TF Sport Corvettes disappoint before a record crowd and a wild crash in Belgium

TF Sport team promotion was a nice touch for us fans.

Good results were another matter in the third round of the WEC Series that unfolded under clear skies at the 4.3-mile Spa Francorchamps circuit.

Native Belgian Tom Van Rompuy qualified the # 81 Z06 GT3.R Corvette 8th which is quite respectable in a closely matched 17-car LMGT3 field.

Unfortunately, the car was out before the halfway mark which left the crew with an empty feeling

First it was a tire puncture followed by gearbox failure on lap 56, well short of the 130 laps completed by the GT3 class winner, the # 91 Porsche 911 GT3.R of the Manthey Racing Team.

Hiroshi Koizumi qualified the # 82 Z06 GT3.R Corvette 15th, far down in the pack.  

 A 12th place finish was the best they could manage.

About three quarters through the 6-hour race, Earl Bamber in the # 2 Caddy Hypercar (and who once piloted a C8.R) misjudged a banzai pass entering a section called the Kemmel Straight. 

A huge crash wiped out his car, 2 others, guard rails and safety fencing.  The race was red-flagged for a long period of time.  But track repairs could not be completed before the scheduled finish.  Rather than disappoint a record crowd of 88,000, the WEC organizers made an unprecedented decision to extend the race.

The TF Sport team can redeem itself with a good performance at Le Mans while Chip Ganassi’s # 2 Caddy team gets penalized five spots at the start.

Photos thanks to TF Sport, Ryan Smith and Judy Kouba Dominick.