Mega gallery: the stunning Spa Six Hours
Images and story by Marcel Hundscheid/Speed-O-Graphica.com
Buckle up for all the inside action of the stunning Spa Six Hours, one of Europe’s leading historic motorsports events, held at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps race track in the beautiful Ardennes region.
The Spa Six Hours, held over the 17th & 18th of September, proved once again to be one of the leading historic motorsports events in Europe. Boasting an entry list of over 650 cars, beautiful weather, a vast crowd and exciting racing the 10 course degustationwas complete. Even the frequently present rain in Spa never played a part above the Ardennes region, in fact it started pouring down after the six hour endurance was finished at 22.00 p.m. on Saturday evening.
For the 2016 edition of the Spa Six Hours, no less than 107 cars were entered for the endurance race, including 11 Ford GT40s. As expected, the classic sports cars dominated the race, but several of them dropped out due to technical problems.
The pole position was scored by motoring journalist Richard Meaden with a lap time of 2:43.437. Meaden shared the nr. 16 Ford GT40 with former F1-drivers Gerhard Berger from Austria and Italian Paolo Barillia. Berger raced amongst other for Ferrari as Barilla drove for Minardi. The Italian is one of the heirs of the vast Barilla pasta empire.
Due to a severe crash from Briton Sandy Watson in his Chevron B19 during a race from the Historic Sports Car Club, the six-hour race couldn’t start at the scheduled 16.00 p.m. In the end the race started with a 30 minute delay and finished at 10PM, meaning the race lasted 5 ½ hours instead of the planned 6 hours.
Gerhard Berger started from pole, but his race came to a sudden end as his GT40 suffered from a broken ball joint, a critical part of the suspension and steering. Berger slightly touched the tire wall in Les Combes and couldn’t make it back to the pits. In the end the battle for victory was fought between the GT40s of Jason Wright, Michael Gans and Andy Wolfe and the car driven by Martin Stretton and Tony Wood. Stretton and Wood had to settle for second place as he suffered from problems with his right door and he got stuck in a queue at the gas station. Third place went to the GT40 of Craig Davies, John Young and Andy Newall.
FIA Masters Historic F1 Championship
Another crowd puller were the F1 cars from the 70s and early 80s gathered into the FIA Masters Historic F1 Championship. From the twenty-two cars entered, nineteen found their way to the track for their qualifying session. Thirty-eight year old Belgian Loïc Deman drove his 1980 Tyrrell 010 to pole position, just 0, 2 seconds quicker than Nick Padmore in his Williams FW07/C.
In the beginning of the race Padmore could follow Deman’s pace, but a little later on Deman proved to be too quick for the Briton. In the very last lap, however, Deman’s Tyrrell suddenly stopped in the Bus-Stop chicane without a single drop of fuel. Padmore couldn’t believe his luck and crossed the finish line first. Belgian Christophe d’Ansembourg drove his Williams FW07/C to a third place.
The second race on Sunday turned out a thriller as both Padmore and Deman put up a great show battling from start tot finish. The Belgian led for 9 of the 12 laps, but Padmore was all over his Tyrrell 010. A back marker settled the score as Padmore saw the tiniest gap, grabbed the lead and scored victory. With 12 victories this season Nick Padmore was crowned champion. Despite Deman’s defeat the Belgian was happy with his second place. Gregory Thornton finished third in his Lotus 91.
FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship
Forty-five stunning sports cars from the sixties produced a deafening sound across the Ardennes rollercoaster, featuring Lola T70s, Chevron B16s and B19s, as well as Lola T210s, T212s and many others.
The Lolas proved to be the quickest cars of the pack as the pole position went to Britain’s Oliver Bryant, a highly experienced GT driver. Paul Gibson and James Littlejohn came just 0.07 of a second short in their Lola T70 Mk.IIIB. Martin O’Connell’s Chevron B19 was the first roofless car with a third place on the grid.
O’Connell took the early lead in the race, in front of Oliver Bryant. Sadly O’Connell crashed just 17 minutes in on top of the Raidillon, giving the lead to Bryant.
