A sequence of post-session penalties transformed the final Combined Qualifying order for the 2026 CrowdStrike 24H of Spa, removing three provisional Superpole qualifiers and promoting Team Motopark, Rinaldi Racing and Team RJN into Friday’s 32-car contest.
The #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed entry initially led the classification after Maxime Martin, Maximilian Götz and Fabian Schiller produced a 2:17.049 average. However, the stewards deleted Schiller’s Q3 laps after the team carried out unpermitted work on the car.
Further decisions removed the #111 CSA Racing McLaren and #84 Eastalent Racing Audi from the classified Qualifying results. Consequently, the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Alessio Rovera, Tommaso Mosca and Nicklas Nielsen now heads the final order with a 2:17.068 average.
GetSpeed loses provisional 2026 Crowdstrike 24H of Spa Qualifying lead
Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed initially edged AF Corse by only 0.019 seconds. Martin recorded a 2:17.122, Götz added a 2:17.208 and Schiller completed a 2:16.817 to establish the quickest three-driver average.
However, GetSpeed personnel performed work on the right-rear area of the #17 Mercedes-AMG after Q3. Article 235.4.5 restricted the work that teams could carry out between the start of Q1 and the end of Q4.
Pit-lane officials reported the infringement, while photographic evidence, video footage and statements from the team representative supported the case. The stewards therefore deleted every lap that the #17 completed during Q3.
Without a complete three-driver average, Martin, Götz and Schiller lost first place and their Superpole position. The final classification places the #17 in 55th, although Schiller’s 2:16.817 remains listed as the fastest individual lap in the official result.
AF Corse subsequently inherited first place, while the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche moved from third to second and the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche climbed into third.
CSA Racing loses Gachet’s fastest time
The #111 CSA Racing McLaren suffered another major reversal after provisionally qualifying 15th.
Simon Gachet had delivered the fastest individual lap of Thursday evening’s original classification. His 2:16.685 in Q3 helped Jim Pla, Arthur Rougier, Gachet and James Kell record a 2:17.571 average and comfortably reach Superpole.
However, post-Qualifying checks found that the McLaren did not comply with the event’s Balance of Performance ground-clearance requirement. The rules required a minimum height of 50 millimetres, while officials measured the #111 at 45 millimetres and 42.3 millimetres.
The stewards deleted every Qualifying lap under Decision 40. As a result, CSA Racing lost its Superpole place and joined the not-classified section of the final results.
The decision also changed the identity of the fastest valid individual lap. Schiller’s 2:16.817 now holds that distinction despite the deletion of the #17’s complete Q3 contribution to its combined average.
Data-logger infringement removes Eastalent Racing
Eastalent Racing also lost a secure Superpole position after post-session technical checks. Simon Reicher, Markus Winkelhock and Christopher Haase had placed the #84 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II 19th provisionally with a 2:17.731 average.
However, the official data technician found that the car’s data logger had disconnected before Qualifying. Consequently, the system recorded no data throughout the sessions.
The team told the stewards that its mechanics believed they had connected the logger correctly, although vibration may have dislodged it. Nevertheless, Article 504.7 required the device to operate throughout the competition.
The stewards deleted all of the #84 Audi’s Qualifying laps and allowed the car to start the race from the back of the grid. Eastalent therefore lost its Superpole place and joined CSA Racing among the not-classified entries.
Three Silver Cup crews move into Superpole after penalties shake up the Qualifying order at the 2026 CrowdStrike 24H of Spa
The original provisional order placed the #52 AF Corse Ferrari in 32nd, with Team Motopark missing the cut by only 0.010 seconds. Rinaldi Racing sat another 0.009 seconds behind, while Team RJN occupied 35th.
The removal of the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG first promoted Team Motopark. However, the later penalties for the #111 CSA Racing McLaren and #84 Eastalent Racing Audi created another two openings.
Therefore, the final order places the three promoted Silver Cup cars as follows:
- P30 – #20 Team Motopark Mercedes-AMG: 2:18.527
- P31 – #45 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari: 2:18.536
- P32 – #23 Team RJN McLaren: 2:18.574
Team RJN now holds the final Superpole place, only 0.025 seconds ahead of the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG in 33rd.
The final Superpole field contains 16 Pro entries, six Gold Cup cars, nine Silver Cup contenders and one Bronze Cup Ferrari. Before the penalties, all 18 Pro cars, seven Gold entries, six Silver cars and one Bronze entry occupied the leading 32 positions.
