The weather, which played a large part in preparation for the Total 24 Hours of Spa with insanely hot temperatures during race week, continued to confound the organisers, this time with heavy rain.
As the race passed the halfway mark, the downpour was so intense that the decision was taken to suspend racing under red flag conditions.
Teams were instructed to return their cars to the garage under Parc Fermé conditions and it was announced that racing would not recommence before 11:30 local time (10:30 UK time).
At the time the red flag was shown, the #63 GRT Grasser Racing Team held the overall lead with the Christian Krogness-driven #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 in second position, some 7.4 seconds behind. Dinamic Motorsport, winners at Monza in the opening round also in treacherous conditions, completed the overall top three with its #54 Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Nico Bastian in the #90 AKKA ASP Team Mercedes led the Silver Cup category and the #97 Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin had the lead in the Pro-Am Cup class, Ahmad Al Harthy at the wheel.
Rinaldi Racing lead the Am Cup class with its #33 Ferrari F488 GT3, Hendrick Still at wheel at the time of the stoppage.
As at 10:20 local time, track vehicles were circulating and it was announced that the pit lane would open 11:20.