June has been a busy month, rounding things off with the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa. What a weekend. To be part of this team as they took on their first 24-hour race is something I’m incredibly proud of – and to bring the car home with a top-6 finish was the cherry on the cake. A huge effort by every single member of the team, and a fantastic way to close out the month.

All endurance races are a challenge, and that’s part of the appeal. But racing for 24 hours is on a different level entirely. The team around you plays a pivotal role — you rely so heavily on your teammates, the engineers, and the calls being made throughout each stint. The machine has to work under different types of pressure, and this weekend really showed what every member of this team is made of.

Every 24-hour race brings something unique, and this one was no exception – not least the weather, with temperatures pushing 40 degrees. As with any event, the aim is to run your own race and not be drawn in by others, which is easier said than done on a grid of over 60 cars. For the most part, though, we managed it well and stayed out of trouble.

We were on the back foot from qualifying, with a technical issue limiting our running across the sessions and dropping us down the order. But we had 24 hours to pull ourselves back up. From there, pace and performance were solid – and things really came to us once the sun dropped and the air cooled.

The race was full of incident, as expected, and we did well to keep a cool head in the early stages, avoiding trouble and making good gains up the order. It was then a case of delivering consistently in every stint to give ourselves the best chance of a result.

The boys did a great job throughout – back again with Giacomo and Lorcan, and joined for the first time by Romain Leroux. We combined well, and that trust in your teammates is everything in a race like this. We didn’t escape without challenges – an overnight rainstorm and an unscheduled pitstop to address a missing wheel among them –  but everyone adapted calmly and quickly.

From our starting position, we climbed steadily throughout, gaining overall positions hour by hour. Moving up in class was our primary focus – we were inside the top 10 within the first hour and kept chipping away from there, closing the gap to those ahead. As the closing hours approached, things began to shake out in our favour. As the final hour began, the brutality of the event was written all over our battle-scarred #56 Vantage GT3. We were holding a firm P6 in class, having moved up 30 positions overall. The chequered flag was a welcome sight – bringing the curtain down on a hugely impressive debut 24-hour effort from the Blackthorn AMR team.

It’s hard to comprehend the dedication needed to compete in, and complete, a race like this. I couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved. We make real strides forward with every event, and this result elevates things to a whole new level.

Time for some sleep, then full focus on July. Another busy schedule ahead, but June has reinforced something important: no matter what challenge is put in front of us, we can handle it.

GT World Challenge Europe Bronze Cup

Team: Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn AMR

Car number: #56

Circuit: Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa, Belgium

Race: P6

Teams’ championship: P5

Drivers’ championship: P9