Lilou Wadoux charges to overall top five on superb Spa 24 Hours Pro class effort
- RACERS
- 12 hours ago
- 14 min read
"I think we can be really satisfied, because it was our first time in the Pro class, and finishing in this position is not at all a given." - Lilou Wadoux secured a highly-valuable overall top-five finish at the 2026 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, helping AF Corse recover from a post-qualifying setback to secure a remarkable P5 in the Pro class of the world's biggest GT3 race.
Lilou Wadoux secured a highly-valuable overall top-five finish at the 2026 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, helping AF Corse recover from a post-qualifying setback to secure a remarkable P5 in the Pro class of the world's biggest GT3 race.
On her first appearance in the Pro class at Spa, the Ferrari factory driver produced a series of exceptional stints throughout the twice-around-the-clock classic, consistently matching the leaders' pace and playing a crucial role in the team charge o the front.
After finishing eighth in LMGT3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans only two weeks earlier, Wadoux secured her first overall top-five finish in GT World Challenge Europe and became the first woman to record an overall top-five result in a major 24-hour race since 2011. It was another significant step in the career of one of Ferrari's most valuable GT drivers, whose pace and consistency once again stood out on one of the sport's biggest stages.
Returning to Spa for the first time since competing in the Bronze Cup with Sky Tempesta Racing in 2024, where she finished 16th overall and fourth in class, Wadoux arrived this year with a very different challenge: in the ultra-competitive Pro category alongside Leclerc and Gelael, the Frenchwoman entered the event with a realistic opportunity of fighting for the overall podium, having consistently featured among the fastest crews throughout the practice sessions.
Thursday evening's qualifying showcased the strength of the AF Corse line-up: across the three qualifying sessions, the #50 Ferrari secured fifth overall in the combined classification, comfortably progressing into Friday's Superpole shootout. Wadoux played a crucial role in that success, setting the fastest lap of the trio during her Q2 segment, where she was second overall.
In a field of 69 GT3 cars contesting the world's biggest GT race, Wadoux would be the only female driver to reach the final Superpole battle, where Arthur Leclerc was entrusted with driving duties on Friday afternoon.
Under hot summer conditions in the Ardennes, Leclerc comfortably advanced through each elimination stage. His opening effort of 2:18.880 immediately placed the Ferrari third overall and second in Pro class.
Another clean performance followed in Superpole 2. Leclerc clocked a 2:19.301 before improving by five thousandths of a second on his second attempt, once again comfortably progressing to the next round. With only the fastest eight cars advancing into Superpole 3, Leclerc again delivered when it mattered. Initially fourth, he improved to a 2:19.159 with a purple second sector, finishing only one tenth behind sister AF Corse Ferrari driver Alessio Rovera and securing a place in the final four-car pole shootout.
Leclerc was the first driver to complete his attempt, posting a 2:19.261. Rovera immediately bettered the benchmark, while Thomas Fleming split the two Ferraris aboard the #58 McLaren. Although pole position ultimately escaped them, the #50 crew had nevertheless secured a superb third-place starting position for Saturday's race and looked well placed to challenge for victory.
Then everything changed, as late on Friday evening, AF Corse learned that all of its Superpole times had been cancelled because of a malfunction involving the car's data logger. Instead of lining up on the second row after one of the strongest qualifying performances of the weekend, the #50 Ferrari was relegated deep into the pack.
Starting 26th overall and 13th among the Pro entries, Sean Gelael took the opening stint as the 79th running of the Spa 24 Hours got underway. The opening lap remained remarkably clean despite the congestion as the 69-car field swept uphill through Eau Rouge and Raidillon for the first time.
The calm lasted only until lap two; a major multi-car accident unfolded at Les Fagnes after contact between Levi and Hahn triggered a chain reaction that collected several competitors. Gelael expertly threaded the Ferrari through the chaos, immediately gaining positions while avoiding damage and moving into P12 in the Pro class before the Safety Car was deployed.
