Tommaso Mosca set the pace for AF Corse during Tuesday’s Paid Test at Spa-Francorchamps, as preparations for the 2026 CrowdStrike 24H of Spa entered their final phase.
The Italian recorded a 2m18.002s in the #51 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, beating Maxime Martin’s #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed entry by just 0.091 seconds. Dennis Marschall matched Martin’s 2m18.093s exactly in the Bronze Cup-leading #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari.
Sixty-four cars participated in the two-hour session, which ran from 14:40 until 16:40 in dry and warm conditions. The field remained closely matched, with less than half a second covering the top 10.
Martin and Marschall establish the early benchmark
Martin quickly moved to the head of the order with a 2m18.093s, setting his time shortly after the opening 10 minutes. Marschall then produced an identical lap in the Kessel Racing Ferrari, although Martin retained second position because he had completed the time first.
Marschall’s performance immediately established Kessel as the Bronze Cup benchmark. The Swiss team won the class in 2025 and begins its title defence with another highly competitive line-up.
The #48 Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter entry followed in fourth with a 2m18.149s. That placed Lucas Auer, Luca Stolz and Maro Engel’s car only 0.147s away from the eventual session benchmark.
Mixed-class entries break into the leading positions
The class contenders featured prominently throughout the overall order. Conrad Laursen placed the #71 Selected Car Racing Ferrari fifth and led the Gold Cup with a 2m18.161s.
Christian Mansell also impressed on his first 24H of Spa weekend. The Team Motopark driver recorded a 2m18.237s in the #20 Mercedes-AMG, which placed the series newcomer sixth overall and at the top of the Silver Cup classification.
Garage 59 followed in seventh with the #59 McLaren, ahead of the #34 natural elements by Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin. The #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren and #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche completed the top 10.
Tresor Attempto incident interrupts the session
The cars completed a little more than an hour of running before the first red flag of the event. Officials stopped the session after the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi entered the gravel at Bruxelles.
Once marshals recovered the Audi, teams returned to the circuit and resumed their preparations. The interruption came during the middle of the session, leaving enough time for the leading crews to continue improving during the final half-hour.
Mosca puts AF Corse on top
Mosca delivered the decisive lap with approximately 28 minutes remaining. His 2m18.002s moved the #51 Ferrari ahead of Martin and Marschall, giving AF Corse the fastest time of the opening Spa test.
The result also placed two Ferrari 296 GT3 EVOs inside the top three, with Kessel’s Bronze Cup entry joining the Pro-classified AF Corse car.
The margins remained extremely small. Only 0.159s separated Mosca from fifth-placed Selected Car Racing, while the entire top 10 finished within 0.478s of the fastest lap.
JMR leads the Pro-Am runners
Ben Green set the leading Pro-Am time in the #0 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The Malaysian entry finished 40th overall with a 2m19.243s, 1.241s behind Mosca.
Car Collection Motorsport placed second among the Pro-Am entries and 18th overall with the #8 Porsche, while High Class Racing completed the session 48th in its #86 Porsche.
Dawson tops the late Bronze Test shootout
The Bronze Test followed shortly after the Paid Test and produced another closely fought session. Twenty-six cars took part in the one-hour run, which began at 16:55 and remained dry throughout.
Charles Dawson claimed the top position in the closing minutes aboard the #222 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG. The British driver recorded a 2m18.901s with just over three minutes remaining.
Darren Leung had moved the #991 Paradine Competition BMW to the top shortly beforehand, but Dawson’s final effort beat him by 0.123s. Jonathan Hui placed the #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche third, only 0.173s away from the lead.
Dustin Blattner finished fourth for defending Bronze Cup winner Kessel Racing, while Rinat Salikhov completed the top five in the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG. Only 0.202s separated the leading five drivers.
Giacomo Petrobelli placed the #56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin sixth. The #177 Grupo Prom Racing Team Mercedes-AMG led the Pro-Am entries in seventh overall, ahead of the #700 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin and #86 High Class Racing Porsche. Ahmad Al Harthy completed the top 10 for Oman Racing by Century Motorsport.
Paid Test top 10
- #51 AF Corse — Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO (Pro): 2m18.002s
- #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed — Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO (Pro): 2m18.093s, +0.091s
- #74 Kessel Racing — Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO (Bronze): 2m18.093s, +0.091s
- #48 Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter — Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO (Pro): 2m18.149s, +0.147s
- #71 Selected Car Racing — Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO (Gold): 2m18.161s, +0.159s
- #20 Team Motopark — Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO (Silver): 2m18.237s, +0.235s
- #59 Garage 59 — McLaren 720S GT3 EVO (Pro): 2m18.359s, +0.357s
- #34 natural elements by Walkenhorst Motorsport — Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO (Pro): 2m18.422s, +0.420s
- #5 Optimum Motorsport — McLaren 720S GT3 EVO (Silver): 2m18.469s, +0.467s
- #80 Lionspeed GP — Porsche 911 GT3 R (Pro): 2m18.480s, +0.478s
Bronze Test top 10
- #222 2Seas Motorsport — Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO (Bronze): 2m18.901s
- #991 Paradine Competition — BMW M4 GT3 EVO (Bronze): 2m19.024s, +0.123s
- #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing — Porsche 911 GT3 R (Bronze): 2m19.074s, +0.173s
- #74 Kessel Racing — Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO (Bronze): 2m19.079s, +0.178s
- #87 Winward Racing — Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO (Bronze): 2m19.103s, +0.202s
- #56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn — Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO (Bronze): 2m19.217s, +0.316s
- #177 Grupo Prom Racing Team — Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO (Pro-Am): 2m19.354s, +0.453s
- #700 Comtoyou Racing — Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO (Pro-Am): 2m19.693s, +0.792s
- #86 High Class Racing — Porsche 911 GT3 R (Pro-Am): 2m19.945s, +1.044s
- #42 Oman Racing by Century Motorsport — BMW M4 GT3 EVO (Bronze): 2m20.123s, +1.222s
Spa grid falls to 69 cars
The final 24H of Spa field has fallen to 69 cars following the withdrawal of the #81 Era Motorsport Porsche. Jake Hill and Kyle Tilley had previously secured places in the Bronze Cup entry.
Several teams also completed their driver line-ups before the test. David Pittard joined Leyton Fourie, Darren Leung and James Kellett in the #991 Paradine Competition BMW, while Lucas Légeret completed Saintéloc Racing’s #25 Silver Cup Audi crew.
Razoon – more than racing also confirmed Edward McDermott, Kenzie Reiss Beecroft, Carl Bennett and Bryce Fullwood in the #914 Bronze Cup Porsche.
Track action resumes on Thursday
Wednesday’s programme centres on the traditional parade from Spa-Francorchamps to Spa city centre, where the cars will gather near the Parc de Sept Heures and Place Royale.
Circuit activity resumes on Thursday with Free Practice 1 at 10:10. Free Practice 2 follows at 16:10 and begins the weekend’s live coverage on the GT World YouTube channel.
Watch the race live here and follow along with Pit Debrief‘s live blog.
