Eastalent Racing Goes Unrewarded at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa

Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium – The CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa (26 to 28 June) once again lived up to its reputation as the biggest and toughest GT3 race in the world. With midsummer temperatures of up to 44 degrees Celsius in the paddock, the highlight of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS season placed extreme demands on both people and machinery. Right in the middle of it all: Eastalent Racing, with team principal Peter Reicher and drivers Christopher Haase, Simon Reicher and Markus Winkelhock.

“It had always been a great wish of mine to compete in the 24 Hours of Spa one day,” says team principal Peter Reicher.

Qualifying already turned into a bitter disappointment. The combined classification of the fastest laps set by all three drivers proved costly for Eastalent Racing. During the post-session technical inspection, it was found that the data logger had not recorded any qualifying data. As a consequence, all lap times were deleted, and the team had to start the race from 63rd on the grid.

“Qualifying hurt especially badly. That is where our difficulties began,” Peter Reicher recalls. “But we would not be ourselves if we did not fight. After six hours of racing, our Eastalent Audi R8 LMS evo II was even leading the race. The 24 Hours of Spa does not have its reputation for nothing. If it is economically feasible, we will be back next year.”

Team manager Tamiris Lustosa describes the organizational effort behind the major event: “It was an incredibly intense weekend. Although we had already prepared a great deal in advance, there were countless things to organize. The level of this event is extremely high. On top of that came the exceptional temperatures, which made everything even more demanding.”

For Simon Reicher, too, the weekend was an emotional rollercoaster: “The 24 Hours of Spa are not considered the biggest and toughest GT3 race in the world for nothing. You have to raise your risk management to another level, and in the race every lap is like qualifying. At the beginning of the weekend, we were still struggling, but for the race we had a perfect car. After six hours, we were even in the lead. Time and again, we had to cope with setbacks and fight our way back to the front. Unfortunately, I was hit during the race, and Markus had his accident during the night. Thankfully, nothing happened to him, but for us it meant retirement. Despite everything, I had an incredible amount of fun over the weekend, and I am already looking forward to the next 24 Hours of Spa.”

Markus Winkelhock sums up the weekend in a similar way: “A rollercoaster of emotions probably describes it best. After initial problems, we had a fantastic car in the race. The data logger failure in qualifying and having to start from the back of the field was the first setback. After that, we came into the pits one lap too early; immediately afterwards, Full Course Yellow was called. As a result, we lost around 15 positions that we had previously worked hard to gain. Later, we received two ten-second penalties for speeding under Full Course Yellow. Shortly before my accident, we had the fastest car on track. While overtaking a slower car, I underestimated how hard it was braking. When I lifted off the throttle, I lost the rear and crashed. I am incredibly sorry for the entire team and the mechanics, who had given us a great car. In the end, we simply lacked that little bit of luck.”

Christopher Haase also sees many positives despite the retirement: “It was a typical, wild Spa weekend. I have experienced races like this before. However, you have to distinguish between things: some difficulties came from outside and caused unrest, which then led to further problems. What matters most, though, is that we built an excellent car for the race. I am convinced that at least a top-five result would have been possible for us.”

Despite the early end to the race, Eastalent Racing takes numerous positive lessons from Belgium. The race pace shown and the temporary overall lead underline the team’s potential at the highest international level.

The next challenge is already waiting from 17 to 19 July, when the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint visits Misano in Italy.