Great effort by Walkenhorst Motorsport in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa goes unrewarded

Anders Buchardt, Thomas Neubauer, James Kell and Bailey Voisin had the prospect of the top 5 in the Bronze Cup after around 20 hours when a technical defect led to the retirement of the #35.

Spa. The 75th edition of the world-renowned CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa is behind Walkenhorst Motorsport. Anders Buchardt, Thomas Neubauer, James Kell and Bailey Voisin went into the event highly motivated, and with a starting field of 71 vehicles in five categories, it created high excitement among the fans. The quartet had set itself the goal of competing for a top position in the Bronze Cup. But the world’s biggest GT3 race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps should be merciless again this year.

In qualifying, the Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 qualified for 48th position. The race started at 4:30 p.m. sharp. However, the first laps were spent behind the safety car due to the wet track. The initial phase went very well for the team and after an hour nine positions had already been made up. Anders Buchardt, Thomas Neubauer, James Kell and Bailey Voisin started the night with corresponding motivation. Up until the early morning hours, the #35 steadily moved up to a place between the seventh and tenth in its class and showed so consistently that a top five placement seemed possible with flawless performance and a good strategy. The race to catch up was at its peak when a technical defect led to the early end of the team’s race after around 20 hours.

At that point, the #35 was in sixth place in the Bronze Cup and had completed 431 laps with ease.

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Jörg Breuer: “Of course we are all very disappointed. We had a tough and strenuous week, which was also successful until the failure. The car ran without any problems up until the technical defect, and the driver and team put in a flawless performance. It’s all the more disappointing when you drop out so close to the end of the race. Nevertheless, we are highly motivated for the remaining races. This weekend we’re going to start at the NLS 5. Then we hope to be able to build on our success again with our Pro vehicles.”

James Kell: “Unfortunately, Spa didn’t go as well this year. Throughout the race we struggled with the balance of the car which affected our overall speed but we stuck to our plan of no penalties and no mistakes. With four hours to go we were still fighting for a podium finish. Unfortunately, the car had a technical defect and we had to park it early. The team did a great job once again and was on the ball all week! It’s a shame we didn’t make it to the end, but it was a great team effort from everyone!”

Bailey Voisin: “My first 24-hour race was definitely unforgettable. It was such a shame that the car had to retire after 20 hours of driving, but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Everyone at Walkenhorst has been perfect all week and I can’t thank them enough for their dedication, hard work and for welcoming me to the team. I hope we have the opportunity to try again sometime in the future!”