The 24H Barcelona – Trofeo Fermín Vélez has left its opening hours behind with a race defined by pace, leadership changes and, above all, the first incidents that have started to force teams to rethink their strategies.
With roughly 18 and a half hours still to run, the #88 Up2Race Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO currently leads, driven at this stage by Fabio Grosse. Right behind, the #21 HAAS RT BMW M4 GT3 EVO stays firmly in the fight for the lead, while the #65 Viper Niza Racing and #11 HOFOR Racing complete the top group.
Getting this far has meant surviving a particularly busy opening stretch.
#93 takes early control
The 24H Barcelona, started with Ajith Redant Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO #93 grabbed the lead at the first corner. Starting from second, the car of Ajith Kumar, Kobe de Breucker, Ayrton Redant, Yannick Redant and Mikaël Grenier passed the pole-sitter, the GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO #28.
The #93 built a small early gap, but the Gamota Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO #500 quickly became its main challenger. That BMW made a strong start, jumping from fifth to third and closing rapidly on the front runners. It soon passed the #28 to take second and spent several minutes right on the leader’s tail.
The #28 stayed close behind the BMW, and the Up2Race Porsche #88 also kept itself in that lead pack. For the first hour those four cars ran clear of the rest of the field and produced one of the race’s first real battles. Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya confirmed the #93 as leader after that opening hour, with the #500 second and the #28 third.
First Code 60 reshuffles the order
Things began to change shortly afterwards. The first Code 60 of the race arrived around an hour after the start, caused by an overheating problem on the car that had taken TCE/TCX pole.
The neutralisation let several teams adjust their plans. The Gamota Racing #500 had already pitted before the Code 60 began, while other frontrunners used the slower track speed to make their stops. The Up2Race #88 was one of the big winners. During the Code 60 the Porsche pitted and jumped ahead of the #28 into second place.
The race was already moving away from the picture left by the start.
#81 ends up in the gravel – Code 60 returns
One of the first significant incidents involved the Era Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO #81. The Ferrari went into the gravel, triggering another Code 60 while marshals worked to remove the car.
Gamota Racing used the opportunity for another stop and, despite having lost ground earlier, the #500 briefly regained the lead. Once again, though, the biggest beneficiary was the #88. Up2Race stayed out while many of its rivals pitted, allowing the Porsche to move into first place.
From that point the race turned into a strategic battle between the different GT3s.
Trouble for the #500 BMW
The Gamota Racing BMW had been one of the stars of the early stages, but its race started to unravel. Running second, the #500 returned to the pits and problems appeared that left it unable to match the leaders’ pace. The BMW later received two 10-second penalties for failing to respect the refuelling regulations. Even so, the car is still running and sits inside the top ten after the opening hours.
Driver changes and recoveries
As strategy took centre stage, the first major driver changes also arrived. The Ajith Redant Racing #93 made one of its stops with the entry of Kollywood actor Ajith Kumar, one of the team’s drivers.
Meanwhile the HOFOR Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO #11 staged a steady climb into podium positions after several solid stints. The team even held the lead for a spell, showing that the advantage built in the first hours would not necessarily stick.
Another key player was the GetSpeed Team JR286 #286, currently leading the championship. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO inherited the lead after a stop by the #88 and ran at the front for several laps.
Leadership keeps changing
The race has continued to throw up constant changes at the front. According to the leader history, eight different cars have held first place in the opening hours:
- #93 Ajith Redant Racing: 50 laps in the lead
- #88 Up2Race: 41 laps
- #500 Gamota Racing: 19 laps
- #21 HAAS RT: 15 laps
- #286 GetSpeed Team JR286: 15 laps
- #65 Viper Niza Racing: 10 laps
- #18 Saintéloc Junior Team: 7 laps
- #11 HOFOR Racing: 4 laps
That spread sums up the race so far: no clear dominant force has emerged.
#21 takes over for a spell
After roughly six hours on this 24H Barcelona, the HAAS RT #21 held the lead for a long stretch. The BMW M4 GT3 EVO stayed out front between laps 145 and 159 before the Porsche #88 took the top spot back.
At the moment the #88 is back in front after completing 161 laps, with the #21 still very close. The Porsche also has one fewer stop than some of its rivals, so pit strategy will matter a great deal in the coming hours.
Behind them sit the #65 Viper Niza Racing and the #11 HOFOR Racing. The championship-leading #286 currently runs sixth, with the E2P Racing #90 seventh. The Saintéloc Junior Team #18 is eighth and the Gamota Racing #500 ninth.
Four Code 60 periods and nearly 50 minutes under neutralisation
The race has seen four Code 60 periods so far, adding up to 49 minutes and 16 seconds of neutralisation. There has been no Safety Car.
The latest Code 60 began just before 16:45 after an incident near Turn 7 and ended around 17:02. Stewards have also investigated several incidents in recent hours, including contacts between #124 and #907, #90 and #286, and #701 and #93. The #909 received a 10-second penalty for not respecting Code 60 regulations.
Still wide open
With 18 and a half hours left, for this excitment 24H Barcelona any snapshot of the classification can change quickly. The #88 holds the lead right now, but the #21 is right in the fight for first and the #65 and #11 remain close to the front group. Cars such as the #286, #18 and #500 are still inside the top ten and could force their way back into the podium battle as the race wears on.
The opening hours have already shown that in a 24-hour race pure pace is only part of the story. Reliability, strategy, traffic, Code 60s, fuel consumption and driver management will all play major roles in the hours ahead.
More than 18 hours remain to find out who will be leading the 24 Hours of Barcelona when Sunday arrives.
Here we let you the race start of the 24H Barcelona!
Remember you can follow the race on their free YouTube Stream!
See a few more post from EnduVision!
https://enduvision.com/how-allard-tried-to-challenge-peugeot-and-jaguar/