Aston Martin has achieved a remarkable overall victory in the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa, the world’s premier all-GT3 24-hour race, held at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, over the weekend of June 29-30. This victory, secured by Aston Martin partner team Comtoyou Racing, with works drivers Mattia Drudi (ITA), Marco Sørensen (DEN), and Nicki Thiim (DEN), marks the first win for the British ultra-luxury sports car brand since 1948.
This triumph is also the inaugural 24-hour win for the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and the first time the iconic Wings have outperformed major competitors in the Belgian endurance classic since it became an all-GT event in 2001.
For double FIA GT World Endurance champion Thiim and triple world champion Sørensen, affectionately known as the ‘Dane Train’, this victory is their first overall win in a 24-hour race as teammates in the same car, despite having three 24 Hours of Le Mans class wins between them.
Sørensen expressed his excitement: “This is a very special moment. To win already in the first year with the new Vantage GT3 is an amazing achievement. It’s a fantastic car, and we’ve had a good feeling about it all year. But to win an event like this takes more than good driving and good luck, and the team, and everyone back at Aston Martin Racing, as well as my teammates deserve credit for a victory I will remember forever.”
Thiim added: “It’s difficult to put into words what this means to me, and to Aston Martin. We have been trying to win this race for a long time, and to do it in this way is an incredible feeling. I think everyone knows how I feel about Aston Martin. We have had so many special memories together, and this win is up there with the best of them for me.”
For Drudi, a Fanatec GT World Europe champion, this was a chance to shine on one of endurance racing’s biggest stages, and he did, putting the #007 car in contention every time he took the wheel, including during the race’s opening hours, where he brought the team to the leading position before the first of multiple Safety Car periods.
Despite a challenging night of racing with torrential thunderstorms and multiple incidents that neutralized the event for several hours, Comtoyou Racing remained composed, keeping the car in contention even as pit stops during Safety Car periods caused significant swings in race positions. Each time, the team rebounded and raced back to the front, setting up a final hour showdown against a Ferrari, two BMWs, and the other Pro class #34 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of partner team Walkenhorst Motorsport, driven by Henrique Chaves (POR), Ross Gunn (GBR), and David Pittard (GBR).
In the final hour, the #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin trailed the Ferrari by 10 seconds when its rival pitted and was held up by a stranded car in the pit lane entry. This incident prevented the Ferrari from contending for the win, allowing Drudi to race to the finish line unopposed.
“To win with Nicki and Marco has been a fantastic experience,” said Drudi. “This is such a tough race, but I would say we had the perfect run, with no problems and very good execution. I am very proud of everyone in the team.”
Gunn brought the #34 Walkenhorst Vantage GT3 home in fourth place after a strong run that saw the team lead on several occasions. Walkenhorst Motorsport, a previous event winner, nearly clinched the Silver Cup class victory with the #35 Vantage GT3 driven by 2022 AMR Driver Academy graduate Romain Leroux (FRA) and 2024 candidates Lorcan Hanafin (GBR) and Maxime Robin (FRA). Unfortunately, the car was involved in an accident following a Safety Car period on Sunday morning while fighting for the class lead.
Of Comtoyou Racing’s four-car entry, which completed a record seven-car assault on the race by Aston Martin, the #007 was often the fastest car in the race. However, the team’s #21 Silver Cup car driven by Charles Clark (GBR), Sam Dejonghe (BEL), Matisse Lismont (BEL), and Xavier Maassen finished sixth after leading the class earlier in the race.
The new Vantage GT3, closely derived from the new Vantage road car unveiled earlier this year at Silverstone, is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminum chassis and powered by a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine. This victory adds to a string of wins in June, including the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the SUPER GT Series, the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, and the Road to Le Mans event.
Aston Martin’s previous best Spa 24 Hours finish of the GT3 era was in 2021, when Gunn, Sørensen, and Thiim secured a competitive third place overall, having been in the lead fight for much of the race. Before that, the best GT finish for an Aston Martin was also third, in 2008, with the Gigawave DBR9 GT1. Aston Martin last won the event in 1948, when it was run to different regulations, with a 2-Litre Sports DB1 driven by Britons St John Horsfall and Leslie Johnson.
