It was the kind of story Hollywood wishes it could write. At the 78th running of the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 R (#80) started from the pit lane and stormed to the checkered flag in first place.

Even the DTM driver trio of Bastian Buus, Ricardo Feller, and Thomas Preining, who shared the cockpit of the Lionspeed Porsche, didn’t expect to pull off such a massive comeback on the challenging Ardennes circuit. After an unscheduled engine change on Thursday, the team was forced by regulations to start from the pit lane.

Fifth Overall Win for a KW Racing Customer Team in Eight Years at the Spa 24 Hours

As every endurance motorsport fan knows, a 24-hour race isn’t won at the start, it’s won when the clock hits zero. With many teams struggling in qualifying, the Lionspeed Porsche steadily worked its way forward through the massive 69-car field. Climbing from dead last to overall victory is an absolute masterclass by our KW Racing customer team.

The first half of the race was brutal: air temperatures hit 104°F (40°C) in the shade and track temps climbed as high as 135°F (57°C). Then the night brought torrential rain, forcing race control to declare wet-track conditions and completely flipping every team’s tire strategy.

The Lionspeed crew used the many full-course yellow periods to close the gap to the leaders, eventually taking the outright lead.

Thanks to smart pit strategy, the #80 Porsche grabbed the top spot in the early Sunday morning hours and pulled away after the 10th or 11th Safety Car restart. They crossed the line with a comfortable 12.288-second advantage to claim the win.

Another Porsche 911 GT3 R (#22) from Schumacher CLRT came agonizingly close to the podium. Ayhancan Güven, Matt Campbell, and Frédéric Makowiecki fought hard at the front and brought the car home in a strong fourth overall.

The positions from sixth to ninth were occupied by the Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo (#46), Walkenhorst Motorsport’s Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo (#7), the Boutsen VDS Porsche 911 GT3 R (#2), and the Rowe Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo (#98).

Since the start of the GT3 era at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, KW Racing customer teams have won the race five times: in 2019 with GPX Racing in a Porsche 911 GT3 R, in 2020 with Rowe Racing in a Porsche 911 GT3 R, in 2023 with Rowe Racing in a BMW M4 GT3, in 2024 with Comtoyou Racing in an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, and in 2026 with Lionspeed GP in a Porsche 911 GT3 R.

All Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, BMW M4 GT3 Evo, Porsche 911 GT3 R, and Lamborghini Temerario GT3 cars in the field were equipped with KW Racing dampers.

KW Racing Customers Also Score Podium Results in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

In North America, our KW Racing motorsport customers also celebrated podium finishes at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in both the GTD Pro and GTD classes.

The AO Racing customer team had bad luck with their “Rexy” Porsche 911 GT3 R (#77). The car driven by Nick Tandy and Harry King was heading for a class win in GTD Pro when it received a drive-through penalty.

From a KW suspensions perspective, Paul Miller Racing stepped up with their BMW M4 GT3 Evo (#1). The defending champions from 2025 finished second in the GTD Pro class.

In the GTD class, however, KW Racing customers swept the podium. Manthey 1st Phorm (#912) took a dominant victory ahead of the Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (#120) and the Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 (#120).

Photos: Gruppe C Photography