GetSpeed Mercedes penalty rattles the 24 Hours of Spa grid as illegal brake work forces the #17 team off the front of Superpole.
Why the session was scrubbed
During Friday afternoon’s qualification, studio footage captured GetSpeed mechanics removing the right‑rear brake and extracting a large amount of stones and sand from the car. A TV delay exposed that Maxime Martin’s teammate, Maximilian Götz, had skimmed the gravel trap, a manoeuvre not shown during the live broadcast.
According to Spa’s regulations, extensive repair work while the session is running is prohibited. Consequently, any lap times recorded in Q3 were struck from the official results.
Grid position fallout
With Q3 times erased, the team’s average driver performance—previously 2:17.049—could not be calculated. The rule that averages all driver times means the #17 is pushed to the very rear of the grid, estimated around 60th place.
Other cars in the field have also felt the ripple. Several failed to finish a lap in Q2 because of red‑flag interruptions, while a handful of competitors carry minor grid penalties that further shuffle the lineup.
Other teams rise
The resulting reshuffle places AF Corse Ferrari #51—driven by Alessio Rovera, Tommaso Mosca, and Nicklas Nielsen—on top of the newly re‑ordered Superpole field.
Mercedes‑AMG GT3 #20 from Team Motopark, featuring Levente Revesz, Christian Mansell, Yannick Mettler, and Rui Andrade, was originally 33rd by a hair. With GetSpeed’s exclusion, it advances to 32nd, securing the final spot for Friday’s all‑new four‑segment shootout.
Implications for the 24‑hour race
Although the grid position is a secondary concern for a marathon race, the #17 team now faces an uphill fight through the entire field in the opening stages, heightening the risk of incidents before the weather can add further variables.
As the race night begins, the brides‑up for the leading cars look even more unpredictable, with the lane battle already intensified by the penalty reshuffles.
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