Porsche Win the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa | A 24-Hour Comeback Nobody Saw Coming

Porsche Takes Victory

The CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa delivered exactly what endurance racing promises.

Drama.

Strategy.

Survival.

And in the end, one of the most impressive comeback victories of the year.

After twenty-four hours around Spa-Francorchamps, Porsche and Lionspeed GP completed a remarkable charge to win the 2026 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa with the #80 Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by Ricardo Feller, Thomas Preining, and Bastian Buus. What makes the result even more impressive is where the race began.

The winning car didn’t start from pole.

It didn’t even start on the grid.

Following an engine change before the race, the #80 Porsche was forced to begin from pit lane—effectively turning the opening laps into damage limitation rather than victory planning. Twenty-four hours later, they stood on the top step.

Coming into the weekend, much of the attention surrounded Ferrari.

AF Corse had shown incredible pace through practice and qualifying, with the #51 Ferrari becoming one of the clear favorites after locking in Superpole performance and carrying serious speed into race day. Early portions of the race suggested Ferrari might control the event.

But Spa rarely rewards the fastest car.

24 Hours Of Spa Through Eau Rouge

It rewards execution.

As the race unfolded, the lead changed repeatedly through pit cycles, tire strategy,

traffic management, and changing race conditions. Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER emerged as one of the most consistent challengers while Ferrari remained firmly in the fight, but the #80 Porsche continued quietly climbing through the field.

By the final phase of the race, the impossible suddenly became realistic.

Lionspeed GP had positioned itself at the front and managed the closing hours with the kind of discipline that wins endurance classics. Mercedes-AMG ultimately finished second while AF Corse Ferrari completed the podium after recovering from setbacks during the race.

Overall Podium With Porsche

🥇 #80 Lionspeed GP — Porsche 911 GT3 R — Ricardo Feller / Thomas Preining / Bastian Buus🥈 #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER🥉 #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO

This victory also ended Porsche’s wait for another overall Spa win, marking the manufacturer’s first triumph in the event since 2020 and adding another chapter to one of endurance racing’s most prestigious races. A record crowd of approximately 132,000 spectators watched the event across the weekend.

First Sector Verdict

The CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa reminded everyone why GT3 racing continues to grow.

Ferrari had the speed.

Mercedes had consistency.

GT World Challenge at Spa

But Porsche had something endurance racing rewards above everything else—

execution.

Starting from pit lane and winning twenty-four hours later is the kind of story that only endurance racing seems capable of producing.