Report & Mega Gallery: Icons Rock the 31st Edition of the Spa Six Hours

Submitted by Marcel Hundscheid on October 18, 2024

The 2024 edition of the Spa Six Hours was held in late September, bringing some brilliant historic racing to the storied circuit and culminating in the spectacular six-hour event.

This year’s outing was the 31st for the meeting, one of Europe’s largest and a leading event in the field of historic motorsport. It was once again organised by Roadbook under the leadership of Vincent Collard.

A number of stars, including former Formula 1 driver Thierry Boutsen, former Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, ALMS and British GT champion Marino Franchitti and three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer made it a real party where true enthusiasts of the historic motorsport were fully catered for. 88 cars were registered for the now legendary Spa Six Hours, including no fewer than 20 Ford GT40s that had to decide among themselves who would take home the coveted trophy.

The safety car would play a prominent role during the race, which was held under varying conditions. Although Ford’s GT40 was once again the car to beat, a single Lotus Elan managed to blend in with the big V8s and even finished with an overall podium finish.

Nico Verdonck took the lead in the six hours race from pole position, but later fell back with technical problems. The DHG Racing GT40 of David and Olivier Hart and Nicky Pastorelli then worked its way to the top of the leaderboard.

Everything looked like victory would go to the Dutch team until Olivier Hart made a mistake in Pouhon with just fifteen minutes left on the clock. Although the young Dutchman managed to restart the race, he could not prevent the GT40 of Dario and Marino Franchitti and teammate Andre Lotterer, who had been running in a solid second place, from taking the victory.

DHG Racing had to settle for second place. The podium was completed by the Lotus Elan of British touring car star Gordon Shedden, Ben Barker and Rory Butcher, who managed to finish on the same lap as the DHG Racing GT40.

Masters Historic Racing was represented with the Masters Racing Legends for Formula 1 cars from the period 1966-1975, Masters Sports Car Legends, Masters Endurance Legends, Masters GT Trophy and Masters Gentlemen Drivers+Pre-66 Touring Cars.

The grid in Masters Racing Legends was nothing short of impressive featuring 26 iconic Formula 1 cars powered by Cosworth engines. Among the participants was former Grand Prix driver Thierry Boutsen, who raced from a 24th starting position to 4th place in the rankings during the second race. Matt Wrigley ultimately won both races, after Olivier Hart had to surrender his victory after a mishap during the first race of the weekend.

In Masters Sports Car Legends the number of registrations was on the meagre side compared to previous years. However, that did not detract from the titanic battle between the Lola T70 Mk.IIIB of father David and son Olivier Hart and the McLaren M1B of John Spiers and Nigel Greensall. Despite the rain, the McLaren made a strong challenge against the Lola. The battle was indecisive until practically the finish line, when Hart Junior finally took the victory.

Masters Endurance Legends and the GT Trophy were combined into a grid for the occasion. It is no longer a surprise that the weather conditions in Spa can be erratic. However, on Friday evening, heavy rain and poor weather caused the first race to be cancelled. Stuart Wiltshire eventually won the second race unchallenged in his Peugeot 90X.

Masters Gentlemen Drivers was won by Julian Thomas in a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. In Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars the race was won by Michael Whitaker Jr. in a Mustang. The Grand Prix cars of the HGPCA up to 1966 are regular participants and had two races scheduled. Rüdiger Friedrichs won both races with his Cooper T53.

Another single-seater class that always provides exciting races are the Formula Juniors. The two competitions that were planned ultimately had two different winners. Clive Richards drove his Lotus 22 to the top step of the podium on Saturday, which also won him the championship. The second race on Saturday was won by Manfredo Rossi di Montelera in a Lotus 22.

Fans of historic Formula 2 cars were treated to an impressive grid in the Classic Interseries F2, with the typical raw sound produced by the two-litre engines. Matthew Watts won the duel against Wolfgang Kaufmann in his March 772 during the first race. When the Briton retired prematurely during the second race, Kaufmann drove his March 782 unthreatened to victory.

Classic Interseries F3 did not bring the largest starting field of historic Formula 3 cars to Spa, although there were a number of interesting examples from a bygone era. British driver Andy Smith with his March 783 was too quick for the rest of the competition during both races.

The RAC Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy also had a tough time attracting entires for this edition. Where in the past between thirty and forty cars often made an appearance, this time only seventeen came to the start. The battle for the lead in the general classification was between Roger Wills in his Lotus 15 and Lukas Halusa in his Jaguar D-Type. Although Wills took the overall victory, Halusa won the Woodcote Trophy race.

The program also included competitions from the Classic Sports Car Club and the Pre War Sports Cars.

The Spa Six Hours remains one of the iconic races for fans of historic motorsport. We are already eagerly looking forward to the 32nd edition, which will be held in the autumn of 2025.

Results Spa Six Hours 2024

Spa Six Hours