Spa 6 Hours Race Report & Photo Gallery

Submitted by Rich Fowler on October 4, 2013

spa-six-hour-historics-31

Images: Marcel Hundscheid of www.speed-o-graphica.com

650 historic cars, ranging from 1960’s GTs to brute CanAm prototypes and historic Formula 1 cars. These are the Spa 6 Hours held on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps race track situated in the beautiful Ardennes region. The Roadbook organisation, led by Vincent Collard and Alain Defalle organised the 21st edition of the famous six hour race, held on Saturday September 21st. Over the weekend from Friday to Sunday an action packed race programme was presented, culminating on Saturday as 109 GTs and touring cars started for their 6 hour race from 16.00.

Spa 6 Hours

Perfect weather conditions above the Ardennes mountains as a huge field of 109 cars started for their formation lap. The nr. 3 Ford GT40 of Christian Gläsel, Indy 500 racer Kenny Bräck from Sweden and Olivier Ellerbrock started from pole position, followed by another four Ford GT40s. The nr.3 Ford GT40 managed to keep his leading position for the first 43 laps, followed by the nr.1 Ford GT40 of the 2012 winners Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield. From lap nr. 50 it was the Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport of former F1 driver Jan Lammers, Michiel Campagne and Allard Kalff leading the field. Slowly the nr. 3 GT40 worked its way into the top ten. From lap 70 it was the nr. 37 GT40 of Philip Walker and Mike Jordan in front of the pack. Very impressive was the drive of the nr. 3 GT40 as it worked its way back to a second place. Shaun Lynn and Andrew Haddon took the lead in their GT40 from lap 70 but just 4 laps later the nr. 3 car of the combination Gläsel, Bräck and Ellerbrock claimed the lead again. Slowly but steady the nr. 1 Ford of Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield worked their way up into the top three and just 16 laps before the flag the Greek-British combination scored their consecutive victory! Second place was claimed by the Dutch threesome Jan Lammers, Michiel Campagne and Allard Kalff. Shaun Lynn and Andrew Haddon finished their Ford GT40 third.

Spa Six Hour

Results Spa 6 Hours:

1) Ford GT40 Voyazides/Hadfield

2) Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Lammers/Campagne/Kalff + 34.944 sec

3) Ford GT40 Lynn/Haddon/Clark + 35.791 sec

FIA Masters Historic F1 Championship

No less than 27 historic Formula 1 cars found their way to Spa providing spectators with an epic sight as the pack climbed Eau Rouge for their first race of the weekend on Saturday. Six different Lotus F1 cars filled the grid as well as a splendid looking Ligier JS11/15, different Williams, Surtees, Arrows, Shadow, Tyrrell and lots of other former single seaters from the golden years of Formula 1. Young Briton Michael Lyons, regular FIA GT driver scored a demanding pole position in his Hesketh 308E. As expected he quickly created a huge gap but in lap 16 he made a mistake giving Simon Fish in his Ensign N180 a chance to close in and grap the lead. In the penultimate lap however Lyons regained his lead and crossed the finish line first.

On Sunday the Lyons display turned out to be even more impressive. After just three laps he was already twelve seconds ahead of Steve Hartley. Hartley started the race in his former Riccardo Patrese Arrows A4 from the 26th place on the grid and overtook 12 drivers within the first lap. Interesting to see was the fight between the Williams FW05 of Nick Padmore and the Williams FW07/C of Christophe D’Ansembourg. In the end Michael Lyons scored his second victory of the weekend as Steve Hartley scored an incredible second place, Christophe D’Ansembourg finished third.

Results FIA Masters Historic F1 Championship race 1

1) Hesketh 308E Michael Lyons

2) Ensign N180 Simon Fish + 3.118 sec

3) Williams FW07/C Christophe D’Ansembourg + 16.678 sec

Results FIA Masters Historic F1 Championship race 2

1) Hesketh 308E Michael Lyons

2) Steve Hartley Arrows A4 + 34.753 sec

3) Williams FW07/C Christophe D’Ansembourg + 39.410 sec

Spa Six Hour

FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship

Fans of historic prototypes that wrote history in the 24 hours of Le Mans or the World Endurance Championship could see a huge grid of cars built before 1974 featuring a true armada of great looking and sounding Lola T70s, Chevron B8s and B16s, McLaren M1s just to name just a few great cars from a total of 52. The Lola T70 Mk3b’s dictated the single 60 minute race on Sunday. From the very start the race was lead by the T70 of the Spa 6 Hour winners Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield, but during the opening laps they were followed very closely by the T70 of Carlos Monteverde and Gary Pearson. Roger Wills in his McLaren M1 however was also a force to be reckoned with. In the end it were Voyazides and Hadfield scoring their second win of the weekend in front of the T70 of Steve Tandy and the McLaren M1C of Roger Wills.