Following more than 25 minutes of neutralisation, racing resumed on lap eight, only for another Full Course Yellow to be called almost immediately when one of the cars shed a significant piece of bodywork. Once uninterrupted green-flag racing finally settled in, Gelael began to demonstrate the pace AF Corse had shown throughout qualifying.
Running 12th in Pro and 25th overall, the Indonesian driver consistently lapped several tenths quicker than the surrounding traffic, gradually climbing to 23rd overall as the first hour approached.
Gelael pitted from 12th in class before rejoining in 13th after the service, remaining behind the wheel for another stint. Soon after, another caution interrupted proceedings when Alex Aka's #99 Audi lost a wheel and stopped on circuit, prompting another Full Course Yellow.
Following the first pit cycle, the Ferrari sat 21st overall while retaining 12th in the Pro category. Gelael immediately returned to competitive pace, regularly circulating in the 2:20s.
Contact with the #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren of Owega dropped Gelael to 24th overall and cost the crew another Pro-class position. Although the Ferrari continued without major damage, the incident resulted in a couple of slower laps before Gelael could fully regain his rhythm.
At the two-hour mark another Full Course Yellow was required after the #79 Tsunami Porsche of Hamaguchi became stranded in the gravel. The caution escalated into another Safety Car period, presenting another opportunity for AF Corse to stop. Arthur Leclerc climbed aboard the Ferrari while the team retained 13th place in the Pro category.
The restart after two hours and twenty minutes immediately produced another frantic sequence of incidents. Leclerc made an excellent launch, gaining several places as competitors battled aggressively around him. Up to 21st overall, disaster almost immediately struck again: caught in a three-wide moment, Leclerc was tagged into the barriers. Although he managed to continue, the Ferrari plummeted to 41st overall, erasing much of the progress achieved during the opening hours.
More incidents across the circuit triggered yet another brief Full Course Yellow. Leclerc immediately launched another recovery; working his way past Bronze Cup and Pro-Am traffic, he steadily rebuilt momentum despite sitting only 15th in the Pro class. By lap 57 he had already returned to the overall top-30 while continually improving his pace, first lowering his personal best to 2:20.236 before finding another tenth shortly afterwards.
As the race entered its fourth hour, AF Corse continued to execute a clean strategy despite the interruptions.
Leclerc completed the third scheduled stop on lap 68 while remaining in the car. Although the Ferrari was among the fastest Pro runners at this stage of the race, track position remained the limiting factor, leaving the crew in 28th overall. Another interruption soon followed when Mathieu Castelein's #28 Haas RT Audi became stranded in the gravel at Turn 1.
Leclerc stopped under caution on lap 79 before a full Safety Car neutralisation followed. When green-flag racing resumed after four hours, Leclerc found himself 29th overall and 15th in Pro but immediately resumed his recovery. Navigating through the densely packed Silver Cup traffic proved challenging, yet over the following ten laps he steadily climbed back into the overall top 20.
By the completion of the fifth racing hour, the comeback had gathered real momentum: Leclerc brought the Ferrari up to 13th in the Pro class before making the team's fifth pit stop of the race.
As the sun slowly began to set over Spa-Francorchamps, it was time for Lilou Wadoux to climb aboard the Ferrari for her first stint of the race.
Wadoux wasted no time settling into rhythm - her opening laps immediately fell in the low 2:20s, only a couple of tenths slower than the Ferrari's best race pace, and within only a handful of laps she had already gained four overall positions while rapidly closing on the #71 Ferrari of Conrad Laursen.
Matching Laursen's pace lap after lap, Wadoux maintained pressure on the fellow Ferrari driver until the opportunity eventually came when Laursen made his scheduled pit stop.
Five and a half hours into the race she had climbed to 15th overall and 11th in the Pro class, consistently matching the pace of the race leaders. Once Laursen pitted, Wadoux finally enjoyed clear air ahead, allowing her to fully demonstrate the Ferrari's potential before making her own scheduled stop on lap 128 from tenth in class.
