Giancarlo Fisichella has been driving a textbook race so far to pull out a lead of over 14 seconds at the front of the race after one hour of the 2017 24 Hours of Spa.
There was chaos narrowly avoided when the #84 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 got on to the grass as the field headed down to the start for the first time, thankfully all cars managed to make though.
A slide from the #63 GRT Grasser Team Racing Lamborghini after Eau Rouge and in to Raidillon had the potential to kick off a heavy crash.
There was a spin at La Source for the #48 Mann-Filter HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG which could have turned nasty as Kenneth Heyer reversed across the circuit.
The #12 Ombra Racing Ferrari and the #27 Orange 1 Team Lazarus got together heading in to Les Combes with the #12 car ending up facing the wrong direction on the runoff area.
An intense battle between the #50 AF Corse Ferrari and the #17 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS came to a head when they collided. The #17 car received a driving standards flag while the #50 headed to the pits with issues.
There was early problems for the #22 Motul Team RJN Motorsport car as it stopped on circuit, thankfully the car was able to get back to the pits and rejoin the action 8 laps down. The #77 Barwell Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 also had early gearbox issues which left them with laps to make up.
In the ProAM class the #97 Oman Racing Team with TF Sport Aston Martin V12 GT3 continued to mix it with the front runners, enjoying a clear buffer between them and the second placed in class car of #912 Herberth Motorsport’s 991 GT3R and the #42 Strakka Racing McLaren 650S GT3.
2017 Total 24 Hours of Spa standings after 1 hour
PRO Cup
1 – #55 – Giancarlo Fisichella, Marco Cioci, James Calado – Kaspersky Motorsport – Ferrari 488 GT3
2 – #84 – Jimmy Eriksson, Maximilian Buhk, Franck Perera – Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport – Mercedes-AMG GT3
3 – #99 – Philipp Eng, Maxime Martin, Alexander Sims – Rowe Racing – BMW M6 GT3
PRO AM Cup
1 – #97 – Ahmad Al Harthy, Salih Yoluc, Jonny Adam, Euan Hankey – Oman Racing Team with TF Sport – Aston Martin V12 GT3
2 – #912 – Daniel Allemann, Ralf Bohn, Sven Müller, Mathieu Jaminet – Herberth Motorsport – Porsche 991 GT3 R
3 – #42 – Craig Fleming, Nick Leventis, Lewis Williamson, Oliver Webb – Strakka Racing – McLaren 650 S GT3
AM Cup
1 – #888 – Marco Zanuttini, Jacques Duyver, David Perel, Niki Cadei – Kessel Racing – Ferrari 488 GT3
2- #26 – Christian Kelders, Marc Rostan, Fred Bouvy – Sainteloc Racing – Audi R8 LMS
3 – #488 – Pierre Ehret, Rino Mastronardi, Patrick Van Glabeke, Gabriele Lancieri – Rinaldi Racing – Ferrari 488 GT3
Group Nat
1 – #991 – Pierre Yves Paque, Gregory Paisse, Thierry de Latre du Bosqueau, Louis-Philippe Soenen – SpeedLover – Porsche 991 Cup
2 – #56 – Howard Blank, Yannick Mallegol, Fabrice Notari, Frank Mechaly – RMS – Porsche 991 Cup