Westbrook second in Spa 24Hr

Porsche works driver Richard Westbrook made it two podium finishes in 24-hour races this year by taking second place at Spa-Francorchamps.

Driving a Prospeed Competition Porsche 997 GT3-RSR with Emmanuel Collard and Marc Lieb, Westbrook followed up his Daytona 24 Hours runner-up spot with second in the Belgian Ardennes hills in a gruelling race.

The result also moved Westbrook and Collard up the leaderboard in the FIA GT Championship, after a run of ill fortune in preceding races.

Prospeed effectively sacrificed qualifying to ensuring a good race set-up. “We were still encountering problems from our previous race at Oschersleben,” said two-time Porsche Supercup champion Westbrook. “We couldn’t get our tyres to last. But we worked hard over practice and pre qualifying to sort that out. Qualifying doesn’t really matter for a 24-hour race – the crucial thing was to make our tyres work for an hour at a time,and by the time we got to the race we were confident we were strong in that department.”

The race took place under a string of showers, meaning that it was a tough job just to keep the car on the circuit. “It was always too wet for slick tyres and too dry for wets,” said Richard. “For my first stint, we stayed out on slicks whereas all the Ferraris came in for wets, and I gained a lot of time. The next time that happened we lost out.

“It was a guessing game with the weather and very difficult for the guys on the pit wall. And it was really tough for the drivers, especially at night – you can feel the track’s wet, but can’t see rain on the windscreen.”

In the end, the Prospeed Porsche was the leading Michelin-shod car behind the winning Ferrari, which gambled on Pirelli intermediates. “The winners drove an excellent race and didn’t put a foot wrong, so they thoroughly deserved it,” said Westbrook.

“The three of us in my car drove as hard as we could and none of us made a mistake. Second was the best we could do unless the leading car broke down. But now I’m starting to understand why most of the other teams have four drivers – I’m so tired!”

Tired or not, Richard now jets off to Road America in rural Wisconsin for this weekend’s American Le Mans Series race in a Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche.

• Download Pdf