From September 27 to 29, 2024, the legendary endurance race "Spa Six Hours" took place again on the Spa-Francorchamps Grand Prix circuit. The weather forecast was pretty sobering for all the competitors and spectators this weekend. On all three days, the thermometer showed around ten degrees and the rain radar on the various weather apps looked more like a crumble cake with countless rain clouds.
However, the motorsport fans from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France and England were not deterred and most of the large parking lots were quickly filled, especially on Saturday morning. Where else could you experience a great mix of historic motorsport at the end of the season? Starting with classic formula cars, prototypes, GTs and sports cars through to the historic Formula 1.
Favorites among the participants
The registered drivers also formed a small "Hall of Fame" for the highlight in Spa - the six-hour endurance race. Among those competing were: Andre Lotterer - three-time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans; Dario Franchitti - four-time overall Indy Car winner; Frank Stippler - multiple winner of the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and in Spa; Chris Harris - TV presenter; and three former Formula 1 drivers, Thierry Boutsen, Eric van de Poele and Karun Chandhok. A total of 220 drivers in 79 cars were registered for the six-hour race.
If you wanted to compete for overall victory, you couldn't avoid a Ford GT 40 if you looked at the results list from previous years. This year, 20 of these endurance legends were registered. But various Lotus Elan, Shelby Cobra Roadster and Coupé, Ford Mustang, Jaguar E-Type, TVR, Porsche 911, Ginetta, MGB, Triumph and some big guns like the Ford Falcon and Ford Galaxie also took part in the six-hour race.
The best result from two qualifying races was decisive for the starting grid. The driver duo Graf von Oeynhausen with local hero Nico Verdonck put the turquoise GT 40 with starting number 30 on pole position with a time of 3:07.042 minutes.
The GT 40 of Gerry Pearson, Alex Brundle and Chris Harris and a best time of 3:10.605 minutes also made its mark. On the second row of the grid were the two GT 40s of driver crews Daniel and Oliver Hart with Nicky Pastorelli and Oliver Bryant, Joe Twyman and Phil Keen.
Knocked off the throne
When the cars were sent out on the formation lap at around 15:55, the temperature was 10 degrees, but at least it was dry in the start and finish area. However, this did not apply to the entire seven-kilometer route, which leads right through the Belgian Ardennes forest. Damp sections alternated with more or less dry areas. The small fountains of spray from the riders in front called on all riders to be vigilant. The start duel up to La Source was won by Nico Verdonck.
When a turquoise dot became visible a little later, coming back from the first lap in the lead with a large lead, the Oeynhausen/Verdonck team was relieved on the pit wall and proudly put a P1 on the pit board.
It was not until the 14th lap that the number 1 had to make way for the number 2. The dark GT 40 of Eric van de Poele and Ford CEO Jim Farley had taken the lead. Towards the end of the first hour of the race, the red GT 40 with the starting number 41 of the team of Dario Franchitti, Marino Franchitti and Andre Lotterer, who had started the race from 9th on the grid, had also fought its way through to the leading group and took over first place from lap 27.
As the race progressed, the rain clouds did not remain idle and repeatedly surprised drivers and spectators with small showers. The braking points changed, the curbs became more slippery again and visibility was not always optimal. Slips, small spins and frequent visits to the gravel often required the deployment of the two safety cars. It was annoying when the hard-won lead was lost again and the field moved closer together. On the other hand, it also gave the adrenaline-pumped drivers the opportunity to briefly check their own vehicles and take a breather.
Pit stop and refueling stop
If you were lucky, you were able to make your planned pit stop or extrapolated refueling stop. Both must be carried out separately at Spa. Short maintenance work and the driver change may take place in your own pit. The same rule applies to refueling for everyone: refueling takes place at the central refueling station in the lower area of the paddock. Four fuel pumps are available here, which are allocated to the arriving vehicles in turn by the sports marshals. Each driver must get out and refuel themselves. Of course, it is helpful if you have a large tank, or even two tanks like the Ford GT 40. On these, the filler necks are located at the bottom left and right of the A-pillar. The total tank capacity of a GT 40 is around 140 liters.
Some pit crews calculate a lap consumption of approx. 2.6 liters of fuel in Spa, others state a consumption of approx. one liter per minute. Depending on the weather conditions, the driving style and the number of safety car laps completed, consumption varies accordingly. As there is no radio communication between the driver and his pit, the driver has to follow the respective projection or the display board for the refueling stop and then hope that he will find a free refueling spot. Otherwise, there can be an involuntary break of a good three to five minutes.
A misfortune cost the victory
The three leaders came in for their first refueling stop within four laps. After that, the field shuffled around a lot due to safety car phases, capricious weather conditions and pit stops. Unfortunately, the turquoise GT 40 of Oeynhausen/Verdonck, which had been in the leading group for several hours, suffered engine problems and retired just ten laps before the end of the race. The GT 40 of Oliver and Daniel Hart and Nicky Pastorelli suffered an even more dramatic fate, as they led the field for more than 40 laps in the last half of the race before they were caught out in the "Pif Paf" corner and the caramel-colored GT 40 ended up in the gravel. The lucky beneficiaries of this were Dario Franchitti, Marino Franchitti and Andre Lotterer. Their GT 40 with starting number 41 battled with the Hart GT 40 for many laps and had a little more luck in the end.
The night's winner's podium, at an air temperature of 7 degrees and a track temperature of 8 degrees:
- in 1st place: Dario Franchitti, Marino Franchitti and Andre Lotterer with 106 laps completed.
- In 2nd place: Oliver Hart, Daniel Hart and Nicky Pastorelli with 105 laps completed.
- 3rd place: a flawlessly driven Lotus 26R from the team of Gordon Shedden, Ben Barker and Rory Butcher with 105 laps.
The GT 40 is unbeatable
As in the previous year, an efficient "underdog car" with just 1600 cc, a perfect driver pairing and clever pit management succeeded in beating eight Ford GT 40s.
Twelve seconds after the Lotus 26R, the GT 40 of Gary Pearson, Alex Brundle and Chris Harris took 4th place. Michael Funke, the winner of the last 1000-kilometer race at the Nürburgring the weekend before last, was able to celebrate a fifth place overall with his team. The other teams in the top ten were the Ford GT40s of Bryant-Twyman-Keen, Wakeman-Smith-Grant Peterson, Macedo Silva-Monroy, Wood-Nuthall-Lyons and Meins-Lillingston Price-Huff.