The fresh tyres immediately unlocked some more performance. Wadoux first lowered her personal best to 2:20.057 before producing a 2:19.617, the car's quickest lap to that point. Several more laps in the 2:19 bracket followed as she resumed another determined charge through the field following a 30 second penalty for track limits at the previous stop.
By the first 6 hours, one quarter of the race distance had elapsed. Now operating in clean air once more, Wadoux rapidly regained more positions to climb back into 11th in Pro before beginning to pressure Luca Engstler's Rutronik Lamborghini. The next interruption came shortly before the seventh hour when Sébastien Baud suffered a heavy accident for the #21 Aston Martin at Turn 15, triggering another Full Course Yellow.
Wadoux took advantage of the neutralisation to complete another perfectly timed pit stop from 11th in Pro before handing the Ferrari back to Arthur Leclerc. Although the race had already thrown some obstacles at the #50 crew, the recovery had placed AF Corse back within sight of the leading group.
When Arthur Leclerc returned to the cockpit following Lilou Wadoux's opening race stints, the AF Corse Ferrari had already recovered from the back half of the Pro field to close to th etop 10 again.
The latest Safety Car period had trapped a number of competitors a lap down, but crucially Leclerc remained on the lead lap in 11th place in the Pro class and 16th overall. As racing resumed with just over 16 hours remaining, Leclerc immediately resumed the recovery.
Another multi-car incident soon interrupted the race, involving the #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Porsche, the #9 Porsche, the #7 Aston Martin and the #11 Aston Martin. Although Leclerc had been running close to the incident, he escaped without damage as another Full Course Yellow neutralized the race.
The AF Corse Ferrari had climbed into tenth in the Pro class before Leclerc pitted under caution on lap 163.
When the Safety Car peeled away on lap 165, another sequence of battles unfolded: Leclerc found himself defending against Nicki Thiim's #007 Aston Martin while simultaneously attacking Gilles Magnus in the #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche. He successfully passed Magnus, but Thiim fought back immediately, costing the Ferrari a Pro-class position and briefly dropping the #50 crew back to 12th.
Leclerc nevertheless continued to work his way forward throughout the stint. By carefully managing traffic and consistently circulating in the low 2:20s, he climbed back into the top 10 in class and established himself as the highest-placed Ferrari in the Pro category. The gaps throughout the leading pack had become incredibly compressed, with virtually every Pro contender from 5th down, separated by only a handful of tenths.
Through the next cycle of pit stops, Leclerc briefly elevated the Ferrari as high as fifth in class and into the overall top 10 before eventually making his scheduled stop on lap 189 after another consistently quick sequence of laps in the 2:20s.
Sean Gelael climbed back aboard with 15 hours still remaining. The race continued to throw interruptions at the field. Soon after Gelael resumed, the #60 Ferrari of Chovet stopped on circuit, bringing out another Full Course Yellow and triggering another round of pit stops under caution.
The Indonesian remained behind the wheel after the stop, holding tenth in the Pro class.
Following another Safety Car intervention, racing finally resumed around half an hour later. Gelael immediately found great rhythm: breaking beneath the 2:20 barrier, he steadily climbed into ninth in class through a remarkably consistent series of laps, repeatedly circulating in the low 2:20s.
By the completion of 10 racing hours, the #50 Ferrari had fought its way back into the overall top ten, with Gelael climbing as high as 7th in the Pro class.
Another scheduled stop came on lap 225, but Gelael remained in the cockpit for a demanding triple stint. As the ambient temperatures dropped during the night, Gelael produced a 2:18.788 lap, establishing a new fastest lap of the race for the #50 Ferrari and consolidating 8th place in class.
The next interruption arrived when the #84 Eastalent Racing Audi crashed heavily at the exit of Blanchimont, first bringing out a Full Course Yellow before another Safety Car was deployed.
The neutralisation presented the opportunity for AF Corse to rotate drivers once again.
As the race entered its 12th hour, Lilou Wadoux climbed back into the Ferrari.
