Sarah Bovy emerges without serious injuries from Spa 24H crash after inspiring Pro-Am charge

Sarah Bovy returned to the 24 Hours of Spa for an homecoming that promised to be one of the highlights of her racing season. From a start from the back to the Pro-Am lead, Bovy produced a great drive in the all-Belgian Comtoyou crew, before a big accident denied her the result her pace deserved.

Most importantly, the Belgian star emerged without major injuries.

Photo credits: SRO/JEP

Sarah Bovy returned to the 24 Hours of Spa for an homecoming that promised to be one of the highlights of her racing season. From a start from the back to the Pro-Am lead, Bovy produced a great drive in the all-Belgian Comtoyou crew, before a big accident to no fault of her own denied her the result her pace deserved.

Most importantly, the Belgian star emerged without major injuries.

After competing primarily in the GT2 European Series with the all-female Iron Dames team alongside Laura van den Hengel, the Belgian racer was given the opportunity to step back into GT3 machinery for a one-off appearance at the world's biggest GT3 race. It marked a return to the event that helped launch her career years before becoming one of the key figures of the Iron Dames project, and although the race ultimately ended in heartbreak following a frightening accident, Bovy once again demonstrated why she remains one of endurance racing's most accomplished female GT drivers, consistently delivering strong stints as the #700 Aston Martin climbed its way forward in the Pro-Am class.

Competing in an all-Belgian lineup alongside Xavier Knauf, Gregory Servais and Nicolas Baert aboard the #700 Aston Martin Vantage GT3, the experienced quartet immediately emerged as genuine contenders for class honours from the very first sessions.

In Thursday's qualifying, Knauf opened proceedings in Q1 and recorded a 2:22.117 that placed the car second in the Pro-Am category. Gregory Servais continued the performance in Q2; his excellent 2:19.962 lap elevated the Aston Martin into provisional Pro-Am pole position by two tenths of a second, handing valuable momentum to the team before Sarah Bovy climbed aboard for the third qualifying segment.

The Belgian continued the strong form of the crew and stopped the clocks in 2:18.986, lapping repeatedly within only a few tenths of her benchmark to demonstrate excellent consistency throughout her run.

Nicolas Baert then completed the qualifying effort with a 2:18.816, apparently sealing Pro-Am pole position for the Comtoyou crew. For a brief moment, the all-Belgian squad sat proudly at the top of the class and looked set to begin the world's biggest GT3 race from the best possible position.

However, after qualifying concluded, disaster struck: all of the team's Q3 times were deleted because of an earlier pit infringiment, dropping the Aston Martin all the way down to 63rd overall and stripping the crew of what had appeared to be a Pro-Am pole position.

Photo credits: SRO/JEP

Instead of beginning from the front of the class, Sarah Bovy lined up in the pit lane for the start of the 79th running of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Tasked with opening the race, the Belgian would have to begin from effectively last place.

As the enormous field charged towards Eau Rouge for the opening time, the start itself remained clean despite the heavy traffic.

That however changed dramatically on only the second lap; a big accident unfolded between turns 11 and 12 after Levi, Robin and Hahn tangled, triggering a multi-car pile-up.

Bovy displayed great awareness to avoid the incident, steering all the way around the outside of the chaos before emerging with significant gains.

Having started from the pit lane, she had already climbed to 60th overall after only two laps, gaining almost ten positions while moving into eighth place in the Pro-Am category.

The Safety Car was immediately deployed.

The race restarted 26 minutes after the start on lap 8, but almost immediately another Full Course Yellow was required after one car shed a large section of bodywork onto the circuit.

When green-flag racing finally resumed, Bovy immediately settled into an excellent rhythm.

Initially ninth in Pro-Am, she soon overtook Kerong Li to reclaim eighth in class while consistently lapping in the 2:21.1 range, already demonstrating pace comparable with the front-running Pro-Am entries.

