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Chaz Mostert and US-based Australian GT racer Kenny Habul experienced all the highs and lows motorsport can deliver in last weekend’s CrowdSpike 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium.
Heading into the weekend as the outright leader in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, Habul crashed his SunEnery1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in Thursday afternoon practice and was taken from the circuit in an ambulance with a broken back while his car was left non-repairable.
That incident led to an incredible timeline of instances which eventually produced one of the most memorable class victories in Spa 24 Hour history for Australian Supercars ace Chaz Mostert, Dutch champion Nicky Catsburg, Austrian gun Marty Konrad and German Sub Adam Osieka.
Habul is currently recovering in Europe from back surgery and is weighing up the timing of his racing return.
“I originally said it was the Spa 48 hour, not 24 hour, but in all honesty it was probably more like the Spa 62 hour for the team and everyone associated with it,” said Habul.
“It was an amazing weekend when you look at what had to be achieved to get that victory.
“Sure, it was frustrating to be out of the car and watching everyone unfold from my hospital bed, but there was an enormous satisfaction to see the team rally and for Chaz, Nicky and Marty to drive the wheels of the thing with some help from our sub Adam (Osieka).
“I was just proud of everyone involved.”
Mostert arrived home late Tuesday night and within 12 hours was back on a plane to Townsville for this weekend’s Supercar event.
The two-time Bathurst 1000 winner played a major role in last weekend’s victory including a faultless triple stint, which turned more than a few heads for GT stakeholders.
“It was a hell of a week,” said Mostert.
“It had so many highs and lows. Obviously the major low was Kenny’s accident and injury and the greatest high was the team pulling together to win the race, but I guess that is the beauty of this sport.
“When you actually break down the timeline and look at what was achieved between Thursday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, you start to get an idea of what went into making the win a reality.
“The main focus now is getting Kenny up and about and then we can maybe think about doing something together again. I can’t thank him enough for the opportunity and his commitment to the purchase of a new car, knowing that he was not going to be driving it last weekend.”
The next round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge is in Indianapolis in early October.
#75 SUNENERGY1 EVENT TIMELINE
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2023
11.20-12.50 – Practice for Spa 24 begins
6.10pm – Pre-qualifying begins
7.05pm – Kenny Habul has an accident at the exit of Eau Rouge during a session plagued with red flags. He is taken to hospital at Verviers by ambulance for X-rays and CT scans.
7.29pm – SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG arrives back to the garage on a flatbed truck.
7.59pm – After an analysis of the car it is decided it cannot be repaired for the event and investigations begin on the possibility of the delivery of a new car.
8pm – Team members begin the task of stripping the crashed car of parts, in preparation for a new car.
9.20pm-10.40pm – Qualifying happens without the #75 SunEnergy1 car.
9.30pm – A decision is made to purchase a new car from AMG and have it prepared for the weekend’s race. Habul makes the call from his hospital bed.
10.30am – Chas Mostert, Nicky Catsburg and Martin Konrad arrive at the hospital to visit Habul.
Midnight – The team works through the night continuing to strip the original car.
FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2023
1.35am – A Media release is issued saying that a new car has been purchased and that the team was looking for a suitable Bronze-accredited driver to replace Habul.
1.55am – Habul is transported by ambulance to a hospital in Liege
4.30am – Team takes a break from striping the car to get some needed sleep.
9am – Team members travel to HRT headquarters in Dees Germany to start preparation on the new car before loading it on a truck and driving it two hours to Spa.
10am – It is decided that Australian Liam Talbot will be Habul’s replacement and he makes arrangements to travel from Brisbane to Spa.
10.30am – Habul undergoes 40 minutes preparation for surgery.
11.10am – Habul undergoes two hour back surgery.
3.30pm – Habul is released to his family after a two-hour recovery period.
5pm – Draft Media release announcing Talbot is prepared and sent to him (in the air) for approval.
6pm – New SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG is delivered to Spa and new parts start to be bolted on.
6.45pm – After on-going discussion with the event stewards, it is confirmed that Talbot must take part in the pre-race sighting laps to be eligible for the race. After looking at every available option, the team decides the timelines will be too tight to take a risk on Talbot staying in the car.
7.15pm – GetSpeed CEO Adam Osieka (second from left) is approached about being the team’s fourth driver and he accepts the offer – he is running two of his own team cars, just two garages down in pitlane.
7.30pm – Talbot is contacted in the air and is delivered the difficult news. He understands the situation and decides to return on the next flight to Australia after touching down in Doha.
7.55pm – The new SunEneryg1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 rolls out for the Spa 24-hour warm-up. Osieka, Catsburg and Konrad complete laps in the 35-minute session.
9.15pm-10.55pm – Spa 24 Super Pole session without #75 SunEnergy1 car.
Midnight – Media Release issues confirming new team driver line-up.
SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2023
11am-Noon – Driver change practice inside garage due to rain
12.15pm – Driver media commitments
1.30pm – Drivers to AMG pre-event meeting
2.30pm – Team strategy meeting,
3.30pm – Konrad does two sighting laps in the rain.
4.20pm – Habul sets himself in his hospital bed with laptop and phone to follow the race.
4.30pm – SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 starts the Spa 24 from pitlane. The race started under yellow because of rain with Martin Konrad at the wheel.
SUNDAY, JULY 2, 2023
4.30pm – SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 wins Pro-Am Class of Spa 24 Hour
7pm – Low-key team dinner
8.20pm – SunEnergy1 drivers visit Habul in hospital and present him with the team trophy.
