The fastest Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was entered by GetSpeed. Steve Jans and Anthony Bartone drove the fastest sports coupé from Affalterbach in front of 300,000 spectators in both ‘Road to Le Mans’ races on the race weekend.

“Steve and Anthony delivered strong performances on new terrain,” says Team Principal Adam Osieka. “In difficult conditions, our duo finished eighth in class in the multiclass field of almost 60 race cars in race one and fifth in the second race, which took place immediately before the 24-hour race.”

Just like the endurance classic on the Sarthe itself, the Michelin Le Mans Cup races were characterized by incidents. In the first heat, Jans/Bartone started from 15th position. The race was initially neutralized with the safety car in the early stages and then red-flagged shortly before the middle of the race after a serious accident. “Despite the few free laps, our drivers managed to make up ground quickly,” said Osieka.

Race two was started after the result of the second free practice session because qualifying was interrupted twice with the red flag. The GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 started the race from seventh position. Several safety car phases and slow zones, where overtaking is also prohibited, ensured that catching up was a major challenge. Jans/Bartone at least made up two positions and also finished the second heat as the best-placed Mercedes-AMG GT3.

“The Le Mans weekend was new territory for us and a great inspiration,” concluded Osieka. “Hopefully we can return to France in the near future to contest this endurance classic as well.”

From June 26 to 30, GetSpeed will compete in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa – the third race twice around the clock this year, following the appearances in Dubai and at the Nürburgring. The fourth event of the International GT Open is scheduled for the Hungaroring next weekend.

Great jubilation at GetSpeed. The team from the business park at the Nürburgring took two class victories at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Al Faisal Al Zubair, Dominik Baumann, Philip Ellis and Mikaël Grenier triumphed in the gold classification and finished the race as the best-placed Mercedes-AMG GT3 in seventh place overall. Anthony Bartone, James Kell, Yannick Mettler and Aaron Walker took first place in the Silver Cup. The only downer was the premature retirement of the spearhead of Jules Gounon, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz. The trio fought for overall victory until the early hours of the morning.

“It’s an often-used phrase in motorsport, but it applies one hundred percent to our race: Joys and sorrows are often very close together in motorsport. On the one hand, we are delighted that our two customer vehicles won their classes. On the other hand, the premature retirement of Fabian, Jules and Luca was a bitter setback. Our trio was in contention for victory,” says Team Principal Adam Osieka. “In addition to the two class victories, our gold quartet took third place in the IGTC standings and Mercedes-AMG won the Coupe du Roi award with our results, among other things, in which the points after six, twelve and 24 hours are taken into account across all classes. I can therefore conclude that we have had a very good weekend.”

Gounon, Schiller and Stolz started from position five and were always in the leading group. In difficult conditions with thunderstorms and heavy rain during the night, the race was neutralized 22 times for a total of 9:16 hours. Nevertheless, the trio remained in second place within striking distance of first place for long stretches. After being in a promising position, the trio retired prematurely at around 8 o’clock.

“The race is definitely not one we will remember fondly,” said Gounon. “Unfortunately, we had an irreparable defect in the morning hours, which is actually very untypical for us. Until then, we were at the front. Overall, it was a very challenging and unpredictable race. Nevertheless, our team was able to celebrate a successful weekend with victories in the Gold and Silver classes. And we have our sights set on overall victory again next year.”

Al Zubair, Baumann, Ellis and Grenier drove a strong race right from the start and were mostly listed in the top 10 positions. In the end, the quartet pulled out a commanding lead of two laps over their class rivals. “That was a fantastic, but also very hectic race,” said Al Zubair. ”The conditions and the positions were actually changing all the time. My pulse was very high throughout. But all the work paid off and I’m very happy with the result. We won the class and finished third in the IGTC classification, which is something we can be very proud of.”

Bartone, Kell, Mettler and Walker also drove a strong race. Starting from 49th on the grid, the #3 crew drove a largely flawless race and at times moved up into the top 20 positions in the field of 66 GT3 cars. In the end, the quartet had a one-lap lead over their direct rivals. “That was an extremely difficult race. We had ups and downs, especially during the night,” said Kell. Mettler added: “In the end, we made the right decisions, had a perfect car and the necessary speed to win this crazy race.” Bartone was overwhelmed:

“This is only my second time here and I’m already at the top. This is an incredible experience. The team and my fellow drivers did everything they could to make it happen.” GetSpeed youngster Walker was also impressed: “It’s an incredible feeling to win here. I too can only thank the GetSpeed team.”

The next tour stop of the Endurance Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS is a home race for GetSpeed. From July 26-28, the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit will literally be the place to be. Last year, GetSpeed finished second on the Eifel circuit. The week before, the team led by Adam Osieka will compete in the International GT Open at Paul Ricard.

GetSpeed’s home race in the Endurance Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS produced mixed feelings. While Al Faisal Al Zubair, Dominik Baumann and Mikaël Grenier achieved a top result with second place in the Gold Cup, Jules Gounon, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz in the #2 Mercedes-AMG GT3 fell short of expectations with twelfth place. Anthony Bartone, James Kell and Yannick Mettler achieved a decent result in seventh place in the Silver Cup.

“The performance of Al Faisal, Dominik and Mikaël was a ray of hope on an otherwise rather disappointing race weekend at our home round, especially as they were moved back five places on the grid following a grid penalty due to an incident,” said Team Principal Adam Osieka. “We started with great ambitions. And the starting position after qualifying was rock solid. Unfortunately, the top car was involved in a collision early on, so we had no chance of converting the good performance into a satisfactory result.”

The race weekend at the Nürburgring started in rainy and difficult conditions on Friday and Saturday. In pre-qualifying on Saturday afternoon, the Bartone / Kell / Mettler trio drove to a sensational third place. In qualifying on Sunday morning, which took place in dry conditions, GetSpeed delivered a good performance. Gounon / Schiller / Stolz set the fifth-fastest time. Al Zubair / Baumann / Grenier took second place in the Gold category, Bartone / Kell / Mattler sixth in the Silver category.

Stolz was spun by an opponent immediately after the start when braking for turn three and dropped back a long way. In the competitive GTWC field, it was not possible to advance to the top again, even with a perfect strategy. Twelfth place meant zero points in the end. The two other driver trios confirmed their performance from qualifying in the race. Al Zubair / Baumann / Grenier confirmed second place in the Gold Cup standings with their podium finish.

The Endurance Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS now heads into the big summer break. The next event will take place from September 20 to 22 in Monza, Italy.