The Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium is one of the most famous racetracks in the world. Nestled in hilly forests, it is often plagued by fog and adverse weather conditions, but has also been responsible for some of the most famous endurance and Formula 1 races ever. Motorsport history was written here and the most famous drivers drove their most important races in legendary car brands.
Even today, Spa is mentioned in the same breath as the Green Hell (Nürburgring), Le Mans, Suzuka, Monza or Indianapolis when it comes to the world's great racetracks.
Very fast
Originally, the circuit was 14 kilometers long and extremely fast with long bends such as the famous "Eau Rouge", so fast that Henri Pescarolo set a lap record with an average speed of 262 km/h in the Matra prototype in 1973. Jacky Ickx achieved an even faster time in the Ferrari 312 PB.
However, safety was not at its best and after a serious accident at the Belgian Grand Prix, the F1 drivers, led by Jackie Stewart, campaigned for better safety conditions and faster medical care.
Finally, in 1979, the circuit was more or less halved and the Burnenville and Masta sections were omitted as they were too fast and too dangerous with houses practically on the track. The Stavelot section also had to be dropped, but the shortened circuit still retained its typical character.
Racing drivers love this circuit, even though it has repeatedly claimed lives, such as when Stefan Bellof tried to overtake Jackie Ickx in a Porsche 956 around the outside of Eau Rouge in 1985. Nevertheless, Michael Schumacher was one of the track's biggest fans and won there a total of six times. Racing god Ayrton Senna only managed this five times, while Jim Clark and Kimi Raikkonen were successful four times. These names alone show that it was above all the exceptional talents who won at Spa.
Classic just as attractive
Peter Auto organized its Spa Classic for the seventh time and this event is one of the most popular Peter Auto events of all, especially in the years when neither the Le Mans Classic nor the historic Grand Prix in Monte Carlo take place.
No fewer than 20,000 spectators lined the track on the weekend of May 19 and 21, 2017, mainly from Great Britain and the Netherlands, as clearly documented by the many TVRs and Astons in the parking lots.
Almost typical Spa weather
Of course, the Spa Classic weekend was not completely dry, but at least it only rained on Friday, while Saturday and Sunday were dry and Sunday was even sunny.
Six racing fields
The various racing series naturally provided plenty of entertainment for the visitors, especially the three-hour race with cars from the sixties. However, the two Group C races, the two Formula 2 races and the endurance races, which were divided into two groups (CER 1: 1966 to 1972, CER 2: 1972 to 1981), also attracted a lot of interest.
Fans of the earlier 24-hour races certainly enjoyed the cars of the Heritage Touring Cup and Italophiles naturally eagerly awaited the two Trofeo Nastro races.
The fastest
As expected, the Group C sports cars from the late eighties and early nineties were the fastest around the circuit in the Ardennes. Long-distance pro Nicolas Minassian in the Mercedes-Benz C11, an ex-factory car once driven by Michael Schumacher, was fastest in both races. He clocked 2:14.965 or an average speed of almost 187 km/h.
And he was wide-eyed as he told us what it felt like to drive a 930 hp prototype around this legendary circuit, reaching top speeds of around 340 km/h at the end of the straight to Eau Rouge.
If he had completed all the laps as well as the eighth, he would have stood at the top of the podium. However, Steve Tandy was able to make himself comfortable there after both races, having been the first to see the checkered flag in the 1990 Spice SE90. The Mercedes finished second once and third once.
The long runners
The starting field for the three-hour "Sixties Endurance" was somewhat reminiscent of the endurance races of the sixties, with a number of Shelby Cobras 289, Jaguar E-Types, Shelby Mustang 350 GT, Porsche 911 and Lotus Elan/Elite on the grid in Spa, rounded off by a few exotics such as the Elva GT160, Cooper Monaco and Porsche 904 GTS.
The winner, Philipp Oettli, completed 39 laps in his Cobra in the three hours and distanced the runner-up by a whole lap.
Four Shelby Cobras saw the checkered flag first, followed by two Jaguar E-Types. After all, 47 of the 70 cars that started reached the finish line of the fast race.
Touring cars like in the old days
Just like in the famous 24-hour race at Spa, cars such as the Ford Capri 2600 RS, the BMW 3.0 CSL and the Opel Commodore GS/E lined up at the start of the Heritage Touring Cup.
And just like back then, the Fords and BMWs fought it out among themselves.
Yves Schemama won twice in a Ford Capri 2600 RS, beating Eric Mestdagh/Pierre-Alain Thibaut in a BMW 3.0 CSL and Thierry de Latre du Bosqueau/Raphaël de Borman in a Ford Escort 1600 RS to second place in the second race.
Almost completely red
The Trofeo Nastro Rosso, the de facto replacement for the former Ferrari-Maserati Challenge, was contested primarily by Ferrari GT cars, supplemented by a few Bizzarrini, Maserati, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz cars.
Belgian gentleman racer Vincent Gaye put his (non-red) Ferrari 275 GTB/C in pole position.
He did not allow himself to be overtaken in the race either and won both heats in commanding style, followed once by Peter Muelder/Christian Traber in the Bizzarrini 5300 GT, in the second heat with Carlos Monteverdi/Gary Pearson in tow. Acoustically and visually, these two races were certainly highlights of the weekend.
Endurance heroes
Although the former endurance heroes Ferrari 512 M or Porsche 910 were at the start, they had nothing to do with the outcome of the race of the older CER-1 group. Philipp Brühwiler won in a 1971 Chevron B19 FVC, followed by Maurizio Bianco in the same model and Toni Seiler in a 1968 Lola T70 Mk III.
In the newer sports cars of the CER-2 group, two Toj set the tone. Yves Schemama won in the 1976 SC 304, followed by Marc Devis in the 1978 SC 303, while the Ferrari 312 PB (in which Ickx had driven so fast around the circuit in 1973) had nothing to do with the outcome of the race.
With several BMW M1s, a Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turo, several Porsche 934/935s and a Ferrari 512 BB LM, this field of over 30 racing cars was one of the most colorful of the weekend.
Close decisions in Formula 2
Although Marti Stretton in the 1978 March 782 once again didn't let anyone take the butter off his bread, the gaps between him and second-placed Matthew Watts always remained under four seconds, so Stretton couldn't take it easy in the two races. With 18 monoposti on the grid, the field was certainly not the largest, but with six brands represented, it was certainly not a uniform field.
Incidentally, Stretton lapped the circuit at an average speed of 180 km/h, around 6 km/h faster than the best CER 2 prototypes.
Busy weekend
In addition to the races, spectators were also able to watch a demo run of a possible future racing series, in which GT1 racing cars such as the Ferrari 550 Maranello, the Maserati MC12, the McLaren F1 GTR and the Lamborghini Murcielago provided an impressive soundscape.
And those who wanted to sit in the cockpit themselves in the future were able to bid for racing and sports cars at Bonhams on Sunday. The results were documented in a separate report .
We would like to thank Marc Sonnery, who has been representing Bonhams Switzerland from Geneva since this year, for this report.