By the end of the Safety Car procedures, the #50 crew had advanced to 7th in the Pro class and had become the highest-placed Ferrari in the race, sitting only 6 seconds away from the overall lead despite having started deep in the field. The restart, with approximately 13 hours remaining, saw Wadoux overtaking Hesse to move into 6th before setting her sights on Bastian Buus' Lionspeed Porsche.
A 2:19.567 became her new personal best before she improved again with a 2:18.839, her first lap beneath the 2:19 barrier, as she remained attached to the leading group.
Running directly behind the battle involving Buus and Ayhancan Güven, Wadoux patiently waited for an opportunity while maintaining the leaders' pace.
Approaching the halfway mark, Sarah Bovy suffered a heavy accident in the #700 Aston Martin after contact entering Blanchimont sent the car hard into the marbles and then into the barriers. The recovery operation was followed by barrier repairs, bringing out another extended Safety Car intervention. Wadoux pitted under caution from sixth in class and remained behind the wheel.
Light rain briefly swept across Spa-Francorchamps, becoming heavy for several minutes before easing again. As the Safety Car train formed, the #50 Ferrari found itself running third overall and second in the Pro class.
The restart with 11 hours and 36 minutes remaining showcased some of the finest driving from Wadoux.
As Hesse and Stadsbader battled ahead into La Source, Wadoux spotted an opening and executed a switchback, accelerating down towards Eau Rouge before completing a spectacular overtake to move into the lead of the Pro class. For a brief period, Lilou Wadoux led the Pro class at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
Hesse reclaimed the position a lap later, before Luca Stolz also moved ahead, dropping the Ferrari back to third overall. Even so, Wadoux remained among the overall leaders.
Jamie Day soon arrived in her mirrors, but the Frenchwoman defended decisively before gradually opening a four-second cushion over the following laps.
As daylight slowly began returning over the Ardennes, Wadoux continued producing consistent laps in the 2:19.5 range while maintaining third overall without coming under sustained pressure.
When she finally brought the Ferrari to pit lane on lap 279, Lilou handed the car back to Sean Gelael after one of her best stints in the race.
Gelael immediately resumed where Wadoux had left off; opening with a 2:19.0, the Indonesian briefly reclaimed third overall as pit strategies cycled through before eventually settling into fourth after AF Corse driver Alessio Rovera of the sister car moved ahead.
Ricardo Feller later found a way past in the Lionspeed Porsche, but the #50 Ferrari remained inside the overall top five.
Arthur Leclerc returned for the next phase of the race. Although his opening stint was complicated slightly by tyre degradation, his pace improved significantly during the second stint as he repeatedly circulated in the 2:19s and maintained fifth place through the pit cycle.
With 8 hours remaining, Wadoux climbed back aboard. Immediately returning to competitive pace with another sequence of 2:19s, she found herself seventh following another Full Course Yellow restart.
Henrique Chaves briefly got through on the Kemmel straight, but she then recovered the position later in the stint as her pace continued improving.
When she handed the Ferrari back to Leclerc with six and a half hours remaining, the #50 sat sixth overall. Fresh tyres immediately allowed Leclerc to lower the Ferrari's benchmark once again.
A strong 2:18.671 came within one tenth of the car's fastest lap before he began chasing Jamie Day's Aston Martin.
He gained another place when the sister #51 Ferrari suffered a puncture following contact between Mosca and Luca Stolz during the battle for the lead, although Alessio Rovera later recovered the position after producing the fastest lap of the race.
Leclerc then spent almost an hour glued to the rear of Day's Aston Martin before finally completing a determined move around the outside at Les Combes on lap 429 to secure seventh.
Another pit stop brought Wadoux back into the Ferrari - immediately producing another outstanding sequence of laps, she lowered her own personal best to 2:18.670 before climbing back to seventh over the course of the stint.
The first significant interruption in several hours followed on lap 449 after a crash for the Mühlner Motorsport Porsche at Eau Rouge triggered another Full Course Yellow.