During the pit stops Bryant mistakenly pitted three minutes before the pit window opened, just as Dutchman Nicky Pastorelli did. Bryant corrected the mistake but Dutchman David Hart, who took over from Pastorelli, didn’t. Hart crossed the finish line first but was disqualified for not correcting his fault. This gave victory to Oliver Bryant, as second place went to Paul Gibson and James Littlejohn. Italian Manfredo Rossi di Montelera finished third in his Abarth-Osella PA1.
Masters Gentlemen Drivers Pre-66 GT
The Masters Gentlemen Drivers Pre-66 GT race was held on Sunday morning featuring 36 icons from the sixties. It proved to be a battle of the Cobras between Oliver Bryant and the father-and-son team of David and Oliver Hart.David Hart was in front during the first part of the race in his Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé, followed by pole sitter Oliver Bryant. Hart made the same mistake as he did on Saturday in the Masters Sports Car race by pitting too early. It cost him a second stop in which Bryant took charge. Young Oliver Hart took over from his father and managed to keep Bryant on his toes.
David Hart was in front during the first part of the race in his Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé, followed by pole sitter Oliver Bryant. Hart made the same mistake as he did on Saturday in the Masters Sports Car race by pitting too early. It cost him a second stop in which Bryant took charge. Young Oliver Hart took over from his father and managed to keep Bryant on his toes. Hart, however, found himself in a high-speed spin from which he luckily recovered quickly.
The battle for the lead continued until the chequered flag as Hart managed to close up the gap to 0.7 of a second. Third place went to Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield in their Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé.
Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars Championship
The Masters Pre-66 Touring Car race turned out in a battle between the Ford Mustang of Craig Davies and the Ford Falcon of Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield. Davies scored the pole position and led the race from start to finish. During the early stages Voyazides managed to keep up with Davies but when the Greek had to retire his Falcon due to an overheated engine Davies drove a lonely race.
Former FIA WTCC-champion also participated in this race in a Ford Falcon which he shared with he shared with Trevor Buckley. In the end they finished second nearly four seconds behind the winning Mustang of Craig Davies.
Masters 70s Celebration
Nobody could answer the pace of Chris and Ben Beighton in their Sunbeam Tiger scoring a lights-to-flag victory in the Masters 70s Celebration & All-comers race. Although father Chris managed to create a comfortable lead over the Chevron B8s of Alec Hammond and Robert Bee and Steve Boultbee Brooks, his son Ben nearly lost victory as both the Chevrons found their way quickly towards the bright orange Tiger.
A real treat was the battle for second place between Alec Hammond and Steve Boultbee. In the end the father and son Beighton tean took victory in front of the Chevron B8s of Alec Hammond (2nd) and Robert and Steve Boultbee (3rd).
Historic Touring Cars – U2TC & HTCC
With 53 historic touring cars from the 60s, 70s and 80s the combined race of the Historic Motor Racing News U2TC and Historic Touring Car Championship proved to be epic.The Roadbook organization managed to create a dazzling race featuring two split grids. The HTCC grid saw some beautiful looking and sounding 6 cylinder Ford Capri´s and some Rover Vitesse touring cars. As usual the U2TC grid provided a bunch of sliding and drifting Lotus Cortina´s, Alfa Romeo´s, different BMW´s and Mini´s. The HTCC grid took the first start followed by the U2TC cars. In just a few laps the mighty Capri´s swallowed the Cortina´s, Alfa´s, Mini´s and BMW´s.
The Roadbook organization managed to create a dazzling race featuring two split grids. The HTCC grid saw some beautiful looking and sounding 6 cylinder Ford Capris and some Rover Vitesse touring cars. As usual the U2TC grid provided a bunch of sliding and drifting Lotus Cortinas, Alfa Romeos, different BMWs and Minis.
The HTCC grid took the first start followed by the U2TC cars. In just a few laps the mighty Capris swallowed the Cortinas, Alfas, Minis and BMWs. In the end not all the Capris saw the finish of the 60 minute race. Grant Tromans and Richard Meaden, however, scored victory in their Capri, as Rob Hall and Andy Wolfe claimed victory in their Lotus Cortina easily.
Formula Junior Historic Racing Association
Over forty Formula Junior cars found their way to Spa-Francorchamps. On Friday Sam Wilson from the UK took pole position in his Lotus 20/22. Italian Count Manfredo Rossi di Montelera needed more than 1 second extra to finish a lap resulting in a second place on the starting grid.
