Penrith-born racing driver Frank Bird saw a valiant effort come to nothing when he and his team was forced to retire from the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa held at the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium this weekend.
Driving for the German-based Haupt Racing Team in the 75th edition of the great event, Cumbrian Frank was part of a four driver team including fellow Brits James Cottingham and Matt Bell along with American Naveen Rao contesting the Pro-Am Cup class in the Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Considered the biggest GT3 race in the world and undoubtedly the highlight of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS race calendar, and with experience around the seven kilometre circuit nestled in the Ardennes region, Frank was looking forward to the challenge following his recent class victory at the ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Race Nürburgring which saw him impress during the night.
However, due to a number of incidents involving the #64 car the team were contesting the event in, after two-thirds distance during the early morning hours, they had to retire the car due to the amount of damage sustained.
Frank Bird: “Unfortunately it’s a non-finish in this year’s Spa 24 Hour race. After showing good speed in qualifying with P5 in the Pro-Am class, sadly the race didn’t go quite to plan. We sustained a number of hits to the car throughout the opening half of the race which took its toll, forcing us to retire with eight hours to go. Yet again it showed why it’s one of the toughest races in the world but we’ll be back to try and conquer it. I definitely enjoyed my first experience of being in a Pro-Am entry. Thanks to team HRT and my sponsors for the opportunity.”
Note to Editors
About HRT
HRT stands for HAUPT RACING TEAM. The motorsport team was founded in July 2020 by racing driver and entrepreneur Hubert Haupt and has firmly established itself in international GT3 sport within a very short time. As well as numerous race wins and top results, HRT’s greatest success came in 2021 when it won the Drivers’ Championship in the DTM. The team’s programme is demanding and diverse: among other things, HRT starts in the DTM, the Nürburgring Endurance Series, the GT World Challenge Europe, and the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps. Many of these race outings are as a Mercedes-AMG Performance Team with extended factory support. HRT is also involved in professional sim racing and is a sought-after partner for technical development projects and motorsport events of all kinds. As of the 2023 season, the team’s new operations centre is the HRT Race Base in Drees, which is located at the Nürburgring. The headquarters of Haupt Racing Team GmbH are in Grünwald near Munich.
Pictures attached: Frank Bird in action at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa race this weekend
For further information, please visit https://media.hauptracingteam.de and the Paul Bird Motorsport website www.pbmuk.net.