AF Corse reacted immediately, bringing Wadoux into the pits under caution with three hours and thirty-five minutes remaining while keeping her in the car.
At the restart, nine cars remained on the lead lap and every one of them remained realistic contenders for the podium. Wadoux defended robustly into La Source before beginning another superb run: running directly behind Hesse's #46 Team WRT BMW, she consistently matched the BMW's pace with repeated laps in the 2:18s while gradually distancing herself from the cars behind.
Although she repeatedly closed to within a second, the BMW's straight-line speed prevented any overtaking opportunity despite Wadoux arguably producing her strongest stint of the entire race.
Contact between Ayhancan Güven and Morris Schuring while disputing fourth place forced both Porsche crews into the pits; the incident elevated Wadoux into fifth overall before she made her own scheduled stop on lap 473, handing the Ferrari back to Arthur Leclerc with 2 hours and 40 minutes remaining.
The undercut strategy worked perfectly and AF Corse emerged ahead of Hesse's BMW, promoting Leclerc to fifth overall. Leclerc maintained the momentum established by his teammate - a brilliant 2:18.263 became the Ferrari's fastest lap of the entire race before he backed it up with two further laps in the 2:18.3 range, gradually extending his advantage over the pursuing BMW to 8 seconds.
Although the sister #51 Ferrari remained around 20 seconds ahead, Leclerc focused on maintaining consistent pace. Another double stint followed and by lap 500, Leclerc completed what would prove to be the team's penultimate stop. The gap to Rovera gradually reduced from 20 seconds to just under 15, while the margin back to the #46 BMW continued growing beyond 20 seconds.
As the final hour approached, the battle for victory unfolded directly ahead.
Leclerc stretched his fuel stint until lap 525, briefly cycling into second overall before making the Ferrari's final pit stop of the race and the team elected to keep him aboard until the finish.
As Harper and Chaves completed their own final stops, the #50 Ferrari settled securely into fifth overall with comfortable margins both ahead and behind. Leclerc nevertheless continued pushing and with just 20 minutes remaining, he produced a 2:18.095 lap - another new fastest lap for the Ferrari and, for several laps, was the quickest of any driver inside the overall top ten.
Twenty-four hours after the start, Arthur Leclerc crossed the finish line to complete the comeback drive.
Leclerc, Sean Gelael and Lilou Wadoux secured fifth overall after recovering from outiside the top-20 on the starting grid following the Superpole relegation.
For Wadoux, the result represented another milestone in an already remarkable season. Just two weeks after finishing eighth in LMGT3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Ferrari factory driver claimed a career-best overall result in GT World Challenge Europe and became the first woman to finish inside the overall top five of a major international 24-hour race since 2011.
Across every one of her stints, Wadoux consistently matched the pace of the race leaders, briefly led the race in class with a spectacular overtake after the restart, repeatedly lapped in the 2:18s and continued to be competitive in one of the most competitive GT3 fields in the world.
Reflecting on the achievement, Wadoux admitted the race had been anything but straightforward after the team's qualifying disappointment.
"It wasn't an easy race. we had several ups and downs. We had finished third in the Superpole, then we were relegated, so we started from 22nd place. We know it's never easy to start in the middle of the pack, but Sean Gelael did an extraordinary job with a great start, and then we found ourselves around 20th place."
"During the night, we managed to get back into the top ten, and that was very positive. Then, in the morning, we kept pushing and finally finished in the top five. It's a very good result."
"I think we can be really satisfied, because it was our first time in the Pro class, and finishing in this position is not at all a given. We can be happy to have achieved this result together with the whole team."
From losing their second-row starting position to recovering from early contact and repeated interruptions, before fighting all the way to the front of one of the strongest GT3 grids ever, the fifth-place finish definitely felt satisfying at the end. For Lilou Wadoux, it was another superb demonstration of the pace and racecraft that continue to prove her as one of Ferrari's most consistent and reliable drivers of the marque's GT programme.