On Saturday the Formula Junior cars opened the programme seeing Sam Wilson fighting a close battle for victory with Cameron Jackson in a Brabham BT2. In the end it was Jackson who crossed the finish line first, but only just 0.195 of a second earlier than Wilson. James Murray was only four tenths of a second behind these two, as he finished third in a Lola Mk. 5A.
On Sunday the second race of the weekend was scheduled. This time it was Cameron Jackson who claimed a commanding victory over Lee Mowle (Lotus 20/22) and Mark Pangborn in a Lotus 20B.
Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss Trophy
The Royal Automobile Woodcote Trophy is open for entry to genuine sports of the post-War era, up to and including December 1955. The Stirling Moss Trophy is open to pre-1961 cars and combined nearly 60 cars filled the grid for their qualifying session on Friday morning.The overall pole position went to the bright red Ferrari 246S driven by Bobby Verdon-Roe and Sam Hancock. Second time went to Roger Wills from New-Zealand in a Lotus 15, as Mark Lewis and Jamie McIntyre scored third time in a Chevy powered Lister Knobbly. The sixty-minute race on
The overall pole position went to the bright red Ferrari 246S driven by Bobby Verdon-Roe and Sam Hancock. Second time went to Roger Wills from New-Zealand in a Lotus 15, as Mark Lewis and Jamie McIntyre scored third time in a Chevy powered Lister Knobbly.
The sixty-minute race on Saturday was won by a dominant Tony Wood and Will Nuthall in a Jaguar-powered Lister Knobbly. Jamie McIntyre and Mark Lewis finished second, nineteen seconds behind the winning duo. The podium was completed with a third place claimed by Dion and Gabriel Kremer in a Lotus 15.
Historic Grand Prix Cars Association
What a joy to see the Grand Prix cars from the 50s in action on one of the world’s most beautiful race tracks. For this edition of the Spa Six Hours around 40 cars found their way to the Belgian Ardennes.
One of several remarkable cars was an Alfa Roneo-powered Assegai, built by South African Tony Kotze. In fact, it was the only South African-built F1 car equipped with a Ferrari-like shark nose. In a future article we will take a closer look on this remarkable car.
Peter Horsman drove his Lotus 18/21 to a demanding pole position, followed by Rod Jolley in a Cooper T45/51. During the first race on Saturday Horsman was racing in another league as Jolley could only follow. Horsman claimed victory in front of Horsman as Andrew Smith finished third in a Cooper T43.
On Sunday it turned out in another story as Horsman dropped out of the race and Jolley claimed victory. German Rudi Friedrichs finished second (Cooper T53), Andrew Beaumont crossed the finish line in third place (Lotus 24 944).
British Sports – GT & Saloon Challenge / Historic Sports Car Club
Finally in the British Sports – GT & Saloon Challenge several cars that already participated in other categories found their way once again to the track. A mixture of touring cars, sports cars and GTs battle it out as Steve Boultbee Brooks and Robert Beebee claimed the pole position in their Chevron B8. On Sunday they raced the final race of a great weekend, seeing Russel McCarthy taking victory in a MG B GT V8.
The Historic Sports Car Club was open to closed wheel cars, featuring sports cars and GTs. Seventy cars entered the single qualifying session on Friday. As expected the sports cars proved to be quickest. Sandy Watson and Martin O’Connell took both the pole position and victory in a Chevron B19. Belgian Guy Peeters finished second in a Chevron B23.
Once again the Spa Six Hours proved itself as one of Europe’s leading historic motorsports events. Three days of historic racing on one of the world’s most beautiful race tracks during September should already be bookmarked for 2017!
