The 24 hours of Spa is one of the biggest races of the year for any racer – in both real life and esports. The grandeur of this event is not solely down to the length of the race but the brutal nature of the track, ever changeable conditions, and how small mistakes can have big consequences. Not only that, but this was many of the competitors first 24 hour Assetto Corsa Competizione race with The Sim Grid adding to the already mounting pressure as we near the championships final round in Kyalami.
From the outset, it was clear that all teams were not only after the best result for their respective championships but above all, bragging rights to show they are the top drivers at the crown jewel of events in The Sim Grid World Cup series. The intensely competitive nature of the drivers gave us all exceptional racing from the front of the grid to the back for the full 24 hours with shock results and uncharacteristic mistakes playing homage to the volatility of such an event. This volatility was further highlighted in the final results, with seven different constructors making up the top ten throughout the race – without one Porsche in sight.
The Podium
Taking home the victory of The Sim Grid 24 hours of Spa after 603 laps was the #1 GTWR Simulator Giantruck Audi, winning by just under an entire lap. After taking the lead from the #2 YAS HEAT Ferrari and #211 JLO Team Mercedes, not once did their lead look to be threatened. The team drove a brilliant race, leading for nineteen hours out of the twenty-four, amounting to a total of 465 laps in the leading position and taking the fastest lap of a 02:17.163. No matter what the weather could throw at them, they never seemed to buckle. In the end, they had a relatively lonely race as far as endurance racing goes, whilst behind them, the battle for the remaining podium positions went right down to the last hour.
Taking the second podium place was the #49 Audi from the Pro RennWelten team who rose from ninth on the grid. Once again, they drove an inspiring race, gaining the majority of their positions as the timer ticked down to take second place from the #2 YAS HEAT Ferrari inside the final hour after solid strategy to climb their way up the top ten.
Rounding out the podium at mighty Spa-Francorchamps Circuit was the #2 YAS HEAT Ferrari. They also drove a very solid race, above all keeping their nose clean despite the treacherous conditions in the first third of the race. They spent the majority of the race in second place, only losing it at the end to the fast charging Pro RennWelten Audi. At one point early in the race, they were challenging the #211 JLO Team Mercedes for the lead. However, it was a great result for them, bringing them another good handful of points after two retirements in the last three races.
The story of the Pro Series
Prior to the 24 Hours of Spa, the team standings looked as such;
- Like And Subscribe Team #56 – 84 pts
- GTWR Simulator Giantruck #1 – 72pts
- Racing Line Motorsport #192 – 64pts
- RevolutionSimRacing Blue #44 – 60pts
- Coach Dave Academy #888 – 59pts
Whilst it was never in doubt that the ferocity of this event would shake up the results of the series, nobody expected such a shake-up to occur amongst our title-contending teams. The leading team of the series; Like And Subscribe Team #56 saw a shock result with disconnect issues plaguing their race which started so well, taking them out of the fight for the championship lead.
The most dominant car of the race by far was the GTWR Simulator Giantruck #1, storming through the field from a starting position of tenth to gain the lead five hours into the race and held it all the way to the end.
Racing Line Motorsport #192 wasn’t as lucky, with a great start of the race bringing them to third in hour three before an unfortunate crash at Raidillon led them to drop down the grid. They began to make some progress again but through the night they were hindered with more bad luck and incidents as they finally took the flag in thirteenth.
RevolutionSimRacing Blue #44 were another team hit with bad luck after a disappointing qualifying and a race that just never swung in their favour. A large number of racing issues and in the end technical issues climaxed in a disconnect that finally ended their race.
The home side, Coach Dave Academy #888, had a number of incidents come their way with disconnects, crashes, and car issues all through the race. They pushed hard to gain back places but as any progress made more back luck came their way.
With this all said and done, it was the GTWR Simulator Giantruck #1 who took home maximum points, giving them a commanding lead over the Like And Subscribe Team #56, going into the final round of the championship. The final places of the Pro championship are all up for grabs with only ten points between them, so all is still to play for.
Can GTWR Simulator Giantruck #1 continue their dominant pace in the Spa 24 round and take three wins for the season or will we see some of the shock finishers use their motivation to bring the challenge right down to the wire?
The latest standings after the Spa 24 Hours can be found here.
