Lionspeed GP completed a remarkable recovery from the pit lane to win the 2026 CrowdStrike 24H of Spa with its #80 Porsche.
Ricardo Feller, Thomas Preining and Bastian Buus overcame the engine change that denied them their Superpole starting position and forced the Porsche to begin the Belgian endurance classic from the pit lane. Twenty-four hours later, the trio stood on the top step after defeating the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER and #51 AF Corse Ferrari.
Preining completed the final stint and became the first driver to take a car from a pit-lane start to victory at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. The result also delivered Lionspeed GP its first GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup win.
Lionspeed controls the race with four hours remaining
Ricardo Feller entered the closing four hours with the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche holding a 24.6-second advantage over Maro Engel in the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER.
Nicklas Nielsen placed the #51 AF Corse Ferrari third, while the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche and #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche remained within striking distance.
The order changed during another pit-stop cycle, but Lionspeed retained control ahead of the Mercedes-AMG. The #51 Ferrari continued recovering from its earlier contact and tyre problems, moving back towards the leading group with enough pace to remain a potential threat.
However, the race was neutralised when Tobias Müller suffered a heavy accident in the #123 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche at the foot of Raidillon. Müller escaped the car, but the damage to the barriers prompted a Full Course Yellow followed by a Safety Car period.
The leading five entered the pits during the neutralisation. The #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche remained ahead of the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER, while the #51 AF Corse Ferrari moved into third.
The interruption brought AF Corse back into the overall battle by erasing much of its deficit. It had the opposite effect on the alternatively fuelled #32 Team WRT BMW, which lost the strategic opportunity to stretch its stint and potentially reach the front through a later neutralisation.
Preining escapes after the restart
Racing resumed with approximately three hours and 20 minutes remaining.
Preining immediately controlled the restart in the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche and built a 4.1-second advantage over Engel before the end of the opening green-flag lap. The gap continued to increase as the #48 Mercedes-AMG defended from the recovering #51 Ferrari.
Tommaso Mosca remained close behind Engel and repeatedly brought the Ferrari within one second of the Mercedes-AMG. Their fight allowed Preining to extend his lead beyond eight seconds.
Mosca also had to monitor the Porsches behind. Morris Schuring and Ayhancan Güven followed closely in the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche and #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche, creating a four-car fight behind the leader.
AF Corse’s recovery suffered another complication when Race Control handed the #51 Ferrari a five-second penalty for forcing the #2 Porsche off the circuit at Turn 6. The sanction had to be served during a later stop and reduced the margin for error in the remaining pit cycles.
Porsche contact damages Boutsen VDS challenge
The internal Porsche battle became increasingly aggressive as Güven attempted to move the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche ahead of Schuring.
Güven attacked the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche at La Source, but the pair made contact. The collision detached part of the Boutsen VDS car’s front-right bodywork and forced Schuring into the pits.
The team quickly reattached the front section and reinforced it with tape before returning the Porsche to the circuit. Although the stop coincided with the car’s scheduled service and limited the time loss, the damage ended its realistic challenge for victory.
Race Control subsequently handed the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche a five-second penalty for causing the collision. Porsche still occupied two of the leading three positions, but the sanction placed Güven, Matt Campbell and Frédéric Makowiecki at a disadvantage for the final stops.
Buus leads into the final two hours
Bastian Buus took over the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche and entered the final two hours ahead of Lucas Auer in the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER.
Matt Campbell ran third in the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche, followed by Nielsen in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari. Arthur Leclerc placed fifth in the #50 AF Corse Ferrari, with Daniel Harper sixth in the #46 Team WRT BMW.
The leaders continued cycling through the pits, with the #80 Porsche emerging narrowly ahead of the Ferrari and retaining the effective race lead. The #51 served its five-second penalty during its stop, while the #22 still had its own sanction to serve.
Further back, the Silver Cup battle changed when the #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren received a four-second stop-and-go penalty for completing a technical pit stop below the required minimum time. The punishment removed the McLaren from a strong position and opened the door for its class rivals.
As the strategies aligned, the #80 Porsche remained ahead of the #48 Mercedes-AMG. The #22 Porsche initially held third, but its next stop released the #51 Ferrari and gave AF Corse a clear opportunity to attack the Mercedes-AMG for second.