AF Corse inherits first place
The penalties elevate the #51 AF Corse Ferrari to the head of the final Combined Qualifying order.
Rovera, Mosca and Nielsen produced a 2:17.068 average, placing them 0.040 seconds ahead of the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche shared by Ricardo Feller, Thomas Preining and Bastian Buus. Meanwhil, Morris Schuring, Dorian Boccolacci and Alessio Picariello move into third for Boutsen VDS, while Lilou Wadoux, Arthur Leclerc and Sean Gelael place the second AF Corse Ferrari fourth.
The #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER entry climbs to fifth, ahead of the #59 Garage 59 McLaren and #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing car.
Comtoyou Racing occupies eighth with its #7 Aston Martin, while the Gold Cup-leading #58 Garage 59 McLaren and #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi complete the final top 10.
Lionspeed faces a pit-lane race start
Although Lionspeed GP progresses to Superpole in second place, the #80 Porsche will start Saturday’s race from the pit lane. The team replaced the car’s engine, breaching Article 510 of the sporting regulations. The stewards applied the standard pit-lane-start penalty.
Therefore, Feller, Preining and Buus can still contest Superpole, but any position they earn will not translate into a conventional starting-grid place for the race.
The #9 Pure Rxcing Porsche and #12 GetSpeed Team Dubai Mercedes-AMG also received pit-lane starts following engine changes. Neither car qualified for Superpole.
Kessel Racing remains the only Bronze qualifier
Kessel Racing retains the only Bronze Cup place in Superpole. Dustin Blattner, Ben Tuck, Mathys Jaubert and Dennis Marschall produced a 2:18.448 average in the #74 Ferrari. The post-session decisions promote the defending class-winning team from provisional 30th to final 27th.
No other Bronze entry reached the leading 32. The #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG now sits closest in 33rd, only 0.025 seconds outside the cut.
Kessel has therefore secured Bronze Cup pole regardless of its performance during Superpole, although the crew can still improve its overall starting position. The original official report had already confirmed that the #74 would face no direct class rival in Friday’s session.
Comtoyou penalty changes the Pro-Am order
The stewards also penalised the #700 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin during Qualifying.
Team personnel performed unpermitted work on the car’s left-rear wheel during Q3. The stewards subsequently deleted every Q3 lap that the car recorded before 21:19. Therefore, Xavier Knauf, Grégory Servais, Sarah Bovy and Nicolas Baert fell to 61st in the final Combined Qualifying order.
The penalty moved the #86 High Class Racing Porsche to the top of the final Pro-Am Qualifying classification. However, High Class Racing also received a five-place race-grid drop after Kerong Li entered the fast lane before officials issued the “FAST LANE OPEN” instruction.
The final classification also records the cancellation of the #914 razoon – more than racing Porsche’s fastest Q2 lap before 20:30:27. The Pro-Am entry finished 63rd.
Further grid penalties follow Thursday Qualifying at the 2026 CrowdStrike 24H of Spa
Several other cars received penalties that did not change the 32-car Superpole line-up.
Reinhold Krahn exceeded the 80km/h limit during a Q2 red-flag period in the #8 Car Collection Motorsport Porsche. Officials recorded the car at 130.8km/h and handed the team a five-place race-grid drop and one behaviour warning point.
The #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche and #33 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG also received five-place grid drops after entering the fast lane before officials opened it.
These penalties will affect the final race grid rather than the published Combined Qualifying classification.