Ben Green's #0 Corvette received a drive-through penalty for causing contact, while the #914 Razoon – more than racing Porsche encountered problems and was forced to pit. Both Pro-Am rivals dropped behind the Aston Martin, promoting Bovy to sixth in class.

She continued her charge by overtaking the #93 Porsche of Hui before immediately closing onto the sister #14 Comtoyou Aston Martin.

Soon afterwards she also passed Kyle Marcelli in the sister Comtoyou machine before gaining another overall position, climbing to 53rd overall while maintaining competitive pace relative to the cars directly ahead.

As the first hour approached, the opening round of scheduled pit stops began. Rather than stopping immediately, Sarah Bovy stayed out while many rivals pitted and the Aston Martin surged all the way into the Pro-Am class lead while climbing as high as fourth overall before eventually making its own stop.

Just as the strategy unfolded, another Full Course Yellow was triggered after Alex Aka's #99 Audi lost a wheel. The timing proved perfect: Bovy pitted under caution and handed the Aston Martin over to Xavier Knauf. The strategy delivered a big reward, as Knauf rejoined leading the Pro-Am class and comfortably inside the overall top 20.

Although bronze-rated Knauf naturally lost a handful of overall positions as the race progressed, he retained the Pro-Am lead until lap 33 before eventually being overtaken by the High Class Racing Porsche. Over the following half hour, Knauf slipped to fourth in class while circulating consistently in the 2:24s.

Another Full Course Yellow arrived on lap 43 after the #79 Tsunami Porsche of Hamaguchi became stranded in the gravel. Knauf initially stayed out before finally pitting on lap 45 just prior to the full Safety Car deployment.

Photo credits: SRO/JEP

Nicolas Baert climbed aboard for his first stint. When racing resumed after 2 hours and 20 minutes, the Comtoyou Aston Martin remained on the lead lap and held 4th position in Pro-Am.

Baert immediately demonstrated competitive pace, steadily reeling in the High Class Racing Porsche of Yuan while reducing the gap to under one second as he challenged for third place in class.

At the three-hour mark, another sequence of pit stops began. Just as in previous stints, Comtoyou extend the Aston Martin's run; Baert remained on track several laps longer than many rivals before finally stopping on lap 70 from the Pro-Am class lead.

The strategy elevated the #700 Aston Martin as high as fourth overall before Gregory Servais climbed aboard. Consistently lapping in the 2:21s, Servais emerged third in Pro-Am following the latest round of stops and sat only around 5 seconds behind the second-placed #8 Car Collection Porsche.

He then overtook Nicolò Rosi's Car Collection Porsche to move into second in the Pro-Am category, continuing Comtoyou's recovery after beginning the race from the back of the pack.

Another interruption followed when Mathieu Castelein's Haas RT Audi became stranded in the Turn 1 gravel trap after 3 hours and 40 minutes of racing. The resulting Full Course Yellow evolved into another full Safety Car.

During the pit sequence the #700 briefly cycled back into the Pro-Am class lead while crucially remaining on the lead lap. When racing resumed after 4 hours, Servais was running 27th overall and leading the Pro-Am class.

Eventually, on lap 90, Servais made his scheduled stop from the class lead. The High Class Racing Porsche cycled back ahead during the pit sequence, leaving the Aston Martin second in class as Xavier Knauf returned to the cockpit.

Knauf found outright pace slightly more difficult than his teammates but nevertheless defended second place superbly despite increasing pressure from Ben Green's Corvette.

A small scare arrived on lap 107; while being lapped approaching Les Combes, Knauf attempted to avoid contact with a faster car but was forced through the gravel trap. Although he recovered without major consequences, he pitted at the conclusion of the lap.

Sarah Bovy climbed back aboard for her second stint just as the race entered its sixth hour.

The Belgian immediately restored the team's momentum: rejoining third in the Pro-Am class, Bovy instantly settled back into the 2:21s, consistently running within only a few tenths of the Aston Martin's fastest laps of the race.

