Successful dress rehearsal for SPS automotive performance in Spa-Francorchamps

Willsbach – SPS automotive performance and drivers Valentin Pierburg (GER) and Nick Foster (AUS) reached second place in the PROAM standings in both International GT Open races on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. This represented a successful dress rehearsal for the team from Willsbach ahead of the 24-hour race in Spa, which will take place at the same location next weekend.

Valentin Pierburg started the first 70-minute race from eleventh place overall. Pierburg held on to this position after the start, steering clear of on-track scraps to gather as much driving time on this circuit as possible ahead of the 24-hour race in Spa next weekend. He handed over the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 to his team-mate Nick Foster in eleventh place. A perfectly timed pit stop and very quick lap times saw Foster move up to eighth place by the end of the pit stop window. Foster continued to gain ground on his competitors in the PROAM class, battling up to sixth place in the overall standings on the final lap, which equated to second in the PROAM category.

Foster started the second 60-minute race from pole position in the PROAM class (P4 overall), but had to surrender the lead at the start. Foster stayed in touch with the leader in his class throughout his stint before handing the car back to Valentin Pierburg at the pit stop. The field had drifted apart after the pit stop but Pierburg still attempted to stay close to the leader. However, traffic on the track combined with the onset of light rainfall in some sections of the track convinced Pierburg to play it safe. He drove the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 to sixth place overall, which again equated to second in the PROAM standings. This result was a special success for Nick Foster in particular. The Australian driver has recorded a class podium finish in each of the four races in which he has competed for SPS automotive performance in 2020, in all series.

Preparations for the TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa are now in full swing for SPS automotive performance, as the first practice sessions will take place on Thursday.

Stephan Sohn, team principal SPS automotive performance: “Of course, we are very happy with the two podiums in our class. Our primary objective was to do some testing under race conditions here in Spa-Francorchamps and get in as much time on the track as possible. The drivers and the whole team did a very good job. Now we are looking forward to next weekend. Naturally, we are hoping to record a similarly good result at the 24-hour race.”