Round 04 - Spa-Francorchamps 2026

The fourth round of the 2026 Michelin Le Mans Cup brought the championship to Spa-Francorchamps for a two-hour race that rarely had an opportunity to settle. Incidents began almost immediately and the afternoon eventually featured five Safety Car periods and two Full Course Yellows, repeatedly compressing the field and turning strategy, restarts and survival into major parts of the contest.

The opening laps gave an early indication of what was to come. The #9 ANS Motorsport Ligier initially led from pole, but incidents further back quickly brought out the first Safety Car. Racing resumed only briefly before another car became stranded, triggering a second intervention, followed soon afterwards by a further accident involving two LMP3 cars. The official race highlights underline just how little uninterrupted racing there was during the opening part of the two hours.

When the race finally developed into a more sustained contest, R-ace GP and Brutal Fish by Campos Racing emerged at the front. Arthur Rogeon eventually took the #12 Brutal Fish Ligier into the lead and crossed the finish line first on the road, but a five-second penalty for gaining a lasting advantage while overtaking off the circuit changed the result.

Enzo Peugeot kept the #85 R-ace GP Duqueine close enough to benefit, finishing only around 1.5 seconds behind on the road. Once the penalty was applied, Danial Frost and Enzo Peugeot were awarded overall victory, with the #12 Brutal Fish entry second and the #9 ANS Motorsport Ligier completing the podium.

The GT3 contest produced its own late drama.

The #77 SMC Motorsport McLaren had led the class before receiving a drive-through penalty for a start infringement, leaving Kessel Racing in control. The two Kessel Ferrari 296 GT3 Evos then ran virtually together during the closing stages, with the #21 Ferrari taking victory ahead of the #17 sister car in a remarkably close finish.

For Aston Martin, the strongest result came from Code Racing Development.

Pascal Huteau and Viny Beltramelli brought the #11 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo home third in GT3 and 25th overall, finally converting some of the pace the team has shown throughout 2026 into a podium finish. The result was particularly notable given that Code Racing Development arrived at Spa with a revised driver pairing, with Huteau and Beltramelli taking over the #11 for the Belgian round.

Code Racing Development had already demonstrated genuine speed earlier in the season, including two GT3 pole positions, but race results had not always matched that potential. Spa therefore represented an important step forward. The final classification confirms the #11 completed all 36 laps and finished immediately behind the two Kessel Ferraris in GT3.

Just behind came the #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin, with Philipp Sager and Marius Fossard finishing fourth in GT3 and 26th overall. Fossard was deputising for regular driver Valentin Hasse Clot, who was competing in the United States during the Spa weekend.

It was not another podium for the championship leaders, but it maintained what has been an impressively consistent campaign. Racing Spirit of Léman had already won at Barcelona and added major results at Le Castellet and Road to Le Mans. Fourth at Spa was enough to keep the team firmly at the head of the GT3 championship, where the #10 now holds 78 points.

For Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn, the story was very different. Claude Bovet and Tom Canning had the #91 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo running P8 in GT3 before their race was brought to an abrupt end.

With around 30 minutes remaining, the race was already under its second Full Course Yellow after Narain Karthikeyan became stranded at Turn 12. Tom Canning then pulled the Blackthorn Aston Martin off the circuit with smoke pouring from the front-right wheel arch. Marshals quickly brought the resulting fire under control, but the #91 could go no further and the Full Course Yellow was converted into another Safety Car period.

Blackthorn's own post-race update reflected the P8 position reached by Bovet and Canning, but because the car couldn’t continue, the official final classification records the #91 as not classified after 24 laps. Its best lap was a 2:20.219, set on lap 23. The headline result may ultimately read as a retirement, but the #91 had worked its way into a points-paying GT3 position before the incident ended its afternoon.

For Fuel the Passion, what happened carried an extraordinary sense of familiarity.

Earlier this summer, another Blackthorn Vantage suffered a front-end fire during the 24 Hours of Spa. That car survived the incident and completed the 24-hour race before being brought to the Goodwood Festival of Speed still carrying the scars of its Spa campaign. Claude Bovet subsequently explained that incident directly to FTP while we stood alongside the car at Goodwood. Our resulting From Fire to Goodwood film was released only the day before this latest Michelin Le Mans Cup race.

The coincidence is striking, but the two incidents shouldn’t be treated as mechanically linked without evidence. The Michelin Le Mans Cup has confirmed that smoke was coming from the front-right wheel areasf the #91 before the fire, but no official technical cause has yet been published. There’s therefore no basis at present for saying that this was a repeat of the same failure experienced by the other Blackthorn Vantage earlier in the year.

From the wider Aston Martin perspective, Spa still produced plenty of positives. Two Vantage AMR GT3 Evos finished inside the top four in GT3, Code Racing Development finally converted its speed into a podium, and Racing Spirit of Léman maintained its championship lead.

For Blackthorn, it was a frustrating end to what had been developing into a useful race. P8 would have added another points finish to the #91's campaign, but instead Claude Bovet and Tom Canning leave Belgium with their attention turning towards Silverstone on 12th September.

That next round carries particular significance for Fuel the Passion too. After following Blackthorn's journey through Spa and Goodwood, FTP will be joining the team at Silverstone, giving us the opportunity to follow the next chapter of the #91's season from much closer inside the operation.

Spa therefore delivered three very different Aston Martin stories: a deserved podium for Code Racing Development, another championship-strength result for Racing Spirit of Léman, and a cruel retirement for Blackthorn after running P8.

For the Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, the pace remains clear. For Blackthorn, Silverstone now offers another opportunity to turn that potential into the result the team has been working towards.