsche and keeping things tight in GT2. The BMW with a Dirk in it continued to lead and we welcomed back the ï€£69 Speed lover Porsche after it had spent 4 hours in pit lane.

Hour nine found the irrepressible Fassler in his ï€£50 Phoenix Audi chasing down The Dirks’ ï€£79 BMW and allowed us the first journalistic cliché of the evening as ‘bad luck struck the ï€£13 car’ when Richard Westbrook collected the ï€£64 BSR Aston and pitted with substantial damage to the Prospeed 911 before beginning a series of rejoining and pitting again as they worked things out. Also, the metronomic BMW Motorsport outfit had an issue with the second car as ï€£78 boxed for fuel and wouldn’t re-start. The resulting lengthy stop required to get it going again effectively saw any chance of the top step of the podium disappear but it remained 2nd in class, ahead of the ï€£91 EBRT Porsche 997 Cup containing, amongst others, the youngest driver in the race in Christoff Corten who was having his first drive here and in only his fifth competitive drive, ever!

Hour ten saw the 200th lap completed and the Safety Car out and bunching the field after the ï€£67 United Autosports Audi R8 hit the gravel trap in Turn 7 , the final right of the right-left-right of Les Combes. Cue everybody to hit their boxes, including the ï€£67 that had managed to keep going. The ï€£67 was at it again 20 minutes later as, with Alain Li at the wheel, it spun in the Burxelles hair-pin, Turn 8, one corner later than his predecessor went off in. Fortunately Li kept the Audi going and re-joined without the need for a further Safety Car.

ï€£79 BMW led from ï€£2 AF Corse Ferrari, the ï€£50 Phoenix Audi, and the ï€£16 IMSA Matmut Porsche right behind not far ahead of the ï€£23 BMS Porsche 911. Five cars on the lead lap with just seconds between P2 and P4, thanks Safety Car, and the Audis are praying for more rain.

Strange things are said to happen ‘at the eleventh hour’ but, a puncture for the ï€£50 Phoenix Audi aside, not so here as BMW continued their strong showing by leading from the front.

Pedro Lamy from the ï€£78 BMW popped his head out to confirm what we could all see; that the BMWs had an issue with the wet conditions but really got it hooked it up in the dry. He added that they has gear shift issues as well as a problem with the starter and this caused the long pit-stop.

The BMW PR girl must have felt the need for some sleep as she turned-out another driver, probably, before turning-in herself. Step-forward Dirk Andorf (Dirk 2nd class or Chief Under-Dirk to Dirk Muller) who proved the rule that a tired driver, in the middle of the night, will state the glaringly obvious before grabbing some much needed rest in the trailer; he told us they were having a good race and that the weather dictates things at Spa, he did admit that the team wanted it dry for the rest of the race however.

On a more racing related note; the ï€£68 United Autosports Audi was up to fourth in the GT3 class and a very creditable 8th overall followed closely at 46 seconds back by the Trackspeed Porsche 911 also running fourth in class, GT2, and ninth overall. Not at all bad for the fellow first-timer teams.

Lap 266 saw the race cross the 12-hour half-distance mark and the ï€£79 BMW leading the field, Dirk Werner (Dirk III) at the wheel, for the 11th hour of the twelve so far; the two BMW Motorsport M3’s having jumped the ï€£2 car in the pits after second hour rain and it subsequently suffering damage to the rear right after getting tagged by the ï€£85 Gulf Team First Lamborghini.

