NEWS - SPA 6 HOURS
With the return of autumn over the Spa-Francorchamps region, aficionados of classic car racing are hopping up and down with impatience … But their wait is about the be rewarded, seeing as from this Thursday 29th October, the 2022 vintage of the Spa Six Hours will offer up its traditional symphony for those frenzied machines …
And if the meeting kicks off, as tradition demands, with a day partially reserved to the Pre-Wars, even road going cars, as from Friday morning the free practice sessions followed by qualifying will follow one another. When it comes to Saturday and Sunday these will be entirely focussed on … 15 races foreseen on the programme!
Let us look at this programme, both well filled and varied! With top of the bill obviously going to the name of the meeting signed Roadbook, the Spa Six Hours Endurance! Saturday, between 15.55hrs and 21.55hrs, some 20 Ford GT40 will be crossing swords with the various Shelby Cobra, Jaguar E-Type, Lotus Elan 26 R, etc. As one of the major European events on the historic racing scene, the 2022 edition of this 6 hours event will welcome numerous motorsport personalities, of which Alex Brundle (Martin Brundle’s son, GT40), Harrison Newey (son of the F1 engineer Adrian Newey, GT40), Christophe Van Riet (Cobra), Fred Bouvy (Cobra), Marc Duez (Cobra), Frank Stippler (GT40), Marino Franchitti (Cobra), Nicolas Minassian (GT40), Eric van de Poele (GT40), Vanina Ickx (Falcon Sprint), Markus Palttala (911), etc.
But don’t be fooled, the rest of the menu is just as tasty, with each series more prestigious than the previous one, allowing us to quite simply celebrate … a century of motorsport! As such, the Pre-War Sports Cars will see the icons of the ‘20s and ‘30s on track, whether they are named Alfa Romeo 8C, Talbot Lago T23, Bentley 3 or 4 ½, not forgetting Bugatti Type 35. Magical… As for the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association, it will be bringing together the pre-1966 Grand Prix machines, a starting grid filled with Brabham, Cooper, BRM, Lister, Lotus, Scarab, with the Alfa Romeo P3 and Maserati 250 F as stars!
It was at the end of the ‘50s that Formula Junior appeared, with its small single-seaters fitted with 1000 and 1100cc power units, which for a while became the gateway discipline to Formula 1. Historic Formula Junior will pay tribute to it, with known makes, such as Brabham, Cooper, Lotus or Elva (and a certain Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian Prime Minister!), but also countless small craftsmen with names such as Gemini, Alexis, Condor, Wainer, BMC, Stanguellini, Lynx, Envoy or Elfin.
Staying with the singe-seaters, the F1 machines between 1966 and 1985 are now grouped together under the heading Masters Racing Legends, with numerous Lotus bearing the legendary black and gold livery, McLaren, March, Hill, Ensign, Tyrrell, Williams or Arrows. And an on-going battle is announced between Marco Werner, three times winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nick Padmore, former historic F1 winner, Michael Lyons, star of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, not forgetting Christophe d’Ansembourg, who will do his utmost to have the Belgian national anthem played in the heart of the Ardennes.
The Masters series represents an important part of the Spa Six Hours programme, with notably the Masters Sports Cars Legends, Prototypes and GT machines that wrote endurance history between 1962 and 1974. The Ferrari 512 M manned by the Dutchmen David and Olivier Hart will not go unnoticed, as will the Lola T70 of the British drivers Phil Keen and John Minshaw, as also Martin O’Connell and Steve Brooks.
On the other hand, the Masters Gentlemen Drivers focus on the pre-1966 Touring and Grand Touring cars. Here the stars are the Jaguar E-Type, Shelby Cobra, Lotus Elan 26 R, TVR Griffith, Ford Falcon Sprint and Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA. And victory will be down to either Phil Keen (Jaguar), Christophe Van Riet and Emile Breittmayer (Cobra) or perhaps Michael Lyons (TVR).
Bringing together the “lesser old cars” of the weekend, the Masters Endurance Legends will see Prototypes on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit whose exploits are far more recent. Peugeot 908 HDI FAP, Dallara-Oreca, Lola Aston Martin, Ligier LM P2 and LM P3, Zytek 09S, which should delight the younger generations …
Among the most qualitative grids in the world, the Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy will bring together muscle cars from the ‘50s, with superb bodywork. Maserati 300 S, Lister Knobbly and Costin, Jaguar C-Type, so many sportscars that left their mark in history. As for the Aston Martin DB 2/4, the latter will be manned in turn by Guy Verhofstadt and Laurent De Meeus.
Last but not least, the Belcar Historic Cup is featured on the Spa Six Hours billboard for the first time, with a plethora of entrants and a fair number of favourites, of which Luc Moortgat (Porsche 964), Guy François (Nissan Primera BTCC), Erik Bruynoghe (Porsche 964), Tom Van Rompuy (BMW M3 E30), Erik Qvick (BMW 320 Turbo Gr.5), Emiel De Weerdt (Ford GT40), Christophe Van Riet (BMW M3 E30), Guy Fastres (BMW M3 E30), René Weidig (Ford GT40), Grahame Bryant (Morgan Plus 8), Paul Daniels (Porsche 911 RSR), Eric Mestdagh (BMW 3.0 CSL), etc. Explosive!
In addition of this imposing sporting programme, Spa Six Hours 2022 will pay tribute to Jean Blaton, alias ‘Beurlys’, whereas the fans will have the opportunity to full up on memories in the paddocks of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, where the members of the BEHVA, Belgian Federation of Historic Vehicles, will be present with their classic and oldtimer cars …
In a nutshell, a long weekend oozing nostalgia… Ready to board our time machine?
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© Spa Six Hours - 29.09.22 - 02.10.22
The Sound of History
