With its long straights and combination of tight and sweeping corners as well as constant elevation changes, the legendary Belgian circuit allowed the two Lexus RC F LMGT3s to show their full potential.
Akkodis ASP Team set the pace from the first free practice session, with Finn Gehrsitz recording the fastest time in LMGT3 in the #78 car, which he shares for this event with Yuichi Nakayama and Arnold Robin. In the sister car (#87), José María López set the third fastest time, joined by his teammates Clemens Schmid and Petru Umbrarescu.
Despite three red flags and a stop-start session, second practice saw Clemens Schmid (#87) finish second, while #78 was eighth. In the final free practice session, both Lexus cars were in the top five, with #87 third and #78 fifth.
Qualifying: #78 takes pole position!
At the start of qualifying, the weather was fine, as it had been since the start of the weekend. Under sunny skies and with an ambient temperature of 16°C, conditions were ideal for the Bronze drivers. The laps became progressively more precise and faster as the laps racked up. At the wheel of the #87 car, Petru Umbrarescu moved into the top three (P3), while Arnold Robin (#78) set the fifth fastest time. The two Akkodis ASP Team cars therefore reached Hyperpole for the third consecutive event.
The battle between the Silver drivers for pole position is tight, but it is Finn Gehrsitz (#78), the young German driver and rookie, who completes the perfect lap. Akkodis ASP Team takes its first pole position in the championship. Unfortunately, the #87 car driven by Clemens Schmid has to settle for 10th place, hampered by steering problems.
Race: the hunt for points.
The 6 Hours of Spa got underway in perfect conditions, both in terms of the weather and the track. Nearly 99,000 spectators gathered to witness this epic endurance race.
After two formation laps, the lights went green and the pack took off. Starting from pole, Arnold Robin (#78) retained the lead, with Petru Umbrarescu (#87) in P9. The pace quickly picked up and the first few laps saw the order begin to take shape.
For Arnold Robin (#78), the goal was to stay in the lead while also extending his gap over the chasing pack as far as possible. After 45 minutes, the Le Mans native had built up a nine-second advantage. Petru Umbrarescu in the #87 car was not far behind after the Romanian driver moved up the rankings to sit in P6.
A few minutes later, the first Full Course Yellow (FCY) interrupts the smooth running of the race. The two Akkodis ASP Team drivers take advantage of this with a double pit stop to refuel. Depending on the strategy chosen by each team, the order changes with every lap and the momentum shifts. After just over an hour on the track, Arnold Robin is P5.
Unfortunately, events took a turn for the worse for the #87 Lexus. Petru Umbrarescu was forced to stop at the side of the track, unable to restart. That meant the end of a race weekend which had featured some very strong performances, with all three drivers setting impressive lap times.
Another FCY followed by a Virtual Safety Car and then a Safety Car disrupted the progress of the #78. Arnold Robin continued his fight back with consistency and determination, closing in on the leading cars at the end of two hours of racing and moving up to P3.
The Frenchman then handed over to pole-sitter Finn Gehrsitz, who returned to the track in P4. At the three-hour mark, an accident caused another safety car and broke the rhythm at the front of the field. The neutralisation drags on for more than 25 minutes. In the meantime, Finn returns to the pits but is handed a drive-through penalty for failing to observe pit lane signals. The German driver also had a close call while serving his penalty due to a stationary car at the entrance to the pit lane, grazing the wall but avoiding contact. In terms of the race standings, it was back to square one.
Finn kept up his efforts and regained several positions (P7) before handing the #78 Lexus over to his teammate, Yuichi Nakayama. Replacing Ben Barnicoat, who was still recovering from his quad bike accident, the Japanese driver was fully focused and worked hard in the final part of the race to close the gap to the podium. Another safety car was deployed, and with just over an hour to go, he was in P3.
The final hour promised to be intense. Yuichi made no mistakes and maintained an excellent pace. With 40 minutes to go, Finn Gehrsitz returned to the cockpit and with 20 minutes to go, he was in P10. A final brief FCY interrupted the battle, but at the restart, Finn gained a position. During the last quarter of an hour, the positions remained unchanged, and he finally crossed the line in P8.
At the end of an eventful race, Akkodis ASP Team, Arnold Robin and Finn Gehrsitz are provisionally third in the teams’ and drivers' championships, just six points behind the leaders. The sister car and its crew, José Maria Lopez, Clemens Schmid and Petru Umbrarescu, are twelfth.
Now there is just over a month until the highlight of the FIA World Endurance Championship season, the legendary, formidable and coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans.