The Spa Classic took place for the second time on the weekend of May 26 and 27, 2012, attracting 13,000 visitors who were able to watch seven racing series in beautiful spring weather.
The Spa racetrack in the hilly Ardennes region was designed almost a hundred years ago and has repeatedly hosted exciting and even legendary races throughout its long history.
The Spa Classic is a reminder of the glorious racing battles of the past, when Porsche and Ferrari, among others, fought the toughest duels.
This year's Spa Classic was dedicated to the Ecurie Francorchamp, whose owner Jacque Swaters recently passed away. In his honour, some of the famous yellow Belgian Ferraris were on display and a rally was organized.
Group C racing cars and sports prototypes (1982-1993)
The Group C cars attracted attention with lap times that were close to those of today's sports prototypes. The field of participants was impressive and the battle at the front was exciting. Gareth Evans put his Sauber-Mercedes C9 on pole position with an almost magical lap time of 2:12.712 (for comparison: in this year's 6-hour race at Spa, the Audi R18 needed 2:02.437 on the same track layout).
In the race, however, he was initially unable to take advantage of this position and Peter Meyrick took the lead in his Spice SE89. However, when Meyrick's engine began to show problems, Evans took the lead, but was pressed to the end by the Jägermeister Porsche 962. After 24 laps, the difference between first and second was just 1.558 seconds.
The Lancia sports cars were also impressive, as Henrik Lindberg's car was measured at over 280 km/h in practice. In the race, the fastest Lancia LC2 under Rupert Clevely then took fifth place.
Ranking (Top 5):
1st Gareth Evans, Sauber-Mercedes C9 (1989), C1, 167.4 km/h
2. Cristophe D'Ansembourg/Hervé Regout, Porsche 962 (1990), C1, 167.3 km/h
3. Mike Donovan, Spice SE88 (1988), C2, 163.7 km/h
4. Steve Tandy, Nissan R90CK (1990), C1, 161.9 km/h
5. Rupert Clevely, Lancia LC2 (1984), C1, 156.2 km/h
Historic Formula 1 (1966-1985)
The historic Formula 1 field suffered from a lack of participants, with only nine of the 13 registered cars taking part in practice and the race. Joaquin Folch's two victories in his 1981 Brabham BT49C were never in danger. Behind him, Jean Michel Martin in the beautiful 1981 Fittipaldi F8 took second place, while Christoph d'Asembourg in the 1981 Williams FW07 and Richard Eyre in the 1982 Williams FW08 fought it out for the last place on the podium. The remaining drivers followed with at least a lap gap.
Historic Formula 2 (1967-1978)
While the races of the historic Formula 1 were more like a procession, the Formula 2 drivers showed the audience what they were hoping to see: wheel-to-wheel battles from the first to the last lap. In the first race, no driver could be sure of his position at any time. After eleven laps, Philip Harper on his Ralt RT1 finally emerged victorious from the duel with Matthew Watts, proving the value of his many years of racing experience.
Behind them, Peter Meyrick on March 782 and Hans Peter on a Ralt RT1 battled it out for third place, with the Swiss Peter coming out on top. In the no less exciting second race, Meyrick was more successful and took second place behind Philip Harper, with Hans Peter again coming in third.
CER1 - racing prototypes (1966-1971) and GT (1966-1974)
There was a truly impressive field of entrants in the "Classic Endurance Racing 1" race: Porsche 908, Porsche 910, Chevron B 16, McLaren M1B, Lola T70, Porsche 911 RSR, Chevrolet Corvette, Ford GT 40, Ferrari Daytona. This brought back memories of the good old days of endurance racing, when drivers were still battling with oversteering and skidding racing cars.
Sandy Watson/Martin O'Connell gave the pack of Lola T70s no chance in their 1971 Chevron B19, winning pole position and victory in the 23-lap race at an average speed of 157.3 km/h. David Hart, last year's winner, was a safe second in the Lola T70, while behind him Marc Hevia in the McLaren M1B battled with Marc Devis in another Lola T70 for third place.
