With a double-points finale to end a year-long championship, the general consensus was that the final event of the 2024 Gran Turismo World Series Manufacturers Cup would be an unpredictable competition – and so it turned out to be, with a knock-out qualifying session followed by mid-race precipitation.
It ultimately boiled down to a two-car race between Lexus – with Harald Walsen, Coque López and Kanata Kawakami sharing driving duties – and BMW, who was represented by Calen Roach, Thomas Labouteley and Seiya Suzuki.
In a fresh Gran Turismo 7 qualifying format that witnessed a Formula 1-esque three-stage knockout process, Valerio Gallo in the Honda claimed pole position, just under 0.2s ahead of Suzuki in the M6.
Takuma Sasaki placed the Porsche third, ahead of López’s Lexus in fourth for the 20-lap challenge around Spa-Francorchamps in front of a live Amsterdam audience.
However, Honda’s race unfolded rapidly. Soki Nabetani dropped to ninth by the fourth lap, caught on the receiving end of several ambitious moves early on.
Fellow top-four qualifier – and second in the points before the final round – Porsche was in contention during the opening stint. But, Arthur Mosso spun the 911 during the mid-race wet conditions, taking the German marque out of contention.
This left the stage clear for Lexus and BMW to stay close to each other upfront for the majority of the race.
The weather radar showed encroaching rain on the sixth lap, with Subaru (Kylian Drumont) and Mazda (Pol Urra) electing to swap from slicks to grooved tyres before the rain started to fall – a move that could have been prophetic, but ended up being futile.
Instead, the rest of the field stopped one lap later, and it was those who selected the full wet tyre instead of the intermediate compound that benefitted the most.
With the leaders running in close proximity and on the same rubber, it set up a stoush between three-time World Series champion López (Lexus) and perennial hard-charger Labouteley (BMW).
With the French driver ahead, López made several attempts to take the lead. First at the entry to Les Combes, resulting in contact and a wave of the hands from the Spaniard. Then again at the final chicane, where the Lexus ran too deep, allowing the BMW back into the lead.
Finally, a lap later at Les Combes again – this time around the outside – the move was completed.
It felt at this point like the RC F would romp to a comfortable victory, but as the track started to dry, Labouteley made use of differing racing lines to close in and re-take the lead coming out of La Source.
With five tours remaining, slick tyres were now the preferred option. In the final stop, American Calen Roach took over the Bavarian coupe, with super-sub Walsen driving for the Japanese brand.
Opening round winner Igor Fraga was part of the team up until the final round but was absent due to real-world Super GT racing commitments.
The Chilean tried to make a move on the leading BMW, but off the dry line it was still too damp for the medium tyres, preventing a clean overtake.
Despite Walsen’s best efforts, Roach held on to take the victory, but second was enough for Lexus to take the crown by one point ahead of BMW, backing up its 2018 success.
Elsewhere, Genesis had proved to be a formidable strategic force, rising from seventh on the grid to third, even challenging for second at the end.
Chevrolet and Mercedes-AMG were close behind, but the hapless Donovan Parker (Corvette) was wiped out in the closing stages by Toyota’s Adriano Carrazza, while Lucas Bonelli picked up a penalty for Affalterbach after contact with Subaru’s Takuma Miyazono.
Gran Turismo World Series Manufacturers Cup 2024 results
- Lexus – 33 points
- BMW – 32 points
- Genesis – 19 points
- Subaru – 19 points
- Mazda – 19 points
- Porsche – 19 points
- Honda 12 points
- Mercedes-AMG – 11 points
- Ferrari – 10 points
- Toyota – 3 points
- Chevrolet – 2 points
- Audi – 0 points
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