DAN Harper reckons there are plenty of positives to be taken from the latest round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe despite late drama costing him and ROWE Racing a podium finish.
In the closing stages of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, the number 998 BMW M4 GT3 co-driven by Harper, Brazilian Augusto Farfus and German Max Hesse slipped back four positions to sixth at a weather-affected meeting.
Having been promoted to second place with an hour remaining on the clock after the AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi was blocked from entering the pit lane by the stricken Grasser Lamborghini Huracan, their luck quickly changed with the finish line in sight.
Hesse collected a slow puncture meaning he had to perform his last tyre change a lap earlier than originally planned, and to compound matters, he had to make a further unscheduled pit stop on the penultimate lap to avoid incurring a penalty for exceeding his driver stint time.
“It is very hard to accept after the great efforts from the entire team. It went very well for us, but in the end, we just couldn’t quite keep up with the pace of the winning Aston Martin,” said Harper.
“It looked as though we were on track for third place, but after the Ferrari’s misfortune it looked like second place. Then we were also unlucky, but that is how it goes sometimes. We can be proud of the job we did. We have again shown how strong we are in terms of strategy.
“We are incredibly proud of our performance over the race. We were quick in all conditions, day and night, so there is a lot of positives to take away no matter how gutted we are to miss out on the podium,” added Harper, who was one of the drivers that led the GT3 field around the Belgian track.
After 478 laps and over 2,000-miles, Denmark’s Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen and Italian Mattia Drudi steered their Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO to a 33.604 second victory over the AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Davide Rigon, Alession Rovera and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
In front of more than 99,500 spectators, it was the first time the British car manufacturer walked away with top honours at the 4.352-mile circuit since 1948. Last weekend’s result was also significant for the fact its new car was making its debut at the biggest GT race in the world.