Two Motor Racing Legends grids featured on the fifteen-race programme at this year’s Spa Six Hours Meeting. Typically damp Ardennes conditions were interspersed with brilliant sunshine, and the unique atmosphere of the Six Hours weekend was as splendid as ever; every competitor who had travelled over from the UK or joined us from the continent enjoyed another fabulous weekend’s racing on this ‘holy grail’ of circuits.
Tony Wood and Will Nuthall Prevail in Lister Knobbly in Stirling Moss Trophy
Lister-Jaguar crews scored a one-two finish in the Stirling Moss Trophy Race for Pre-1961 sports cars. In challenging wet conditions, Nigel Greensall made the running in John Spiers’ Knobbly, but when Will Nuthall took over Tony Wood’s sister car he relished charging down Spiers to win.
Following dry practice, heavy overnight rain made Spa-Francorchamps, home of Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix, treacherous on race day. Greensall loves a challenge and slithered into a six second lead over Charlie Martin (Cooper Monaco), Michael Gans (Lotus 15) and Tony Wood at the end of the opening lap. By the time Nigel made his mandatory stop to hand over to John Spiers, 11 laps in with the sun taking a belated bow, his advantage looked decisive.
Will Nuthall, erased a 33 second deficit over the next five laps and growled past the black car with a lap to spare taking victory by 12.158 seconds, with Gans a gripless third, ahead of local Laurent Jaspers, going great guns in a Jaguar XK150.
Germany’s Rudi Friedrichs (Jaguar C-type) deservedly won Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy element, for Pre-1956 Sports Cars, after a race-long battle with the meaty Allard-Cadillac J2 of Tim and Oliver Llewellyn in the Pre-’56 split. Rick Bourne & Malcolm Paul completed the podium in their Lotus-Bristol Mk10.
click here to see the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss trophy results.
Burnett’s Alta scoops Spa Pre-War Gold
In a classic ‘David versus Goliath’ confrontation, Gareth Burnett’s gallant little two-litre Alta outlasted the rampant Vintage Specials of pole sitter Oliver and Tim Llewellyn’s Bentley 3/8 litre and Ben and Justin Maeers GN Parker to win Motor Racing Legends’ annual Spa Pre-War Sports Car race.
Oliver Llewellyn led to the pit stops in ‘Penny’ – the thudding family heirloom in which grandfather David won the opening race at the final Crystal Palace meeting in South London 50 years previously – whereupon father Tim clambered aboard. All was well until a pipe to the oil gauge split, coating Llewellyn Sr with brown lubricant and forcing him to stop.
Hirsute hustler Ben Maeers passed Burnett on lap four, stopped behind the Bentley and relayed his father. Burnett had managed to pass Justin Maeers before the Parker’s 6.1-litre Cirrus-Hermes aero engine fell silent 100 metres from the finish, following suspected crank failure. Justin’s instinct was to try to push it across the timing line, but the incline was against him.
Michael Birch (Talbot AV105) grabbed second, completing a one-two for the Pace Historic equipe, clear of James Morley in the sleek Bentley 3/4 1/2 started by dad Clive, and brother Stuart in Richard Hudson’s statelier version. Behind the stricken Parker, still classified fifth, Richard Iliffe (Riley Kestrel) rounded out the top six on a drying circuit.
see the Pre-war sports cars results here.
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