The story of the Silver Series
Prior to the 24 Hours of Spa, the team standings looked as such;
- KEK SimRacing #995
- SRJ Motorsport #125
- RevolutionSimRacing Red #76
- Connection Lost Racing #404
- USB Drivers 3.0 #17
In the Silver Class, this race was one of great importance for the top of the championship.
After two podiums in the last three races, the #995 KEK Sim Racing #2 Aston Martin was looking to further extend its lead at the top from the Suzuka-winning SRJ Motorsport, and it was looking to be its day, leading the class inside the top ten overall for the vast majority of the first ten hours. However, after getting a drive-through penalty and losing its class lead to the SRJ Motorsport Aston Martin, it was involved in a massive accident at the beginning of the Kemmel Straight with a stricken backmarker, ruining its hopes of a class victory.
With some teams struggling to find form at Spa, the SRJ Motorsport team put on a great race, following the dominance of the #995 team from last time out at Bathurst and eventually coming home in sixth overall and tantalizingly close to fifth. As for the #995 Aston Martin, it came back through the field heroically to hold onto third place in class by just one-hundredth of a second to hold off the #72 Virtual Drivers and co Aston Martin.
In the standings, this gives the advantage to SRJ Motorsport going into the final round at Kyalami, but only by three points. It’s also worth mentioning the #404 Connection Lost Racing team who are only nineteen points behind the leader after back-to-back podiums.
Between the Silver and Pro classes, all the teams completed a total of 25,545 laps, meaning the total mileage from The Sim Grid 24 hours of Spa was enough to take you around planet Earth over four times!
The most up to date championship standings can also be found on The Sim Grid website.
The Stars of the show
The FFS Nissan GTR #123 was the one and only Nissan to enter this lengthy race, with the unfavorable pace of the car compared to the German manufacturing giants, the team has put in a remarkable performance. The weekend started great for them with qualifying in the rain playing to the Nissans advantages and landing them a fifth start for the race. The pace however, did not slip away in the dry with a great start, peaking at third in the third hour overtaking the Racing Line Motorsport Bentley #194 for third with a great move at the end of the Kemmel straight into Les Combes. From there on out the FFS Team Nissan GTR #123 began to drop and settled in a final position of ninth. The amazing qualifying and fight for the podium and consistent top ten paces put everyone’s eyes on the FFS Nissan #123 showing the Japanese monster can keep up with the regular pacesetters.
The Racing Line Motorsport Bentley #194 was another one of the unexpected challengers, who showed exceptional consistency throughout the race. They were another of the teams with a car that suited the wet qualifying giving them a great starting position. From start to finish the Racing Line Motorsport Bentley #194 showed us all consistency counts above all – never falling below P7 throughout the whole race. The 5th place result in the end proving how strong a team they are and that outright pace is only one part of the endurance racing puzzle.
Meanwhile, a little further down the field, the #888 Coach Dave Academy Ferrari has also had a strong showing, despite finishing outside the top twenty. Almost as soon as the race began, they suffered from a disconnect, taking them out of position after qualifying in seventh and dropping them to outside of the top forty. However, as the race wore on they surged back through the pack despite multiple unlucky incidents hurting their progress. Although the result wasn’t what they were looking for, it was a race they should certainly be proud of.
The Jenson Team Rocket RJN #23 was one of the wildcard teams in the race representing the world-renowned F1 World Champions Jenson Buttons new real-life GT3 racing outfit. Despite great expectations, the team has definitely surpassed them and made an impact on the series. Starting in 23rd, the team began to climb a mountain and within the first 6 hours they clawed their way all the way to the top ten. With this said the top ten was not secure by any means they fought hard dropping and gaining positions as the race continued on. However, the #23 team came through, in the end, to keep their hard-fought position and finish tenth.
What to look for in the next race
After yet another gripping race in The Sim Grid World Cup by Thrustmaster, the championship door has been left wide open in both the Silver and Pro classes, as the teams prepare for the finale in Kyalami on the 28th of November. The racing is guaranteed to be as good as this round at Spa, but next time with even more or the line.
Make sure to join us live on The Sim Grid YouTube channel and to check out our sponsors for this event, Thrustmaster and Trackwerks for all the best sim racing gear.
Co-written by George Brabner and Grant Campbell.