Rovera returns Ferrari to the podium
Alessio Rovera took over the #51 AF Corse Ferrari and quickly closed on the cars ahead.
The Ferrari moved past Güven’s #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche to claim third as the race entered its final hour. Rovera then reduced the gap to Luca Stolz in the #48 Mercedes-AMG, while Güven remained close enough to capitalise on any mistake.
Preining was comfortably in control at the front. The Austrian held an advantage of approximately 21 seconds during the early stages of the final hour, leaving the battle for second as the main contest among the overall leaders.
The possibility of another Full Course Yellow briefly increased when the #555 CSA Racing McLaren stopped on the start-finish straight. However, the McLaren restarted and returned to the pits, allowing the race to continue without another neutralisation.
Final stops decide the podium order
Rovera was the first of the leading four to make his final planned stop, remaining behind the wheel of the #51 Ferrari to minimise the time spent in the pit lane.
The move gave AF Corse an undercut opportunity, although another Full Course Yellow before its rivals stopped would have erased that advantage.
Stolz followed into the pits, handing the #48 Mercedes-AMG to Auer. The Mercedes-AMG rejoined ahead of Rovera after the Ferrari encountered slower traffic during the critical phase of the pit sequence.
Güven then stopped the #22 Porsche and served its five-second penalty. The delay dropped the Schumacher CLRT entry behind Rovera and forced Güven to negotiate traffic before he could resume his pursuit of the Ferrari.
Preining remained out longer than the other podium contenders before making the #80 Porsche’s final stop. Lionspeed completed the service without difficulty and returned the Austrian to the track with the lead intact.
With every leading car finished with its scheduled stops, the final positions had to be settled on the circuit.
Rovera pressures Auer to the chequered flag
Preining continued to extend his advantage and held a 14.2-second lead with less than 25 minutes remaining.
Behind him, Rovera closed rapidly on Auer. The #51 Ferrari moved to within half a second of the #48 Mercedes-AMG as the pair negotiated traffic, but Auer defended strongly and repeatedly positioned the Mercedes-AMG to prevent Rovera from finding a clear opportunity.
Güven also closed on the Ferrari during the final laps. With six minutes remaining, only 1.527 seconds separated the #22 Porsche from Rovera. The gap fell below one second as the race entered its final three minutes, creating the possibility of a late change to the podium.
However, neither Rovera nor Güven could complete another pass.
Preining began the final lap with a comfortable advantage and brought the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche across the line to complete its extraordinary recovery from the pit lane.
The #32 Team WRT BMW stopped near Turn 9 during the final lap, bringing a disappointing conclusion to a race in which its alternative strategy had briefly placed it among the potential victory contenders.
Mercedes-AMG holds second ahead of AF Corse
Auer resisted Rovera’s late pressure to secure second for the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER.
He shared the runner-up finish with Maro Engel and Luca Stolz, who had kept the car in contention throughout the final quarter of the race.
Rovera completed the podium in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari alongside Tommaso Mosca and Nicklas Nielsen. AF Corse recovered from several right-rear tyre problems, contact, damage and two five-second penalties to finish third.
The #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche followed in fourth, ahead of the #50 AF Corse Ferrari and #46 Team WRT BMW.
Class victories decided in the closing stages
The #998 ROWE Racing BMW won the Gold Cup with Ugo de Wilde, Tim Tramnitz and Jens Klingmann after remaining near the front of the class throughout the final hours.
Rinaldi Racing secured the Silver Cup with the #45 Ferrari driven by Alessandro Balzan, Rafael Duran, Dylan Medler and David Perel.
The #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari claimed the Bronze Cup through Mathys Jaubert, Dustin Blattner, Ben Tuck and Dennis Marschall. The Ferrari finished ahead of every Gold and Silver Cup entry after prevailing in its long-running battle with the #991 Paradine Competition BMW.
Ben Green, Prince Jefri Ibrahim, Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and Jordan Love completed the Pro-Am victory in the #0 Johor Motorsports Racing JMR Corvette.
After starting from the pit lane and spending much of the race recovering through traffic, Feller, Preining and Buus completed one of the most remarkable victories in the history of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
The 2026 CrowdStrike 24H of Spa after 1 Hour | 4 Hours | 8 Hours | 12 Hours | 16 Hours | 20 Hours | Chequered Flag
