![2025 FIA WEC 6 Hours of Spa: Race Report and Ramblings [w/video]](https://i0.wp.com/doubleapex.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-FIA-WEC-6-Hours-of-Spa-opening-lap.webp?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "2025 FIA WEC 6 Hours of Spa: Race Report and Ramblings [w/video]")
This 2025 FIA WEC 6 Hours of Spa race report was compiled by regular endurance-racing correspondent and motorsport fundi, Dr Nick van der Meulen.
The third round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship at Spa Franchorchamps was an eventful affair. As a result fans were left wondering who would take the chequered flag first. The two safety car incidents compromised some teams, with some teams changing strategy in the hope they would have enough fuel to the end.
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Dominant Ferraris
As they did last season, #50 (Molina/Fuoco/Nielsen) took pole position, heading a Ferrari 1-2-3 on the starting grid. AF Corse #83 (Kubica/Hanson/Ye) lost second position to #51 (Pier Guidi/Gallado/Giovinazzi) on lap 2, but held on gamely until they suffered a turbo failure.
They returned to the track 34 laps down and kept circulating to score points for the independent teams cup championship. They did this because of rivals #99 Porsche’s retirement from the race. #50 seemed to have the race well in hand, but the introduction of two safety car periods compromised their chances.
Pier Guidi thrashed his #51 machine to take the lead and eke out a gap over his rivals. He did not have enough energy to make it to the finish and stopped late to take on charge/fuel, still holding the lead when rejoining. He led the #50 sister car for the team to take another 1-2 finish. It is the first time a car/team won back-to-back races since the #7 Toyota did so in 2023. Kudos to Niklas Nielsen, who coaxed his #50 machine to second place without having to stop for fuel – despite the best intentions of Mick Schumacher (Alpine #36).
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Alpine on a Charge
The results imply that Ferrari dominated the race, but they were challenged by Alpine #36. The Gounon/Makowiecki/Schumacher machine from the French marque led the race for quite some time. The team were pleased with their second consecutive podium finish. Teammates #35 (Chatin/Habsburg/Milesi) had to pit in the last 30 minutes of the race from fourth position and took the chequered flag in eighth.
Struggling for Pace
The Toyota Hypercars struggled for pace at Spa. Both qualified poorly and used race strategy to get into a points-paying position. Toyota #7 (Kobayashi/Conway/Devries) ran in fourth position for the second half of the race but had to pit in the dying moments of the race, plummeting them down the order to seventh position. Toyota #8 (Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa) stopped out of sequence with about two hours remaining. This paid dividends for them and they finished a fine fourth.
JOTA Cadillac were feisty at Spa and this resulted in their best finish of the season. #38 (Bamber/Button/Bourdais) received a penalty early on, tagging Penske Porsche #5 (Andlauer/Christensen/Jaminet) into a spin, but fought back to finish sixth. Sister car #12 (Stevens/Lynn/Nato) ran strongly in the race and was in second place in the closing stages of the race. Their late pitstop relegated them to fifth position, which is where they finished.
Other Challengers
Penske Porsche #6 (Estre/L. Vanthoor/Campbell) finished ninth ahead of WRT BMW #15 (D. Vanthoor/Marciello/Magnussen), after teammates #20 (Rast/van der Linde/Frijns) was forced into the pit garage with brake issues. Aston Martin #007 (Ticknell/Gamble/Gunn) impressed in the race, running as high as fourth after four hours and tenth in the closing stages. Their late pitstop dropped them out of the points.
GT3LM Class
AF Corse Ferrari #21 (Heriau/Mann/Rovera) dominated the GT3LM class, particularly in the second half of the race, winning at a canter. Proton Ford #88 finished a fine second, claiming their maiden podium finish, beating AF Corse #54 (Flohr/Rigon/Castellacci) despite intense pressure from Rigon in the closing stages. Proton Ford #77 (Sousa/Tuck/Barker) finished fourth, close behind the two cars in front of them. #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin (James/Robichon/Drudi) ran strongly in the race and finished fifth.
Early Exit
Both United Autosport McLarens, #59 and #95, were involved in accidents which resulted in the safety car being deployed. #59 had a particularly vicious contact with the barrier (driver walked away unscathed), resulting in its immediate retirement from the race. #95, on the other hand, managed to rejoin the race.
Points Scored
The top ten finishers in each class score points. There are three points-scoring allocation forms, with different allocations for 6-hour, 8-10-hour and 24-hour events, respectively. In the Hypercar class, Pier Guidi/Giovinazzi/Calado lead the championship with 75 points, ahead of Molina/Fuoco/Nielsen with 57 and Kubica/Ye/Hanson with 39 points, respectively. Rast/Frijns/Sheldon van der Linde lie fourth in the world championship standings (27 points).
Keating/Edgar/Juncadella lead the KMGT3 class with 44 points, ahead of Rovera/Heriau/Mann (40 points), while Robin/Gehrsitz lie third on 33 points. Kelvin van der Linde/Al Harthy/Rossi lie sixth in the standings with 27 points.
The Crown Jewel
The fourth round of the World Endurance Championship takes place in France, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 14 June. This event is the jewel in the WEC crown and tickets for the race have been sold out for months. There are no fewer than 300 000 spectators expected to turn up – this fan wishes he could be there!