Porsche one-two at Spa

BMW seemed set to add the Spa scalp to their win in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May, but the car driven by Adorf/Werner/Muller slid into a gravel trap while leading by a lap.

That allowed the Porsche No.23 of Dumas/Bergmeister/Ragginger/Henzler and the No.16 of Pilet/Long/Lietz/Narac to profit, completing 540 laps in all. It was Romain Dumas's second 24 Hours victory in two months.

BMW's other M3, the No.78, fell back with a misfire shortly after the start. The marque had to settle for third and fourth places at the end.

The No.2 AFCorse/Vitaphone-run Ferrari, driven by Bruni/Vilander/Van de Poele/Longin, was unable to capitalise on pole position and dropped to seventh after contact with another car.

Then after fighting back up to second by the halfway point of the race, another tangle - this time with the No.50 Audi - put paid to the squad's chances as the sun rose over the Belgian Ardennes.

The opening hours, which were marked by frequent rain showers, saw the early demise of the two Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMSs.

Another major retirement was that of the No.13 Prospeed Competition Porsche, which spent a good part of the race up with the front-runners.

The victorious No.23 BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche GT3 RSR finished third in the GT2 class at Le Mans.