June 30, 2025
24-hour race at Spa: MANN-FILTER delights fans and customers with strong team performance
With tenth place in the season highlight, the Winward Racing Team MANN-FILTER celebrated a remarkable success in the world’s toughest GT3 race, the Crowdstrike 24 hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Despite a controversial drive-through penalty, the entire team put in an impressive performance – both during and away from the race.
Ludwigsburg, June 30, 2025 – The summer temperatures attracted around 120,000 spectators to Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps race track last weekend. Once a year the track plays host to the 24-hour race, a top-class motorsport event. While GT3 cars raced through the famous “Eau Rouge” turn at remarkable speed, fans off the track celebrated and cheered on their favorites. A valuable platform for MANN-FILTER to show its presence in motorsports, but also to anchor customer events in an emotional and authentic environment.
MANN-FILTER Mamba at the 24-hour race in Spa
MANN-FILTER Mamba in the top ten!
The crème-de-la-crème of motorsport were competing against each other in the 24-hour race and this was clear as early as qualifying. The ten fastest drivers remained within one second of the pole setter. The MANN-FILTER team of three, consisting of top drivers Maro Engel (39, Germany), Matteo Cairoli (29, Italy) and Lucas Auer (30, Austria), placed the MANN-FILTER Mamba, which unfortunately had a significant weight disadvantage due to the BoP (Balance of Performance), in remarkable fifth place.
On Saturday, the starting signal was given for the 24-hour classic, during which there is no time for taking a breather. The Mamba was a real eye-catcher in the race and stood out, especially in the evenings, in its bright yellow-green design. The Mercedes-AMG ran like clockwork and the team around team boss Christian Hohenadel delivered top performance with almost flawless consistency. Mechanics, engineers and everyone involved remained highly focused the whole time – even late at night.
Controversial drive-through penalty prevents top placement
On the morning of the second day, however, the team suffered a setback when the Mamba, with start number 48, was handed a drive-through penalty. The reason was incomprehensible to the team and to Maro Engel, who was behind the wheel during the incident. During an overtaking attempt, contact was made with an opponent, who then had to leave his vehicle.
"It was a long and tough 24-hour race. The luck of the race was not on our side. But unfortunately this is sometimes the case in motorsport," says Maro Engel, analyzing the situation afterwards. "I took another look at the scene. The contact came about in a situation where I saw an overtaking opportunity and was on the racing line. I'm sorry that the competitor had to abandon the vehicle, but it was still a normal racing situation for me. We gave it our all, but with the penalty there was no realistic chance of competing for the top spot. The team never gave up and did an incredibly good job. In the end, we still picked up important championship points."
Lucas Auer takes a similar view and is already focusing on upcoming events: "The race was a tough one. We have to be satisfied with tenth place this weekend, because unfortunately we lacked the pace over the distance to be able to make a decisive impact at the front. However, we were able to collect important points for the overall standings of the GT World Challenge Europe and have taken the lead in the Endurance classification thanks to the intermediate rankings!"
MANN-FILTER customers experience motorsport up close
In addition to racing, dialog with customers was also a priority for MANN-FILTER. The team and subsidiary company MANN+HUMMEL France welcomed key accounts and workshop partners on site in Belgium. The program included in-depth insights into the topics of filtration, as well as setup work and data analysis in racing. “This time, we talked particularly intensively about the interplay between technology, tires and vehicle tuning,” says Filippina Manou, sponsorship manager at MANN-FILTER. "That made an impression on our guests."
MANN-FILTER colors were also on display during the famous drivers' parade and the grid and pit walk: "Our fans were diligently equipped with yellow caps and flags – the enthusiasm was huge and Spa always leaves you with goosebumps."
Looking ahead: Norisring in sight
After the long-distance classic, the focus is already on the next highlight: the Norisring street circuit in Nuremberg is a high point of the DTM season. "With our setup and team, we are in the best position – we demonstrated this last weekend," says the sponsorship manager. "Tenth place is a remarkable team achievement given the circumstances. There was an incredibly family atmosphere in the team – Christian Hohenadel really has a special feel for people and team composition. In such an environment, you realize: It's not just about racing, but also about team spirit and working hard for success. We are already looking forward to the next event and not only want to see a lot of yellow on the screens, but also hear MANN-FILTER sound loudly through the speakers."
The #MAMBAMANIA racing action continues!
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About MANN+HUMMEL
MANN+HUMMEL is a global leader in filtration technology. Headquartered in Ludwigsburg, Germany, the Group develops intelligent filtration and separation technologies – including in the areas of Transportation and Life Sciences & Environment. Founded in 1941, the family-owned company’s solutions ensure clean mobility, clean air, clean water and clean industrial processes around the world. In this way, MANN+HUMMEL makes a decisive contribution to protecting the environment and to the sustainable use of limited resources. In 2024, around 21,200 employees at over 80 locations around the world generated a turnover of EUR 4.5 billion.
You can find further information on MANN+HUMMEL at https://www.mann-hummel.com