Heartbreak at Spa: Bastian Buus Forced to Retire from 24 Hours

A technical failure ended the race early for Bastian Buus and Dinamic GT in this year’s edition of the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Two hours and 55 minutes. That was as far as Bastian Buus and his Dinamic GT teammates made it into the 2024 edition of the 24 Hours of Spa before the team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R had to be brought into the garage. The culprit was a failed wheel bearing, prompting the factory-supported Italian outfit to close the garage door and withdraw from the race.

“There was no point in trying to repair the car. We were fighting for a top result, and as soon as you push the car into the garage, you’re out of contention. It’s hugely disappointing, but unfortunately, that’s just how endurance racing works sometimes,” said a frustrated Bastian Buus.

The Dane was behind the wheel when the issue occurred. Up until that point, the Italian squad – which, in addition to Buus, included Porsche factory drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell – had shown strong form. The trio had qualified for the final shootout among the 20 fastest cars, and Buus was running in 12th place when he was forced to pit due to vibrations from the front-right corner.

“It’s such a shame for the whole team, who’ve done an amazing job all week. Preparations haven’t been easy, but we managed to find a setup and a car that worked well in the race. I really think things could have developed in a good direction for us – but it wasn’t meant to be. We move on now, and hopefully we’ll get another shot at this next year,” Buus added.

Next up for the Danish Porsche factory driver is Round 6 of the GT World Challenge Europe, taking place at the Italian Misano World Circuit on July 19–20, where he’ll be back with the Dinamic GT squad.