Five cars were eliminated from contention in a major pile-up following a chaotic start to the Spa 24 Hours on Saturday.
On the opening lap, three cars were completely knocked out of the race and another two dropped out of the lead lap as drivers arrived at the Pouhon double left-handers.
The incident was triggered when Jamie Day in the #34 Walkenhorst Aston Martin and Ariel Levi in the #66 Attempto Audi attempted to take the corners side-by-side. Both cars had been penalised on the starting grid due to Balance of Performance violations in Superpole.
The Aston had a small slide, the Audi lost control in the run-off area, and slammed into the Vantage.
For Levi, the race ended immediately with a violent impact; Day limped the Aston back to the pits and, thanks to a safety car that was immediately called, retained the lead lap.
But that wasn’t the end of the incident. Christian Hahn slowed down his #992 Paradine BMW. Behind him, Maxime Robin in the #35 Walkenhorst Aston Martin also braked.
Behind them, Ahmad Al Harthy in the #42 Century-BMW was caught off guard by the sudden braking. He pushed Robin into Hahn, causing both cars to crash.
The 24 Hours is underway, but it's already over for a few as a multi-car crash causes chaos at Double Gauche.
— Intercontinental GT Challenge (@IntercontGTC) June 27, 2026
📺 https://t.co/c0PihzmLfv#IGTC | #Spa24H pic.twitter.com/qZR6NYUG4w
The race was over immediately for the Paradine BMW, the #35 Aston Martin, and the Attempto Audi. Al Harthy brought the Century BMW back to the pits, where the hood was replaced.
However, it came loose again immediately, triggering a full-course yellow (FCY) and forcing him to return to the pits once more. The repair took eight laps.
The unluckiest driver of all was Custodio Toledo, who ran over debris, damaging the #70 AF-Corse Ferrari in the process. He spun out on his own fluid and brought the Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo back to the pits. Repairs are still underway.
Ferrari lead after an hour
After 25 minutes behind the safety car, the race restarted, followed by two Full Course Yellows—one for the hood of the Century BMW, and another for debris following a tyre blowout on the #99 Attempto Audi of Alex Aka, who had made contact with Ben Tuck’s #74 Kessel Ferrari in the Bus Stop chicane.
In another incident, Ben Green in the #0 JMR Corvette spun Steven Palette’s #28 Haas-RT Audi around at La Source. This resulted in a drive-through penalty.
After one hour, the #51 AF-Corse Ferrari, which started from pole position, held the lead ahead of the #58 Garage 59 McLaren and the #71 Selected Car Ferrari.
The race started in 34C heat; the tower at the start/finish line even recorded temperatures above 40C. This took such a toll on the track that work was carried out overnight at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It will be a bit cooler on Sunday, but severe thunderstorms are predicted.
The Haas RT Audi of Steven Palette gets turned around by the Johor Corvette of Ben Green.#GTWorldEurope #IGTC #Spa24h pic.twitter.com/MwLnwbA4ks
— Vincent Bruins 🧡 (@VincentJBruins) June 27, 2026
