Alex Fontana narrowly missed out on the podium in the GT Open 500 at Spa. The Belgian track hosted the first of this season’s two endurance races, which also saw a record broken when the race reached its mileage limit before its time limit, evidence of the competitiveness of the series. After victory and 2nd place in the two races at Portimao, Alex Fontana arrived in Belgium heading the Pro-Am standings with 18 points. The Swiss driver, at the wheel of the #31 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) of the Car Collection Motorsport team, then succeeded in living up to expectations by finishing on the shoulder of the podium drivers.
There were two qualifying sessions, one for each driver in the crew. Alex Fontana recorded a time of 2:14.153 which, combined with that of his AF Academy teammate, put him on the starting grid in 5th place in the Pro-Am class. The Swiss driver took the wheel for the second and fourth stints of the race, demonstrating excellent pace, gaining several places in the standings and even climbing to the class lead before handing the car back to his teammate. Fontana made two superb passing moves, at the Brussels corner and on the inside of Eau Rouge/Raidillon, while often proving to be the fastest driver on track, including the Pro crews in the overall standings.
Due to their victory in Portugal, the Car Collection team had to serve an additional 15-second penalty in the pits during the third mandatory stop, which relegated Alex to 5th place in his class when he returned to the track for the final stint. The Swiss driver then finished 4th in the Pro/Am class, missing out on the podium just a few seconds which were accounted for by the handicap imposed by the regulations after that win in Portugal.
As this was an endurance event, 4th place brough Fontana 10 points and he now has 28 points in the drivers’ standings. The next round of the 2025 International GT Open is scheduled to take place at the Hockenheim circuit over the weekend of 6-8 June, while Alex will be busy at Vallelunga next weekend, competing the Italian Gran Turismo Sprint Championship.
Alex Fontana
“This was an extremely positive weekend for us. We were very close to finishing on the podium in our class and we scored important championship points. The pace was very good and this is an excellent sign for the upcoming races, especially given the progress made by my teammate. I would like to thank the entire Car Collection team for a wonderful weekend here at Spa and I can’t wait to be back in action at Hockenheim”.