When the #8 Car Collection Porsche served a track limits penalty during its pit stop, Bovy inherited second place in class. Soon afterwards, the leading #86 High Class Racing Porsche encountered bonnet problems and was forced to pit unexpectedly. With that setback for her principal rivals, Sarah Bovy reclaimed into the Pro-Am class lead on lap 120.

Photo credits: SRO/JEP

The extended green-flag running suited both Bovy and the Aston Martin perfectly, as she continued producing fast, consistent laps while gradually consolidating the lead.

Then came another setback for the team, which was handed a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for speeding during a previous Full Course Yellow period.

Bovy served the penalty during her scheduled stop on lap 124. Despite the costly sanction, the Belgian managed to retain the Pro-Am class lead after rejoining the race.

With one quarter of the race now completed, Bovy handed over the Aston Martin after another superb stint in which she had preserved the class lead.

Unfortunately, the team's fortunes changed almost immediately. Gregory Servais had barely completed his out lap before the Aston Martin slowed with an issue.

Forced to limp all the way back to the pits, the #700 lost four laps before repairs could finally be completed.

When Servais eventually returned to the circuit, the Aston Martin had dropped to sixth in the Pro-Am class and trailed the nearest class rival by two laps. Yet despite the crushing blow, the pace remained.

Servais immediately resumed circulating in the low 2:21s, showing that the #700 line up remained one of the quickest Pro-Am cars in the field, even if the lost laps had now complicated the team's race.

As the seventh hour approached, another Full Course Yellow interrupted proceedings after Sébastien Baud crashed the #21 Aston Martin at Turn 15, requiring a lengthy recovery operation.

Servais brought the #700 Aston Martin into the pits under the neutralization, with Nicolas Baert taking over for the next stint.

The Safety Car procedures trapped several cars a lap down, but the Comtoyou crew managed the situation well and Baert rejoined still sixth in Pro-Am, determined to continue the recovery.

Another incident soon followed when the #93 Ziggo Tempesta Porsche, the #9 Porsche, the #7 Aston Martin and the #11 Aston Martin became involved in a multi-car accident that triggered yet another Full Course Yellow.

Baert safely negotiated the incident and continued circulating consistently before handing the Aston Martin back to Xavier Knauf later in the evening. Knauf settled into another steady run, keeping the car out of trouble during the increasingly demanding night hours. As rivals encountered penalties, mechanical issues and incidents throughout the darkness, the Comtoyou Aston Martin slowly began climbing back through the order.

Hour after hour, the Belgian quartet continued to chip away at the deficit. The team's strategy remained flawless, pit stops were executed cleanly, and every driver avoided mistakes.

When Sarah Bovy climbed aboard again for the decisive night stints, the Belgian returned to the same strong pace she had displayed throughout the opening hours, immediately matching the leading Pro-Am runners and at one point among the quickest Aston Martins on circuit.

Over the course of the night, she steadily picked off rival cars, recovering multiple positions as track conditions improved with lower temperatures and while managing traffic, bringing the #700 Aston back into fourth in class.

Photo credits: SRO/JEP

Then, with just over 12 hours remaining, disaster struck.

Approaching the high-speed Blanchimont corner, Sarah Bovy received a slight touch on corner entry from a rival's car behind. At well over 200 km/h, that proved enough to unsettle the Aston Martin and send it onto the marbles. From that moment on, Bovy was a passenger without steering or braking input and slammed heavily into the barriers.

The impact immediately brought out a Safety Car as marshals attended to the damaged Aston Martin and began extensive barrier repairs. Thankfully, Bovy climbed from the wreckage under her own power, and later checks, most importantly, confirmed she had escaped serious injuries from the heavy impact.

It was a heartbreaking conclusion to what had been a genuinely strong Pro-Am effort. From starting effectively last after being stripped of a class pole position, the Belgian quartet had climbed into the class lead through excellent stints and strategy before a mechanical issue cost four laps. Rather than surrendering, they fought their way back into contention for a class podium.