Motorsport Data & AI · 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2024 · Season 2024

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2024 — AI Data Analysis

Porsche wins the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2024 with the #12 Porsche 963. Pace order, reliability by class, lead changes and the closing phase in a data check.

#12Winner · Porsche
141Laps led
37Cars total
5 hanalyzed

Winning crew · #12 Hertz Team JOTAWill Stevens · Callum Ilott

Porsche won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2024 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. The #12 Porsche 963 of Hertz Team JOTA covered 141 laps over 6 hours, a race distance of 988 km. The winning crew: Will Stevens and Callum Ilott. The margin to second place was 12.4 s, close enough to keep the result open late. The fastest manufacturer also produced the winner.

How the Lead Was Won

Across the race we counted 2 lead changes among 3 different cars in the HYPERCAR class. At the closest point, first and second were only 1.3 s apart. For 5 of 5 measured hours the gap stayed under 30 seconds.

That is a real head-to-head fight, not a comfortable lead.

Gap between first and second in the HYPERCAR class, hour by hour. Peaks mark pit stops, safety cars and incidents.
Figure 1 — Gap between first and second in the HYPERCAR class, hour by hour. Peaks mark pit stops, safety cars and incidents.

Figure 1 shows how that gap moved over the distance.

Manufacturer Pace

We rank pace by the average of each manufacturer’s fastest lap. That measures real speed over the distance instead of one lucky lap. The order at the top: Porsche (198.3 km/h), Cadillac (198.0 km/h), Ferrari (197.9 km/h).

Between the fastest and the slowest manufacturer in the HYPERCAR class lie 3.6 km/h. That is a wide spread. At this track, the concept differences show clearly.

Average fastest lap speed per manufacturer in the HYPERCAR class. Higher is faster.
Figure 2 — Average fastest lap speed per manufacturer in the HYPERCAR class. Higher is faster.

Figure 2 sets the pace order side by side.

Reliability by Class

8 of 37 cars did not make the finish — an overall retirement rate of 22%. The losses were spread evenly: every class lost roughly the same share of its field.

Over this distance, reliability is a result in itself. A car that stops scores nothing, no matter how fast it was.

Retirement rate per class, with the number of entries behind each bar.
Figure 3 — Retirement rate per class, with the number of entries behind each bar.

Figure 3 compares the classes directly.

Efficiency Over the Distance

Our efficiency score multiplies average lap speed by laps completed and compares that to the class average. It rewards cars that were fast and stayed out of trouble. A value of 1.000 is exactly class average.

The top score goes to #12 Porsche with 1.146. That is the winning car — speed and durability came from the same package.

Efficiency score per car: average lap speed times laps, normalized to the class average.
Figure 4 — Efficiency score per car: average lap speed times laps, normalized to the class average.

Figure 4 ranks the cars by that score.

Fastest Lap and Class Gaps

The fastest single lap of the race belongs to #99 Porsche (Proton Competition): 2:06.459 at 199.4 km/h. Crew: Neel Jani and Julien Andlauer.

Between HYPERCAR and LMGT3 sits a pace gap of 15.0 s per lap. That number decides how much traffic the leaders have to work through.

Class winners — HYPERCAR: #12 Porsche (Hertz Team JOTA), LMGT3: #91 Porsche (Manthey).

Putting the Race in Context

The winner averaged 164.6 km/h across 988 km. On a 7.004 km lap, that is the pace the whole strategy had to sustain.

We calculate the same metrics for every race in the archive: pace order, reliability by class, lead changes, winning margin, closing stability and efficiency. That makes this race directly comparable with every other round of the 2024 season — and with the seasons before it.

All figures are derived from the full classification of every race hour and are recalculated with each build.

Overall result HYPERCAR

Full final classification of the top class after 5 hours — car, driver crew, laps, gap, fastest race lap and average pace.

