At the second event of the International GT Open in Spa-Francorchamps, SPS automotive performance remained without points this time. Reece Barr (IRL) and Mikaeel Pitamber (RSA) in the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 fell out of the leading group due to an unforced incident in the early stages. The sister car #54 under the entry CBRX by SPS with Dexter Müller and Yannick Mettler (both SUI) were also unable to join the fight for the points after an early puncture.
For the International GT Open endurance race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the duo of Reece Barr and Mikaeel Pitamber initially secured a good starting position. With the combined lap time from both qualifying sessions, the team in the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 clinched fifth position on the grid. Pitamber made up ground in the overall standings as the starting driver right from the start and was clearly on course for the podium at this stage. Towards the end of his stint, he had an unforced contact with a competitor in the Stavelot section. As a result of this incident, Pitamber was spun off the track, got stuck in the gravel and dropped to the back of the 51-car grid. Pitamber was able to resume the race with a gap of several laps, but all hopes for a good result were far away. With excellent driving performances, Barr and Pitamber fought their way back into the midfield over the distance. After the race distance of 2 hours and 20 minutes, the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 crossed the finish line in 26th position overall. Unfortunately, this left the Irish-South African driver duo without any countable result despite a strong performance.
The sister car with the starting number 54 was also unlucky this weekend. Dexter Müller started the race from ninth position in the PROAM. In the turbulent first laps, Müller suffered a puncture after a slight contact and made an unscheduled pit stop early on. As a result of this stop, the #54 also had to accept a lap deficit. For their part, Müller and Mettler started a race to catch up from the back of the field. Fast lap times and an almost faultless drive also brought the #54 Mercedes-AMG GT3 back into the midfield. Yannick Mettler as the final driver was flagged off in 25th position overall, but was also outside the points in the PROAM class with twelfth place.
Already next month, from 16 to 18 June, SPS automotive performance will have the opportunity to score important championship points again at the third event of the International GT Open at the Hungaroring.
Stephan Sohn, team principal SPS automotive performance: “Of course we are disappointed with the result. We have set ourselves a lot of goals here in Spa. In terms of performance, a podium finish would definitely have been possible. The whole team and our drivers showed a strong performance, but unfortunately, we didn’t have the necessary luck this weekend. Now it’s up to us to attack again in Hungary.”