In the GT class, the classic battle between Porsche and Ferrari took place, which Didier Denat in his 911 RSR 3.0 ultimately won against Jean-Michel Martin in the Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari Daytona, followed by two other Porsches.
Prototype rankings:
1st Sandy Watson/Martin O'Connel, Chevron B 19 FVC (1971), 23 laps
2. David Hart, Lola T70 Mk III B (1969), 23 laps
3. Marc Devis, Lola T70 Mk III (1969), 23 laps
4. Marc Hevia, McLaren M1B (1966), 23 laps
5. Alberto Francioni, Lola T70 Mk III (1968), 22 laps
GT ranking:
1st Didier Denat, Porsche RSR 3.0 L (1974), 21 laps
2. Jean-Michel Martin, Ferrari Daytona Gr IV (1970), 21 laps
3. Wolfgang Kaufmann, Porsche 911 RSR (1974), 21 laps
4. Bernhard Moreau, Porsche 911 RSR 2.8 (1973), 21 laps
5. Juan Orjuela/Santiago Orjuela, Porsche RSR 3.0 L (1974), 21 laps
CER2 - Racing Prototypes (1972-1979) and GT (1975-1979)
As with the older racing prototypes, a chevron also held the upper hand in the field of cars from 1972 to 1979. Once again, Sandy Watson/Martin O'Connel were victorious in their 1976 Chevron B36. Behind them, however, a thrilling battle raged between Patrice Lafargue in the Lola T 298, Loic Deman in the Osella PA4 and Dominique Guenat in a Lola T 286. The wheel-to-wheel battle was then ended by a wild spin by Dominque Guenat when he lost control of his car in the fast corner of Blanchimont, which fortunately had no serious consequences for the driver.
After five laps behind the safety car, the battle for third place was restarted between Loic Deman, Marc Devis, Eric Mestdagh and Michel Quiniou. In the end, Devis/Regout in the Lola T 298 BMW took home third place.
Nicolas D'leteren dominated the GT cars in the Porsche 935 K3 until an electrical problem forced him to watch (as he had done in practice). It was inherited by Christian Traber in the BMW M1 after he was able to defeat Ralf Heisig in the 1976 Turbo after a 21-lap battle.
Prototype rankings:
1st Sandy Watson/Martin O'Connel, Chevron B36 BDG (1976), 21 laps, 144.9 km/h
2. Patrice Lafargue, Lola T 298 BMW (1979), 143.3 km/h
3. Marc Devis/Hervé Regout, Lola T 296 BMW (1976), 143.1 km/h
4. Eric Mestdagh, GRD 73 S BMW (1973), 142.0 km/h
5. Jean Guikas, Porsche 908/4 (1970), 141.4 km/h
GT ranking:
1st Christian Traber, BMW M1 (1979), 21 laps, 140.0 km/h
2. Rolf Heisig, Porsche 911 Turbo (1976), 21 laps, 139.9 km/h
3. Michael Föveny/Roitmayer, Porsche 935 (1978), 20 laps, 136.0 km/h
4. Eric Maris, Porsche 935 (1979), 132.6 km/h
5. Jean-Marc Merlin/Yvan Mahe, Porsche 935 (1978), 130.7 km/h
Sixties GT endurance cars (GT before 1966, sports cars before 1963)
Some of the most legendary vehicles of the fifties and early sixties competed in a two-hour race. From the Lotus Elite and the powerful AC Cobra to the beautiful Ferrari 250 GT SWB and the screaming Porsche 911, they were all at the start.
As expected, the speed classification was a Cobra-internal affair, while in the index classification, which gives older and less powerful vehicles a better chance, only Lotus appeared in the first three places.
