Spa 24H debut proves unforgiving as weather hampers progress for young Zyrus driver

Jul 1st 2024 – Spa-Francorchamps Belgium – The season highlight of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup was a memorable one for the young #19 crew. The Grasser Racing Lamborghini Squadra Corse supported team from Austria went all in with its two Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2s at the legendary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa with one car in PRO class and one in Silver.

The weekend started off with the traditional parade to the centre of Spa, Zyrus development driver Haytham Qarajouli took to the wheel driving the GT3 machine carefully through the crowds on route to the square.

In the Silver Cup class GTWC rookies Hugo Cook, Mateo Llarena and Haytham Qarajouli were supported in Belgium by local driver Baptiste Moulin. The drivers achieved eighth place on the SILVER CUP grid in qualifying.

On Saturday, a problem with the refuelling system as well as full-course yellows and safety car periods triggered by incidents in the field disrupted the rhythm. Over the course of the 24 hours, the race was neutralised for a total of 9 hours and 16 minutes. The 21 FCY yellow and 17 safety cars as well as heavy thunderstorms and torrential rain showers turned the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa into a lottery.

Car #19 had the momentum in the early hours of the race. After Cook brought the car safely into the race in the first stint, they made up a total of 16 places within the first four hours. The youngsters coped with the heavy rain showers during the night without making any mistakes. In the final hours, however, a technical problem slowed them down. The GRT crew brought the Lamborghini back into the race, but the loss of time set the drivers back. At the finish, the #19 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 took seventh place in the SILVER CUP.

Hugo Cook (GBR) / Mateo Llarena (ITA) / Haytham Qarajouli (KUW) / Baptiste Moulin (BEL)
#19 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2
Qualifying: P50 – Race: P37

Haytham Qarajouli: “It was my first 24-hour race at Spa and I’m obviously very happy that we came through relatively unscathed. It was a very tough race. We had ups and downs, but the four of us drivers didn’t make any mistakes, we were running in the top 10 during the night. The result was out of our hands. We did our best, every time we had a problem, we went out again full commitment but due to the problem with the refuelling system we lost a lot of time sitting in the pits almost 10 minutes, totally out of our hands, we were unable to come back from this as the race progressed and in the end we actually managed to just finish. So I can’t complain too much, as I have completed my first Spa 24H and in the centenary year, makes it quiet special.”