Spa 24 Jam: Live Update Balapan dari Spa-Francorchamps

No caption needed, just some cool ass photos...

Here is how the Top 15 of the 2022 24 Hours of Spa looks after 'whooooooooa, we're half-way there...'

3... 2... 1... and we have officially hit the HALF-WAY MARK (otherwise known as 12 hours) in the 24 Hours of Spa.

We've had a red flag, full course yellows, spins, penalties, crashes, bangs and wallops, but the vast majority of the field is still circulating. Tired yet?

While it is only a job half done as it stands, just as was the case at 6 Hours, the Top 9 entries will get points (12-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1) for being classified there at the 12 hours mark.

And the (half-time) winner is... the #98 ROWE BMW! 

The leader at 6 hours is still the leader at 12 hours, meaning a double helping of the maximum 12 points for Augusto Farfus, Nick Yelloly and Nicky Catsburg. Given the #98 car was yet to score a point so far this season coming into the race, it's proving to be a very lucrative day for team.

Better still, it's a 1-2 for ROWE BMW [pictured] as the #50 car of Daniel Harper, Max Hesse and Neil Verhagen has steadily worked its way up the order into second.

Elsewhere, shout out to the #95 Beechdean Aston Martin, which is up into the top five with Maxime Martin, Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim.

DISASTER! One of the leading contenders is out of the race...

The #221 GPX Martini Porsche has suffered a broken drivetrain out on track and has stopped.

The car - which wears a modern interpretation of the famed Martini livery and is numbered #221 in a nod to the famous #21 Porsche 917 - had emerged as the marque's best hope for victory having barely strayed outside the top six.

Armed with its experienced Le Mans 24 Hours factory racers - Richard Leitz, Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen - the GPX Martini didn't lead at any stage but, as Porsche so often does, appeared poised for attack in the latter stages.

Not today, however...

So with the cars stopped and no obvious sign of a quick restart, now would be a good time to go get some zzzzzzzs.

But before I do, here's quick recap of action at 10 Hours

- #98 ROWE BMW leads the way after working its way to the front just before the six-hour mark

- The lead order has swapped repeatedly but has been largely featured similar frontrunners since the start, including the #71 Iron Lynx Ferrari, the #88 AKKODIS ASP Mercedes, #2 GetSpeed AMG-Mercedes and the #211 GPX Martini Porsche

- Many FCYs (as ever) including three in quick succession aroun the three-hour mark. A handful of cars take advantage with well-timed stops to rise up the order, including the #46 VR46 Audi of Valentino Rossi who catapults from 29th to run inside the top five

- Most of the anticipated PRO front runners have stayed out of trouble beyond the odd puncture, penalty for track limits and minor damage, but the #54 Dinamic Porsche - which led through the first hour - and the #12 Tresor Audi are out

Still a long way to go though...

Completed: 9 Hours / To go: 15 Hours [01:45 CET)

At the turn of the hour, it is the #AKKODIS ASP Mercedes back in front with Raffaele Marciello, Daniel Juncadell and Jules Gounon pulling ahead as the ROWE BMW dives for the pits.

Still a lot to play for though with 15 cars still on that all-important lead lap, while 10 cars are now official retirements.

Disaster for Porsche as it sees 2 of its leading entrants - #54 Dinamic and #911 Herberth cars - forced out of the 24 Hours of Spa in quick succession.

After the #911 car crashed at Blanchimont - bringing up another FCY - the #54 Dinamic has sustained terminal damage due to contact on track.

A bitter end especially for the Dinamic car, the fluro green and black machine even led the first hour of the race from the start but had slipped outside the top ten by the time of its issues.

Albert Costa has found a way to make his #63 Emil Frey Lamborghini Huracan look even more dramatic after finding the wall and re-arranging the right front-end.

He's made it back to the pits but whether he makes it out of there again is another matter...

The dark may hide many sins, but the sparks are a real giveaway that this particular Lamborghini is quite broken.

We doubt we'll see this one again anytime soon #Spa24h#FanatecGT#GTWorldChEu#IGTC@Pirelli@AWS@CrowdStrike@fanatec@TotalEnergiespic.twitter.com/N5Lv69zOSI

— TotalEnergies 24Hours of Spa (@24HoursofSpa) July 30, 2022

After nearly 8 hours of racing, it is still anyone's to play for up front with only a handful of seconds covering the top four.

It's a provisional podium that keeps changing too as the #88 AKKODIS AMG-Mercedes gets the better of the #71 Iron Lynx Ferrari for second, before the GPX Martini - a car that hasn't strayed out of the top six but featured no higher than third all race - now into third place.

Completed: 7 Hours / To go: 17 Hours [23:45 CET)

After 7 Hours of action, it seems the 24 Hours of Spa is levelling out somewhat with no major changes near the front of the leaderboard.

The #98 ROWE BMW is still leading, chased by the #71n Iron Lynx Ferrari and #88 AKKODIS ASP AMG-Mercedes.

