Alex Fontana’s fifth Spa 24 Hours was a particularly insidious race. The Swiss driver’s 31st place with a total of 527 laps completed with his teammates Ricardo Feller and Rolf Ineichen, hardly does justice to the potential expressed from the start of the most prestigious weekend in the GT World Challenge Europe calendar. At the wheel of the Emil Frey Racing team’s Lamborghini Huracàn GT3 Evo, Fontana nonetheless claimed precious points for the Silver Cup trophy, thanks to a 2nd place at the sixth hour intermediate point.
The 2021 edition of the classic Belgian marathon, the world’s most important race for GT3 cars, was characterised by a lengthy safety car phase early on and variable weather conditions, with periods of torrential rain. A few unexpected incidents, such as the one with a wheel nut during a pit stop after a contact, and a few drive-throughs compromised the Fontana/Feller/Ineichen trio’s hunt for a prestigious result after the excellent 8th fastest time recorded in Super Pole, the special qualifying session for the 20 fastest cars, which also corresponded to the Silver Cup pole.
In the final stages, a contact between Feller and another car prevented the crew from taking the chequered, but the Emil Frey Racing team has nonetheless retained the leadership in the Endurance Silver Cup standings with 60 points.
The 2021 season of the GT World Challenge Europe will restart after a month’s break for the weekend of 28-29 August at the historic Brands Hatch circuit, the setting for the next round of the Sprint Cup.
Alex Fontana
“We finished this Spa 24 Hours a long way from the objectives we had set ourselves on the strength of the success we have enjoyed so far this season, but we know that this is always an unpredictable race, full of obstacles to be overcome. Despite the difficulties we encountered, we gave our utmost and did not go away empty handed as we did gain points that will help us challenge for the Silver Cup titles. What is particularly encouraging is that through to the first contact, and without the other problems which are however part and parcel of a 24 hour race, we were firmly in the fight for an overall top-10 placing. I’d also like to send a hug to our teammate Jack Aitken and the other drivers involved in Saturday’s accident: we’re hoping to see him in action again soon.”