Results FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship

1) Lola T70 Mk.IIIB Leo Voyazides/Simon Hadfield

2) Lola T70 Mk.IIIB Steve Tandy + 2.385 sec

3) McLaren M1C Roger Wills + 5.240 sec

Masters Gentlemen Drivers

Who doesn’’t like the great shapes from the 60s? Cars from that particular era had their own classic looks for example like the Ferrari 250 or the Jaguar E-Type and Shelby Cobra. On Sunday the Masters Gentlemen Drivers had their 90 minute race featuring an epic field of no less than 55 cars. Frenchman Ludovic Caron demonstrated the power and speed of his AC Cobra Daytona Coupe as he scored a demanding victory over the Jaguar E-Type of Count Markus von Oeynhausen and Audi factory driver Frank Stippler. Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield apparently had an subscription scoring podium finishes in Spa as the Greek-British driver combination scored a third place in this race in their AC Cobra.

Results Masters Gentlemen Drivers

1) AC Cobra Daytona Coupe Ludovic Caron

2) Jaguar E-Type Markus von Oeynhausen/Frank Stippler + 25.175 sec

3) AC Cobra Leo Voyazides/Simon Hadfield + 33.565 sec

Spa Six Hour

Masters Touring Cars

GT cars and touring cars built before 1975 filled the grid for the Masters Touring Cars race. A large field of 57 GTs and touring cars entered their single race on Sunday. Initially the big Aston Martin DBS V8 of Euan Marshall and Andrew Smith grabbed the lead, but in lap 6 the quick Ford Escort RS of Robert and Sean Brawn took the leading position. A driver pairing that participated in most of the races over the weekend and was a true force to be reckoned with was the Greek-British combination of Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield. They entered a big 4.7 ltr Ford Falcon for this race taking the lead in lap nr. 10. Just a single lap later Mark Bates in his Porsche 911 RSR overtook the Ford, grabbed the lead and claimed a demanding victory in front of Robert and Sean Brown, and the Jaguar E-Type of Harry Windham.

Results Masters Touring Cars

1) Porsche 911 Mark Bates

2) Ford Escort RS Robert Brown/Sean Brown + 1m43.652 sec

3) Jaguar E-Type Harry Windham + 2m03.065 sec

CanAm Interserie Challenge

Indeed the smallest field of the weekend but by far the most powerful on the track were the big CanAm V8’s, including 2.0 and 3.0 ltr Lola’s, a bunch of Lola T70 Mk.3B’s as well as several other sports cars from the seventies. Pole sitter Andrew Newall and Michele Liguori both had to return to the pits during the formation lap. Both made it back to the track, but after just two laps Newall’s race ended. German Peter Schleifer grabbed the lead in his 1968 McLaren M6B but Frank Bradley quickly came closer in his marvelous sounding March 717 taking 1st position. Remarkable was the strong performance of Michele Liguori’s 3.0 Lola T292 winning the race in the end, nearly twenty seconds before the Lola T70’s of the combination Martin Stretton and Grant Tromans and Steve Tandy.

Results CanAm Interserie Challenge

1) Lola T292 Michele Liguori

2) Lola T70 Mk.IIIB Martin Stretton/Grant Tromans + 19.944 sec

3) Lola T70 Mk.IIIB Steve Tandy + 32.412 sec

Spa Six Hour

Historic Motor Racing News U2TC

Great to see were the touring cars that dominated the European Touring Car Championship between 1963 and 1965. Fourty-seven Ford Lotus Cortina’s, different Alfa Romeo’s, BMW’s and Mini’s fought a sixty-minute battle on the Ardennes rollercoaster. Sliding cars and screaming engines all over the 7.004 km track entertained the crowd. Throughout the sixty-one minute race Grant Tromans and Richard Meaden battled it out in their 1963 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk.1 and the 1965 BMW 1800 TiSA of former F1 driver and Arrows founder Jackie Oliver and Richard Shaw. In the end it was Jackie Oliver crossing the finish line first, nearly ten seconds quicker than the Ford Lotus Cortina of Graham Wilson and Andy Wolfe. Third place went to Grant Tromans and Richard Meaden.

Results Historic Motor Racing News U2TC

1) BMW 1800 TiSA Jackie Oliver/Richard Shaw

2) Ford Lotus Cortina Mk.1 Graham Wilson/Andy Wolfe + 9.801 sec

3) Ford Lotus Cortina Mk.1 Grant Tromans/Richard Meaden + 12.137 sec

Spa Six Hours

Historic Motor Racing News Pré-63 GT

This series is for genuine, original pré-63 GTs that have become rarer in historic racing because of the competition they encounter from modern replicas. Cars entered for this race were a.o. the Ferrari 250 SWB Berlinetta, Aston Martin DB4, Porsche 356, Jaguar E-type etc. In the beginning it turned out to be a true Ferrari battle between the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta of Belgian Vincent Gaye and the Ferrari 250 GT Competition of Dutchmen David Hart and Alexander van der Lof. But soon the Dutch combination proved to be too quick for the Belgian, created a twelve second gap and scored a crushing victory.