The KCMG Porsche is still creeping up the order from its back of the grid starting slot with Nick Tandy, Laurens Vanthoor and Dennis Olsen now up to sixth position

Torquey, excellent off-road abilities, high-set driving position... this race may be full of exotic sportscars but when it comes to making a REAL statement, forget aerodynamics, go big, go Tractor... now with full beam headlights

And the tractor loses yet ANOTHER lap under yellows! Disaster for its current strategy! #Spa24h#FanatecGT#GTWorldChEu#IGTC@Pirelli@AWS@CrowdStrike@fanatec@TotalEnergiespic.twitter.com/IaY6DxQTOK

— TotalEnergies 24Hours of Spa (@24HoursofSpa) July 30, 2022

The FCY is back in play after the #11 Tresor by Car Colledtion Audi being driven by 16-year old Lorenzo Patrese (yes, you read that correctly) hit the barriers.

He is OK, but it has allowed the field to take a breather as we click into Hour 7 with teh #98 ROWE BMW leading the #71 Iron Lynx Ferrari, the #88 AKKONIS ASP AMG-Mercedes and the #221 GPX Martini Porsche

Te #46 VR46 WRT Audi of Muller, Vervisch and a man known as 'The Doctor' are fifth.

Five Spa 24 Hours winners will be crowned tomorrow evening with the 66 cars split across categories reflective of a privateer team's size and status of its drivers.

So while we have largely focused on the PRO runners that make up the majority of the Top 20, these are the leaders in the Silver, Gold, Bronze and Pro-Am categories at the 6-hour mark too.

We should note that the #71 Iron Lynx Ferrari led at the pecise six-hour mark but the #98 ROWE BMW was in front by the end of the lap when the order is determined to reward points to the top nine entries at the quarter-stage of the race.

We're at the quarter distance mark, folks

Your class leaders at the six-hour mark #Spa24h#FanatecGT#GTWorldChEu#TheBiggestGTRaceintheWorld@fanatec@AWS@TotalEnergies@Pirelli@CrowdStrikepic.twitter.com/tSy2tOmGoz

— Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe (@GTWorldChEu) July 30, 2022

In 30mins the 2022 24 Hours of Spa will complete a sixth hour.

Not only will it mean a quarter of the race has been completed, for those holding the top nine positions at the turn of the hour will be rewarded with some precious points.

That means 12 points go to the entry leading, with the entry running second picking up 9 points and third place earning 7 points. Fourth to ninth in the classification follow a decreasing scale of 6-5-4-3-2-1 points.

The same weighted points' system will be applied at the 12 hour half-way mark too.

When the clock hits 16.45 (CET) on Sunday, the Top 10 will receive points that reflect the format used in F1: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1

Completed: 5 Hours / To go: 19 Hours [21:45 CET)

The latest round of pit-stops and driver changes have taken place and a new order has shaken out with a new leader in the ROWE Racing BMW M4 [pictured below] thanks largely to a superb stint by Nick Yelloly, who has now handed over to Nicky Catsburg.

The #88 AKKODIS AMG Mercedes has worked its way back up to second, followed by a 911 GT3 trio of GPX Martini, Toksport WRT and Dinamic Porsches.

The VR46 Audi has slipped to ninth, where it is chasing the eighth place KCMG Porsche which has - after almost five hours - clawed its way into the top ten for the first time from the very back of the grid.

Dusk is spreading across the Ardennes as the sun falls away, not to be seen again until 6am. Well, 6.02am to be precise.

That means we have around 8 hours of racing under the cloak of darkness coming up very soon. And since only pit-areas are floodlit at Spa-Franorchamps and the surrounding forests are dense, it will be VERY pitch black out there for a good 6.5km.

Bad for drivers who don't like carrots, great news for photographers who will be busy getting fantastic shots like these...

Incidentally, if you're wondering why we keep using 'Where's Rossi?', it's because trying to identify him or any car as the sun comes down and the headlights come on is akin to playing a blinding game of 'Where's Wally?' 

I've got 19 hours to come up with something better...

Completed: 4 Hours

Still to go: 20 Hours

1/6 of the Spa 24 Hours is in the past now as the turn of the fourth hour leaves 'just' 20 more to go.

Big changes up front as three FCY/Safety Car periods in quick succession favoured the strategically savvy with the current Top 4 the big beneficiaries.

After the Dinamic Porsche led for the first hour, AMG-Mercedes have been in charge since but with three different cars with the #88 AKKODIS ASP going ahead first before the #2 GetSpeed car powered into the lead.

Now it is the #55 GruppeM Mercedes [pictured above] leading at the turn of the hour, with Nick Yelloly impressing to haul the #98 ROWE BMW M4 into second position. The GPX Martini Porsche is third having run inside the top six for much of the race.

The big mover, however, was the Valentino Rossi-steered VR46 WRT Audi, which has vaulted from outside the top twenty to be running in fourth position thanks to some excllent pit-stop timing among the caution periods.