BMW went all-in at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps with a risky strategy that ultimately turned into a maiden victory for the Bavarian manufacturer.
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| Photo by James Moy |
The FIA World Endurance Championship season continued at Spa-Francorchamps, where the second race of the year took place. Qualifying belonged to Peugeot TotalEnergies, as the French manufacturer secured its first-ever pole position with the #94 car driven by Malthe Jakobsen.
However, Peugeot lost the lead already on the opening lap, when Cadillac Racing overtook them on the Kemmel Straight.
Later in the race, during the first round of pit stops, BMW switched to an alternative strategy, which proved to be the right call. Both BMW cars benefited from shorter pit stops. A similar strategy was also used by the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing car, although race leader Sheldon van der Linde had already built a significant gap.
That advantage did not prove crucial, however, as several safety cars were deployed throughout the race. One of them was caused by an unfortunate collision involving pole-sitter Malthe Jakobsen and a Mercedes LMGT3 car.
After the restart, it was time for Kevin Magnussen, running in second place, to play a key role in the battle for victory. He came under heavy pressure from the #50 Ferrari but managed to hold position, while race leader Robin Frijns in the sister BMW was able to continue comfortably at the front.
It did not take long before another safety car was deployed, this time after a crash involving Alex Riberas on the Kemmel Straight. Riberas attempted to overtake António Félix da Costa in the #35 Alpine, but was pushed onto the grass, lost control of the car, and crashed heavily.
Following the restart, Magnussen once again came under attack from the Ferrari driven by Antonio Fuoco. Anyway, the Danish driver defended brilliantly and prevented Fuoco from taking second place.
Robin Frijns eventually crossed the finish line first, while his teammate secured second place, giving BMW a dominant one-two finish. It was a dream race for BMW, which claimed its first-ever WEC victory, and also for WRT, whose factory is located only a few kilometres away from the Spa circuit.
Both BMW cars were joined on the podium by Ferrari #50 in third place.
Another milestone was achieved in the Genesis Magma Racing garage, as the team scored its first-ever WEC points in only its second race. The #17 crew crossed the finish line in eighth place.
The LMGT3 category was won by Garage 59 McLaren #59, benefiting from a five-second penalty given to Ferrari #21.
The next event on the calendar is the biggest of them all — the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the grid will also include the LMP2 category, which competes in WEC only at Le Mans. The event will take place from June 10–14.