Reid Harker survived a torrential downpour in the final sixty minutes to claim 20th overall and fifth in class at the Spa 24 Hour.
The Team Porsche New Zealand entry backed by Earl Bamber Motorsport had a fruitful race and climbiled through the order, having started 56th out of the 58 runners.
After being as high as third in the first half of the race, the team found themselves fifth in class at the three-quarter mark.
A clean race until the final hour rain ensured they remained with half a chance of a class podium.
Those odds significantly bolstered when a safety car was deployed with forty minutes left.
Harker was back on the same lap as the two cars ahead of him, and he could challenge for third in class.
Ultimately, that wasn’t to be, and the Kiwi brought the car home fifth on his debut race.
Harker’s co-drivers Will Bamber, Carlos Rivas and late call-up Wolfgang Triller played their role across a hectic race. They finished three laps down on the class winners.
Unfortunately, it was a disappointing end for Earl Bamber.
The only other Kiwi in the field retired during the night stint with a mechanical issue.
The GPX Racing Porsche was beginning to hit its stride before the issue and was challenging for a top ten position.
They are unclassified on the results sheet after completing less than half the total laps of the race winners.
Ferrari claimed its first overall Spa 24 Hour win since 2004 with a late overtake for the race lead.
The winning car was shared by Alessandro Pier Guidi, Nicklas Nielsen and Côme Ledogar.