Results Spa Six Hours 2016:
Spa Six Hours
1) Jason Wright (I) – Michael Gans (USA) – Andy Wolfe (UK) Ford GT40
2) Tony Wood (UK) – Martin Stretton (UK) Ford GT40 + 1:36.057
3) Craig Davies (UK) – John Young (UK) – Andy Newall (UK) Ford GT40 + 1 lap
FIA Masters Historic F1 Championship race 1
1) Nick Padmore (UK) Williams FW07C
2) Christophe d´Ansembourg (B) Williams FW07C + 22.595
3) Gregory Thornton (UK) Lotus 91/5 + 25.716
FIA Masters Historic F1 Championship race 2
1) Nick Padmore (UK) Williams FW07C
2) Loïc Deman (B) Tyrrelll 010 + 4.156
3) Gregory Thornton (UK) Lotus 91/5 + 18.288
FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship
1) Oliver Bryant (UK) Lola T70 Mk.IIIB
2) Daniel Gibson (UK) – James Littlejohn (UK) Lola T70 Mk.IIIB + 5.132
3) Manfredo Rossi di Montelera (I) Abarth-Osella PA1 + 10.970
Masters Gentlemen Drivers Pre-66 GT
1) Oliver Bryant (UK) AC Cobra
2) David Hart (NL) – Oliver Hart (NL) AC Cobra Daytona Coupe + 0.776
3) Leo Voyazides (GR) – Simon Hadfield (UK) Shelby Cobra Daytona + 30.890
Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars Championship
1) Craig Davies (UK) Ford Mustang
2) Trevor Buckely (UK) – Rob Huff (UK) Ford Falcon + 3.885
3) Rob Hall (UK) – Ben Hall (UK) Ford Falcon + 4.532
Masters 70s Celebration
1) Chris Beighton (UK) – Ben Beighton (UK) Sunbeam Tiger
2) Alec Hammond (UK) Chevron B8 + 1.393
3) Steve Boultbee Brooks (UK) – Robert Beebee (UK) Chevron B8 + 2.156
Historic Touring Cars – U2TC & HTCC
1) Andy Wolfe (UK) – Rob Hall (UK) Ford Lotus Cortina
2) Steve Soper (UK) Ford Lotus Cortina + 1:14.036
3) Richard Dutton (UK) – Neil Brown (UK) Ford Lotus Cortina + 1:29.569
1) Grant Tromans (UK) – Robert Meaden (UK) Ford Capri
2) Harry Whale (UK) – Nick Whale (UK) BMW M3 E30 + 31.391
3) Carlos Monteverde (UK) – Gary Pearson (UK) Ford Broadspeed Capri + 1:15.227
Formula Junior Historic Racing Association race 1
1) Sam Wilson (UK) Lotus 20/22
2) Cameron Jackson (UK) Brabham BT2 + 0.195
3) James Murray (UK) Lola Mk.5A + 0.405
Formula Junior Historic Racing Association race 2
1) Cameron Jackson (UK) Brabham BT2
2) Lee Mowle (UK) Lotus 20/22 + 3.051
3) Mark Pangborn Lotus 20B + 4.734
Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss Trophy
1) Tony Wood (UK) – William Nuthall (UK) Lister Knobbly
2) Mark Lewis (UK) – Jamie McIntyre (UK) Lister Knobbly + 19.425
3) Gabriel Kremer (CH) – Dion Kremer (CH) Lotus 15 + 34.611
1) Chris Ward (UK) Jaguar C-Type
2) Fred Wakeman (UK) – P. Blakeny-Edwards (UK) Cooper T38 + 2.46.621
3) Carlos Monteverde (UK) – Gary Pearson (UK) Jaguar D-Type + 1 lap
Historic Grand Prix Cars Association race 1
1) Peter Horsman (UK) Lotus 18/21
2) Rod Jolley (UK) Cooper T45/51 + 3.380
3) Andrew Smith (UK) Cooper T43 + 1.23.510
Historic Grand Prix Cars Association race 2
1) Rod Jolley (UK) Cooper T45/51
2) Rudi Friedrichs (D) Cooper T53 + 31.572
3) Andrew Beaumont (UK) Lotus 24 944 + 45.902
British Sports – GT & Saloon Challenge
1) Russell McCarthy (UK) MG B GT V8
2) Eric Sechaud (F) – Francis Sechaud (F) Ford Escort + 33.196
3) Jerry Knight (UK) Morgan +8 + 35.782
Historic Sports Car Club race 1
1) Sandy Watson (UK) – Martin O´Connell (UK) Chevron B19
2) Guy Peeters (B) Chevron B23 + 7.619
3) Mark Richardson (UK) Lola T290 + 8.467
Historic Sports Car Club race 2
1) Guy Peeters (B) Chevron B23
2) Robert Parker (UK) Osella PA5 + 33.716
3) Pierre Dutoya (F) – Laurent Dutoya (F) Elva Mk.8S + 45.094
