Redemption at Spa!

In only its second FIA World Endurance Championship race, Garage 59 took the LMGT3 victory with the #10 McLaren GT3 EVO. After the heartbreak of Round 1 in Italy where the #10 McLaren retired from the lead of the race with just 30 minutes left to run, this win is redemption for the team.

This victory was a true team effort, through every pit stop, every strategy call and every driving stint. Antares Au started the six-hour race in the #10 McLaren from P15 and by the end of his run he had hauled the car up into the Top 10 before handing over to Tom Fleming.

Nobody needed reminding of why Fleming won the Goodyear Wingfoot Driver of the Race Award at the opening round in Imola but he showed them anyway, moving up through the field, all the way to second place. When he pitted to hand over to Marvin Kirchhöfer for the final run he was just 0.3 seconds behind the leading Ferrari, which pitted at the same time.

The Garage 59 team executed another perfect pit stop to try to get out ahead of the Ferrari. They were just pipped to the post but only because of an unsafe release by the Ferrari’s crew. Marvin then spent his stint Ferrari hunting, latterly with less pressure when the Ferrari received a five-second time penalty for that unsafe release so Marvin just needed to stay within five seconds of the leader to take the win!

In the #58 McLaren, Alexander West, Finn Gehrsitz and Benji Goethe also showed true grit and determination. Benji’s run to the flag needs special mention as he made up an incredible eight places during his run to take fifth at the finish!

Andrew Kirkaldy | Garage 59 Team Principal

After the massive disappointment at Imola, everyone has worked so hard to make sure we could bounce back quickly. The pit stops were perfect; the drivers did a fantastic job – every member of the team was on it today. It has been a challenging week leading up to today as we have had a few issues with the car, so this win is a great reward for all of that work. I also want to mention Benji’s final stint – that was the best driving I have ever seen from him!

Antares Au | #10 McLaren GT3 EVO (The first driver from Hong Kong to win in WEC)

I cannot be more thankful for the people I am working with. This is a team sport: we win together and we lose together. I’ve raced at Spa many times and been on the podium here but this is probably the most special one.

Thomas Fleming | #10 McLaren GT3 EVO

This journey hasn’t come without its difficult moments but it is testament to the strength of character of this team that we bounced back from the heartbreak at Imola and also from the difficult times we have had this weekend. The drivers, the mechanics and all of the staff here have done an exceptional job and I couldn’t be happier.

Marvin Kirchhöfer | #10 McLaren GT3 EVO

I want to credit my team mates who did an outstanding job, especially to keep us away from penalties, which was a big deciding factor is getting us up to the front. About 15-20 minutes into my stint the team told me that the lead Ferrari had received a penalty for an unsafe release so that meant I had to stay within five seconds of the Ferrari but also make sure nobody passed me. We could only dream of bouncing back this quickly after Imola so this win feels great and the team very much deserves it.