Porsche customer team Lionspeed GP wins the 24 Hours of Spa

The winners of the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps are Thomas Preining, Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus. The three 911 GT3 R drivers from the DTM had to start the endurance classic on the Belgian Grand Prix circuit from the pitlane as second-last on the grid after an unscheduled engine change. Thanks to their comeback, the Lionspeed GP team’s No. 80 Porsche gradually worked its way up the field. At around 8.30 am on Sunday morning, having completed two-thirds of the race distance, Thomas Preining took P1 for the first time. Over the final five hours, the trio from Austria, Denmark and Switzerland only briefly relinquished the lead during pit stops. After 541 laps of the 7.004-kilometre Formula 1 circuit, they crossed the finish line with a 12.3-second lead.

75 years of Porsche Motorsport: In the anniversary year of 2026, Porsche added its name to the roll of honour for the ninth time in this race, which has been held since 1924. The Sportwagenschmiede's most recent victory at the classic endurance race in the Ardennes came in 2020. On that occasion, Britain’s Nick Tandy, New Zealand’s Earl Bamber and Belgium’s Laurens Vanthoor took the win in a 911 GT3 R fielded by the Rowe Racing team.

Fourth place this year went to the customer team Schumacher CLRT. The No. 22 car, driven by the two factory drivers Ayhancan Güven from Turkey and Matt Campbell from Australia, alongside Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki, was also among the favourites for victory on Sunday morning. A collision with the number 2 Porsche from Boutsen VDS whilst battling for third place earned the trio a five-second penalty and dashed their hopes of a podium finish. The 911 GT3 R driven by Morris Schuring from the Netherlands, Dorian Boccolacci from France and Alessio Picariello from Belgium crossed the finish line in eighth place. This means that three cars from the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer finished the endurance race in the top 10.

The 24-hour race had started on Saturday at 4.30 pm in high summer conditions. The air temperature was 38 degrees Celsius, whilst the track surface reached around 58 degrees. A total of 132,000 spectators watched the race involving 69 GT3 cars.

“This result sends an important signal for Porsche customer motorsport,” explains Michael Dreiser, Head of Sales at Porsche Motorsport. “We had 15 race cars on the grid here. Getting three cars into the top ten is a strong performance, and the victory is, of course, a dream come true for Lionspeed GP. Added to this are the strong performances of other customer teams, with podium finishes in the Bronze, Pro-Am and Gold categories – all in all, a successful weekend for Porsche.”

“Winning the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in this way, together with Lionspeed GP and the three Porsche DTM drivers, is a fantastic result,” emphasises Max Müller, Porsche Motorsport GT Race Support. “The whole team did a brilliant job. They started from the very back of the grid and, apart from a minor penalty, drove a flawless race. That was the key to success. We were able to make up a lot of time with our 911 GT3 R, particularly at night, when the cooler weather worked in our favour. It was more difficult for us in the hot temperatures on Saturday afternoon. The last time a Porsche won this 24-hour race was in 2020. That’s why this victory feels all the better.”

Information and links for the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

An overview of the entrants: The Entry List
All results: Intercontinental GT Challenge
The history of the race: Winners and Legends
New customer sports car from Weissach: The Porsche 911 GT4 R

Driver comments after the race

Ricardo Feller (Porsche 911 GT3 R #80): “I’m very relieved and incredibly proud of the whole team – they deserved this victory. Having to start from the pitlane was, of course, a setback. But we still believed we had a chance. That’s exactly what makes a strong team. We’ve been able to write a fantastic chapter in our history. In our sport, you experience more defeats than victories, which is why we’re going to celebrate this success in style.”

Ayhancan Güven (Porsche 911 GT3 R #22): “We gave it our all and came very close to a podium finish. Overall, the race didn’t go so well for us. We were involved in a few incidents with other cars, which caused damage to our Porsche, and we also picked up a few penalties. That put us a bit behind. Even though we didn’t manage it ourselves, a 911 still won – and I’m happy with that.”

Alessio Picariello (Porsche 911 GT3 R #2): “The ultimate goal in a 24-hour race is to finish with the car as intact as possible. That’s exactly what we failed to achieve. I’m a bit disappointed with eighth place, even though I really enjoyed being able to go flat out during each of my stints and the race was very entertaining overall. At least I finished as the highest-placed Belgian – that’s a bonus for me.”