WEC Round 2: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

This past weekend, Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) hosted the 6 Hours of Spa, the second round of the World Endurance Championship. Infamous for its interchangeable weather conditions, the Belgian weather held off, however Spa presented new challenges in place of the rain.

After a confidence-knocking practice outing, DK’s James Cottingham refocused and delivered a fantastic qualifying performance on Friday. His P6 in the first session secured progression through to Hyperpole, where teammate Timur Boguslavskiy finished P9, determining the Manthey DK Engineering 911 GT3 R LMGT3’s starting position.

James started the race, with all bronze-rated drivers required to complete a minimum of one hour and 45 minutes in a six-hour race. After a clean getaway, the DK Engineering Porsche was pushed wide at Turn 7, forcing James off the circuit and demoting the car to P14 after rejoining. Further challenges materialised in the form of an intermittent radio issue between the car and garage, as well as more minor contact following another car’s opportunistic overtaking attempt. A tough stint for James, but one that proved his tenacity as a world championship driver.

Turkish driver Ayhancan Güven finished the race in signature fashion and brought the car home P7 in class despite contact with Augusto Farfus' BMW M4. While not quite matching the P4 achieved at Imola, it was another points finish for the Manthey DK Engineering crew. Having opened the season with two successive six-hour races, attention now turns to the 24 Hours of Le Mans (13–14 June), where the Porsche’s legendary reliability could prove vital.