Tonbridge, Kent (UK) – Tuesday 28 July 2015; Adrian Quaife-Hobbs brought the stunning #59 Von Ryan Racing McLaren 650S GT3 home tenth in class after a dramatic Total 24 Hours of Spa at the weekend. Marking the Tonbridge driver’s first ever 24 hour race, at the fabulous Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the changeable weather, together with a number of safety car periods played their part in the outcome, but left the 24 year-old delighted with the result.
Knowledge of the track, located deep in the Ardennes forest region, proved invaluable for the former GP2 racer, who embarks on his first season in sportscar racing. Joining team-mates Bruno Senna and Alvaro Parente, the trio immediately set about posting competitive lap times in practice, and easily qualified for the two-lap Superpole shootout.
In that a sterling job resulted in the fourth fastest time, putting them on the second row of the grid behind the sister car of Rob Bell, Kevin Estre and Shane Van Gisbergen. With rain as always never more than a heartbeat away, the start got underway in torrential rain, with the duo first and second into the famous Eau Rouge first time round.
Over the course of the 24 hours, the safety car was deployed several times, with a number of unscheduled pit stops also required to conduct necessary repairs to the 3.8 litre McLaren. Running comfortably in the top ten for the first four hours, Adrian got the car up into third place before one of the compulsory driver changes dropped them down the order. Taking over the car for the last stint, Adrian resumed racing for a 30-minute sprint to the flag, bringing the car home tenth in class and 18th overall.
“It was a fantastic experience, I really had no idea what to expect, and after many hours at the wheel, it’s naturally a very tiring event,” said Adrian. “But I’m really happy, the car was great, it kept going and we managed to generally keep out of trouble and bag some points.
“The start was fantastic in the wet, and it was a great start to the race, which we managed to keep up at the front for a while, the team and my team-mates did a great job. The whole event had such a great atmosphere; I can see why people, drivers, fans and teams all enjoy the event. I shall look forward to doing another!”
Round four of the Blancpain Endurance Series, Adrian now enjoys a two-month break until the final round at another classic track, the Nürburgring in Germany over the weekend of 19&20 September.