Speed ranking:
1st Alex Van der Lof/Shirley Van der Lof, AC Cobra (1965), 39 laps, 135.4 km/h
2. Dominque Guenat/Yvan Mahe, AC Cobra (1964), 38 laps, 130.7 km/h
3. Olivier Cazalieres, AC Cobra (1965), 38 laps, 129.2 km/h
4. Jean-Marc Merlin, AC Cobra (1963), 37 laps, 133.8 km/h
5. Claude Nahum/Bernard Thuner, Jaguar E-Type (1964), 37 laps, 126.5 km/h
6. Christian Traber/Kilian König, Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta (1960), 37 laps, 125.7 km/h
7. Jean Bussolini, Porsche 911 (1965), 36 laps, 124.8 km/h
8. Gérard Dubois/Claude Gonzales, Jaguar E-Type (1964), 36 laps, 124.8 km/h
9. Gaby von Oppenheim/Marc de Siebenthal, Porsche 11 (1965), 36 laps, 124.3 km/h
10. Christian Dumolin/Chrostphe Van Riet, Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta (1962), 36 laps, 123.8 km/h
Index ranking:
1st Gilles Couraudon, Lotus Elite (1960), 29 laps
2. Jean-Pierre Hubin/Thierry Durecu, Lotus Mk 9 (1955), 31 laps
3. Francois Marbeck/Thomas de Bellaigue, Lotus Elite (1961), 31 laps
4. Christian Traber/Kilian König, Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta (1960), 37 laps
5. Grégoiry Noblet/Adrian Stoop, Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA (1965), 35 laps
Trofeo Nastro Rosso - Italian GT cars up to 1965
It could almost have been a Concorso d'Eleganza if the beautiful Italian cars hadn't worn start numbers and the drivers helmets. However, the drivers were unimpressed by the millions gathered and delivered thrilling racing.
In practice, Michael Erlich in his Bizzarrini 5300 GT clearly took pole position, 1.3 seconds ahead of Vincent Gaye in a Ferrari 275 GTB/c, followed by Eric Mestdagh in a Bizzarrini 5300 GT.
Erlich and Gaye then battled it out in the first race until both retired with engine damage. Eric Mestdagh benefited, but was relegated to second place after the finish because his ignition did not comply with the rules, meaning that the winner was Hugenholtz in a Ferrari 250 GT Drogo.
In the second race, Vincent Gaye in the Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari 250 GT SWB was allowed to start from last place on the grid. After four laps, he was in the lead and never relinquished it until the finish. The spectators were almost left breathless when Gaye thundered through the fast Eau Rouge corner combination in a powerslide. Adrian Kraft and Hugenholzt battled it out behind them, with Kraft in the Maserati Tipo 63 coming out on top in the end.
Ranking list race 1:
1st Hans Hugenholtz/David Hart, Ferrari 250 GT Drogo (1961), 15 laps, 136.2 km/h
2. Eric Mestdagh, Bizzarrini 5300 GT (1964), 15 laps, 136.1 km/h
3. Grégory Noblet, Ferrari 275 GT (1965), 15 laps, 133.6 km/h
4. Alex Bell, Iso A3C (1965), 15 laps, 132.8 km/h
5. Adrian Kraft, Maserati Tipo 63 (1960), 15 laps, 132.2 km/h
6. Carlo Vögele, Maserati 300 S (1955), 15 laps, 132.1 km/h
7. Lukas Hüni/Conrad Ulrich, Maserati A6 GCS (1954), 15 laps, 131.9 km/h
8. Jérémy Lancksweert, Bizzarrini 5300 GT (1965), 15 laps, 131.8 km/h
Ranking list race 2:
1st Vincent Gaye, Ferrari 250 GT SWB, 15 laps, 138.5 km/h
2. Adrian Kraft, Maserati Tipo 63 (1960), 15 laps, 137.3 km/h
3. Hans Hugenholtz/David Hart, Ferrari 250 GT Drogo (1961), 15 laps, 137.3 km/h
4. Christian Traber/Kilian König, Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta (1960), 15 laps, 134.0 km/h
5. Carlo Vögele, Maserati 300 S (1955), 15 laps, 132.6 km/h
6. Conrad Ulrich, Maserati 300 S (1955), 15 laps, 132.1 km/h
7. Lukas Hüni/Conrad Ulrich, Maserati A6 GCS (1954), 15 laps, 131.9 km/h
8. Alex Bell, Iso A3C (1965), 15 laps, 131.9 km/h
The detailed results can be found on the Spa Classic results website.