Results Historic Motor Racing News Pré-63 GT

1) Ferrari 250 GT Competition David Hart/Alexander van der Lof

2) Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Vincent Gaye + 12.589 sec

3) AC Cobra Martin Hunt/Patrick Blakeny-Edwards + 1m08.946 sec

Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss Trophy

Post-war racing cars up until 1955 supported by the British Royal Automobile Club and sports cars built before 1960 supported by Sir Stirling Moss combined their fields into one grid featuring cars such as Aston Martin DB2, Aston Martin DB2/4 – DB3, Austin Healey 100M/100S, Cooper Bobtail, Cooper Monaco, Cooper T39 Bobtail, Jaguar D-Type, Jaguar XK 120, Kellison J4 Roadster , Lister Chevrolet, Lister Jaguar Costin, Lister Jaguar Knobbly etc. A big field of 56 classic cars climbed Eau Rouge on Saturday afternoon for the first time. Chris Ward and John Young drove their 1959 Lister Costin to a victory in front of the Lotus 15 driven by Oliver and Grahame Bryant. Derek Hood and Andrew Smith crossed the finish line third in their 1954 Cooper Jaguar T33.

Results Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss Trophy

1) Lister Costin Chris Ward/John Young

2) Lotus 15 Oliver Bryant/Grahame Bryant + 28.807 sec

3) Cooper Jaguar T33 Derek Hood/Andrew Smith + 1m31.068 sec

Spa Six Hour

Historic Grand Prix Car Association

In 1979 a group of historic racing enthusiasts created the Historic Grand Prix Car Association. This series is especially meant to keep the spectacle alive of Grand Prix cars dating from the 1920s through to the 1960s. Who doesn’t remember great names like William Grover Williams, Tazio Nuvolari, Giuseppe Farina, Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn, Jack Brabham, Phil and Graham Hill, Jim Clark and John Surtees.Two thirty-minute races were scheduled on the Ardennes track. On Saturday Miles Griffiths and Peter Horsman shared the lead but in the final lap of the race it was Jason Minshaw who claimed first spot and took the win. Miles Griffiths and Peter Horsman had the same battle on Sunday but Max Blees decided to join the fight. Miles Griffiths crossed the finish line first and scored his second podium of the weekend. Max Blees finished second, Chris Locke completed the podium.

Results Historic Grand Prix Car Association race 1

1) Brabham BT4 Jason Minshaw

2) Lotus 18/21 Peter Horsman + 1.079 sec

3) Cooper T51 Miles Griffiths + 1.515 sec

Results Historic Grand Prix Car Association race 2

1) Cooper T51 Miles Griffiths

2) Brabham BT7A Max Blees + 1.031 sec

3) Lotus 32B Chris Locke + 14.963 sec

British Sports GT & Saloon Challenge

The British Sports GT & Saloon Challenge provided the largest field of cars of the weekend bringing 64 cars on the grid. A very varied field including Ford Escort, Ford Falcon, BMW 3.0 CSL, BMW 2002, Aston Martin’s, different Jaguars and MG’s filled the track. Initally the big Aston Martin DB6 of John Goldsmith and Ben Short dictated the race, but Andrew Haddon and Shaun Lynn closed in with their Ford Capri. Surprisingly it was the MG B GT V8 of Spencer McCarthy winning the race, as Graham Miller finished second in a Triumph TR7 V8. Tommy Gilmore (Morgan +8) scored a third place.

Results British Sports GT & Saloon Challenge

1) MG B GT V8 Spencer McCarthy

2) Triumph TR7 V8 Graham Miller + 4.470 sec

3) Morgan +8 Tommy Gilmore + 19.972 sec

Historic Sports Car Club – Open Wheel Race

In 1966 a small group of enthusiasts created the Historic Sports Car Club as they were frustrated at that time by the lack of races for sports cars in their original specifications. At Spa two thirty-minute open wheel races were scheduled seeing former Formula 2 and 3 cars as well Formula Ford 1600 and 2000’s and Formula Junior single seaters. As expected the Formula 2 cars would dominate the races. Mark Dwyer scored a double podium, as Grant Tromans and Martin Stretton scored a second and third place during the first race. Will Tomkins and Andrew Taylor did exactly the same during the second race.

Results Historic Sports Car Club race1:

1) March 742 Mark Dwyer

2) Chevron B42 Grant Tromans/Martin Stretton + 2.515 sec

3) March 732 Will Tomkins + 3m46.951 sec

Results Historic Sports Car Club race2:

1) March 742 Mark Dwyer

2) Chevron B42 Grant Tromans/Martin Stretton + 0.474 sec

3) March 78B Andrew Taylor + 1 lap

What a great event the Spa 6 Hours was, large fields, exciting racing and perfect weather conditions. Without doubt one of the best historic motor racing events in Europe especially with the present of the unique Spa 6 Hours. We’re already looking forward for the 22nd edition to be held in September 2014!