Overall result
PosNoManufacturer / CarTeam & DriversLapsGapFastest lapØ FL km/h
1#12PorschePorschePorsche 963Hertz Team JOTAWill Stevens · Callum Ilott141+-2:06.468199.4
2#6PorschePorschePorsche 963Porsche Penske MotorsportKévin Estre · André Lotterer · Laurens Vanthoor141++12.3632:06.611199.1
3#50FerrariFerrariFerrari 499PFerrari AF CorseAntonio Fuoco · Miguel Molina · Nicklas Nielsen141++1:14.0202:08.064196.9
4#51FerrariFerrariFerrari 499PFerrari AF CorseAlessandro Pier Guidi · James Calado · Antonio Giovinazzi141++1:17.7102:07.189198.2
5#99PorschePorschePorsche 963Proton CompetitionNeel Jani · Julien Andlauer141++1:26.3262:06.459199.4
6#8ToyotaToyotaToyota GR010 HybridToyota Gazoo RacingSébastien Buemi · Brendon Hartley · Ryo Hirakawa141++1:34.9552:08.155196.7
7#7ToyotaToyotaToyota GR010 HybridToyota Gazoo RacingMike Conway · Kamui Kobayashi · Nyck de Vries141++1:38.3312:07.920197.1
8#83FerrariFerrariFerrari 499PFerrari AF CorseRobert Kubica · Robert Shwartzman · Yifei Ye141++1:49.1622:06.883198.7
9#35AlpineAlpineAlpine A424Alpine Endurance TeamPaul-Loup Chatin · Jules Gounon · Charles Milesi141++2:07.0892:07.918197.1
10#93PeugeotPeugeotPeugeot 9X8Peugeot TotalEnergiesMikkel Jensen · Nico Müller140+1 Lap2:07.808197.3
11#15BMWBMWBMW M Hybrid V8BMW M Team WRTDries Vanthoor · Raffaele Marciello · Marco Wittmann140+1 Lap2:08.171196.7
12#36AlpineAlpineAlpine A424Alpine Endurance TeamNicolas Lapierre · Mick Schumacher · Matthieu Vaxiviere140+1 Lap2:07.181198.3
13#20BMWBMWBMW M Hybrid V8BMW M Team WRTSheldon van der Linde · Robin Frijns · René Rast140+1 Lap2:08.089196.8
14#94PeugeotPeugeotPeugeot 9X8Peugeot TotalEnergiesPaul di Resta · Loïc Duval139+2 Laps2:08.498196.2
15#11Isotta FraschiniIsotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH-CIsotta FraschiniAntonio Serravalle · Carl Wattana Bennett · Jean-Karl Vernay138+3 Laps2:09.470194.7

Season context: the full 2024 WEC season in data · all-time WEC records

Class winners in detail

The winners of each class with overall position, car, crew and fastest lap.

Class winners in detail
ClassOverallNoManufacturer / CarTeam & DriversLapsFastest lap
HYPERCARP1#12PorschePorschePorsche 963Hertz Team JOTAWill Stevens · Callum Ilott1412:06.468
LMGT3P16#91PorschePorschePorsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3MantheyYasser Shahin · Morris Schuring · Richard Lietz1302:22.456

Manufacturer pace

Average of the fastest lap speed per manufacturer. It measures real pace over the distance, not a single outlier.

Porsche
198.34
Cadillac
198
Ferrari
197.93
Alpine
197.7
Toyota
196.9
Peugeot
196.75
BMW
196.75

Reliability by class

Retirement rate per class — the toughest filter of a long-distance race.

HYPERCAR
21.1% · n19
LMGT3
22.2% · n18

Lap efficiency score

(avg FL km/h × laps) normalized to the class mean. It combines pace, distance and durability in one number — 1.000 = class mean.

#12 Porsche
1.146
#99 Porsche
1.146
#6 Porsche
1.144
#83 Ferrari
1.142
#51 Ferrari
1.139
#7 Toyota
1.133
#35 Alpine
1.133
#50 Ferrari
1.131

Race dynamics compared

The same metrics for every race — so Le Mans is directly comparable with Daytona, and year with year.

2Lead changes (3 leaders)
+12.363Winning margin over P2
15.0 sPace delta HYPERCAR → LMGT3
HYPERCARtop class analyzed
1.3 sClosest lead gap
5/5Hours inside 30 s
988 kmWinning distance
165.7Average speed km/h
410Position changes total
106Drivers in the field

Fastest race lap

The quickest single lap of the whole race — peak pace, not race pace.

2:06.459 · 199.4 km/h — #99 Porsche, Proton Competition (HYPERCAR)
Neel Jani · Julien Andlauer

Steadiest cars

Laps per hour and their spread. A low spread means few stops, few incidents, a clean rhythm.

NoManufacturerLaps/hSpread
#20BMW21.33±1.7
#11Isotta Fraschini21.33±1.7
#99Porsche21.67±2.05
#6Porsche21.67±2.05
#51Ferrari21.67±2.05
#35Alpine21.67±2.05

WEC record at this circuit

The World Endurance Championship has raced here 15 times in the seasons we analyze, and Toyota has won most often (8). Every entry links to the full data analysis of that race.

Fastest lap on record
1:57.394 · 214.8 km/h
#7 Toyota, Toyota Gazoo Racing (2019)
Highest race average
204.8 km/h
Audi (2015)
Seasons
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
WEC races at this circuit
YearRaceWinnerDistanceCars
20266 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#20 BMW
BMW M Team WRT
1,058 km35
20256 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#51 Ferrari
Ferrari AF Corse
1,051 km36
20246 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#12 Porsche
Hertz Team JOTA
988 km37
20236 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#7 Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing
1,037 km37
20226 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#7 Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing
721 km37
20216 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#8 Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing
1,135 km33
20206 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#7 Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing
1,002 km29
20196 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#8 Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing
932 km34
20186 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#8 Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing
1,142 km34
20176 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#8 Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing
1,212 km30
20166 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#8 Audi
Audi Sport Team Joest
1,121 km34
20156 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#7 Audi
Audi Sport Team Joest
1,233 km34
20146 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#8 Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing
1,198 km28
20136 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#1 Audi
Audi Sport Team Joest
1,177 km34
20126 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps#3 Audi
Audi Sport Team Joest
1,121 km41

All-time WEC records · every WEC season in data