Dirk Werner set the fastest lap of the race thus far shortly before the clock ticked the twelfth hour when on lap 264 he posted a time of 2:22.710 a lap ahead of the second placed Ferrari F430 with Eric van der Poole who has a good incentive to win in that if he does he will have collected 6 trophies here and will be the winningest driver of the Spa 24. Nathan Heywood reporting from Spa

Full classification at half distance:

Pos	Car	Class	Drivers	Car	Laps
1	79	GTN	Werner / MÃ¼ller / Adorf /	BMW M3	243
2	2	GT2	Bruni / Longin / van de Poele / Vilander	Ferrari F430	242
3	16	GT2	Narac / Long / Pilet / Lietz	Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)	242
4	50	GT3	Kumpen / FÃ¤ssler / Luhr / Rockenfeller	Audi R8 LMS	242
5	23	GT2	Dumas / Bergmeister / Ragginger / Henzler	Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)	241
6	73	GT3	Ortelli / Mollekens / Lemeret / Verbist	Audi R8 LMS	237
7	51	GT3	Margaritis / Hennerici / Piccini / Moser	Audi R8 LMS	235
8	68	GT3	Blundell / Brown / Dean / Cheever	Audi R8 LMS	234
9	7	GT2	Ashburn / Rosenblad / Asch / Bergmeister	Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)	234
10	78	GTN	MÃ¼ller / Lamy / Alzen /	BMW M3	234
11	60	GT3	Slingerland / Soulet / Schroyen / Menten	Porsche 911 GT3 R	233
12	99	GT3	Leinders / Martin / Duez /	Ford GT	233
13	53	GT3	HÃ¤ring / Konstantinou / Peyroles / Vannelet	Porsche 911 GT3 R	232
14	17	GT2	Bourret / Gibon / Belloc / Balandras	Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)	232
15	98	GT3	De Doncker / Kuppens / Palttala /	Ford GT	230
16	1	GT2	Waltrip / Cadei / Kauffmann / Cioci	Ferrari F430	230
17	4	GT2	van Splunteren / Hommerson / Machiels / Bastiaans	Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)	230
18	67	GT3	Johansson / Li / Patterson / Assentato	Audi R8 LMS	224
19	55	GT3	Brandela / Lesoudier / Prignaud / Stepec	BMW Alpina B6 GT3	218
20	71	GT3	Mortimer / Bamford / Griffin /	Ford GT	217
21	91	GTN	Broodcooren / Marin / Barbaro / Corten	Porsche 997 Cup	214
22	13	GT2	Westbrook / Holzer / Lieb / Goossens	Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)	207
23	56	GT3	Corbel / Duchene / Beroujon / Bernard	BMW Alpina B6 GT3	204
24	64	GT3	Renard / Verbergt / Wauters / van Hooydonk	Aston Martin DBRS9	200
25	81	GTN	Grosjean / Radermaecker / Alessi / Marchal	Mosler MT900	199
26	66	GTN	Lichtner Hoyer / Eckert / Seefried / Rich	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup MY06	197
27	85	GT3	Giroix / Fatien / Valentini / Beltoise	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4	188
28	58	GTN	van der Straten / Al Azhari / Close / Qvick	Ford Mustang FR500C GT	176
29	59	GT4	Dolan / Hancock / Wills / Twyman	Aston Martin V8 Vantage	169
30	86	GT3	Andre / Goethe / Wainwright / Demoustier	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4	148
31	52	GT3	Fumal / de Lorenzi / Thiry / Thomas	Porsche 911 GT3 R	135
32	74	GT3	Bouvy / Kelders / Blachemain / Tuchbant	Audi R8 LMS	127
33	70	GT4	Viale / de Coster / NelissenGrade / Renmans	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup MY06	103
34	100	GTN	Vos / Schothorst / Coronel / Kolen	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S	91
35	69	GT4	Deblauwe / Brugmans / Grandjean / Gerome	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup MY06	86
36	84	GT3	Kox / Hayek / Bonaldi / Lee	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4	63
37	72	GT3	Franchi / Vosse / Stippler / Biela	Audi R8 LMS	57
38	61	GT3	Brouard / Noziere / Kerkhove / Sougnez	Porsche 911 GT3 R	43
39	63	GT3	D'Ansembourg / Grivegnee / Demay / Merche	Aston Martin DBRS9	25
40	62	GT4	Barff / Ordonez / Buncombe / Buncombe	Nissan 370Z	23