Final 2026 CrowdStrike 24H of Spa Superpole field
The following 32 cars will contest Superpole, listed in their final Combined Qualifying order:
- #51 AF Corse Ferrari — Alessio Rovera / Tommaso Mosca / Nicklas Nielsen: 2:17.068 — Pro
- #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche — Ricardo Feller / Thomas Preining / Bastian Buus: 2:17.108 — Pro
- #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche — Morris Schuring / Dorian Boccolacci / Alessio Picariello: 2:17.164 — Pro
- #50 AF Corse Ferrari — Lilou Wadoux / Arthur Leclerc / Sean Gelael: 2:17.195 — Pro
- #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER — Lucas Auer / Luca Stolz / Maro Engel: 2:17.243 — Pro
- #59 Garage 59 McLaren — Joseph Loake / Dean Macdonald / Marvin Kirchhöfer: 2:17.272 — Pro
- #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing — Dani Juncadella / Chris Lulham / Jules Gounon: 2:17.293 — Pro
- #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin — Mattia Drudi / Marco Sørensen / Nicki Thiim: 2:17.308 — Pro
- #58 Garage 59 McLaren — Thomas Fleming / Louis Prette / Benjamin Goethe: 2:17.364 — Gold
- #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi — Dylan Pereira / Andrea Frassineti / Alex Aka: 2:17.445 — Gold
- #64 HRT Ford Racing — Arjun Maini / Fabio Scherer / Thomas Drouet: 2:17.474 — Pro
- #71 Selected Car Racing Ferrari — Conrad Laursen / Malte Ebdrup / Simon Birch / Frederik Schandorff: 2:17.494 — Gold
- #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche — Ayhancan Güven / Matt Campbell / Frédéric Makowiecki: 2:17.523 — Pro
- #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren — Salman Owega / Dante Rappange / Guilherme Oliveira / Mikey Porter: 2:17.595 — Silver
- #32 Team WRT BMW — Kelvin van der Linde / Jordan Pepper / Charles Weerts: 2:17.604 — Pro
- #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi — Ezequiel Pérez Companc / Etienne Cheli / Ivan Klymenko / Lucas Légeret: 2:17.724 — Silver
- #98 ROWE Racing BMW — Augusto Farfus / Jake Dennis / Raffaele Marciello: 2:17.786 — Pro
- #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche — Gilles Magnus / Robin Knutsson / Alessandro Ghiretti: 2:17.831 — Gold
- #34 Natural Elements by Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin — Jamie Day / Christian Krognes / Henrique Chaves: 2:17.834 — Pro
- #6 GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros Mercedes-AMG — Anthony Bartone / Aurélien Panis / César Gazeau / Karol Basz: 2:17.851 — Silver
- #46 Team WRT BMW — Valentino Rossi / Daniel Harper / Max Hesse: 2:17.943 — Pro
- #998 ROWE Racing BMW — Ugo de Wilde / Tim Tramnitz / Jens Klingmann: 2:17.987 — Gold
- #63 TGI Team by GRT Lamborghini — Franck Perera / Maximilian Paul / Mirko Bortolotti: 2:18.047 — Pro
- #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi — Mark Kastelic / Ariel Levi / Sebastian Øgaard / Rocco Mazzola: 2:18.072 — Silver
- #4 Optimum Motorsport McLaren — Adam Smalley / Freddie Tomlinson / Harry George / Ruben Del Sarte: 2:18.139 — Gold
- #96 Rutronik Racing Lamborghini — Luca Engstler / Marco Mapelli / Patric Niederhauser: 2:18.238 — Pro
- #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari — Dustin Blattner / Ben Tuck / Mathys Jaubert / Dennis Marschall: 2:18.448 — Bronze
- #44 Greystone GT McLaren — Zac Meakin / Jayden Kelly / Tommy Pintos / Josh Rattican: 2:18.504 — Silver
- #52 AF Corse Ferrari — Francesco Braschi / Jeff Machiels / Matías Zagazeta / Gilles Stadsbader: 2:18.517 — Silver
- #20 Team Motopark Mercedes-AMG — Levente Révész / Christian Mansell / Yannick Mettler / Rui Andrade: 2:18.527 — Silver
- #45 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari — Rafael Duran / Dylan Medler / Alessandro Balzan / David Perel: 2:18.536 — Silver
- #23 Team RJN McLaren — Wyatt Brichacek / Horatio Fitz-Simon / Maxwell Lynn / Ben Dörr: 2:18.574 — Silver
Knockout Superpole decides the front of the 2026 CrowdStrike 24H of Spa grid
Superpole begins at 15:05 local time on Friday. All 32 entries will contest the opening 10-minute segment, after which the session will eliminate the slowest 16 cars and lock their grid positions.
The remaining 16 will enter a seven-minute session that removes another eight. A further seven-minute contest will reduce the field from eight to four before each finalist completes one flying lap around the seven-kilometre Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
AF Corse enters the session at the head of the final Qualifying classification, but the penalties have replaced the original all-Pro progression with a more varied field. Three additional Silver Cup crews now have an opportunity to fight for the leading grid positions, while GetSpeed, CSA Racing and Eastalent Racing must begin their recovery from much further back.
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