Spa Francorchamps is always worth a visit. The wonderful landscape, the perfectly embedded traditional race track and the sometimes very exciting weather. Add to that a few or rather a lot of racing cars and nothing stands in the way of a perfect weekend. Well, maybe the weather a little.
On Friday, it was dry all day, extremely windy and cold and a varied mix of bright sunshine, overcast skies with shade and partial shade. On Sunday, the Ardennes showed themselves as so often with some abrupt changes between sun and sometimes heavy rain. It changed every minute. But as already mentioned elsewhere, taking photos in the rain is extremely satisfying and the results are usually pretty good. So Spa Francorchamps always has something exciting to offer.
Of course, the Spa Classic by Peter Auto is exclusively about racing cars from traditional endurance races. So there are no monoposto racing cars. But there is a who’s who of endurance legends. A special highlight was the appearance of Philipp Siffert, son of the legendary Jo Siffert, who drove a Porsche 917KH in the traditional Gulf livery in the CER1 class. It is always special to see and experience a Porsche 917. Although I have of course often had the pleasure of seeing and photographing various Porsche 917s, I am always amazed. For me at least, the 917 is a symbol of the early seventies with the legendary 24-hour and 1000 kilometre races and is therefore always associated with the really great drivers of the time, not forgetting of course its appearance in the cinema classic ‘Le Mans’.
Apart from the other racing series at this Spa Classic, there are three favourite series for me. Firstly, of course, the CER 1 with this very Porsche 917, the Ferrari 512M of David and Oliver Hart, plenty of Lola T70s, a Porsche 908/3 and a 910, as well as the GT racing cars such as the Porsche 911 RSR. The starting field is absolutely exceptional and experiencing the racing cars on this demanding race track is a pleasure.
I also found the Heritage Touring Series extremely exciting. There were countless BMW 3.0 CSI at the start, as well as three Ford Capri RS 3100s and various Ford Escort RS Mk.I. This is reminiscent of the big touring car races of the seventies and the BMW vs Ford battle.
The third series that always inspires me is Group C. Here the endurance history of the more recent past comes to life again and I think of drivers like Stefan Bellof, Jochen Mass, Derek Bell, Jacky Ickx and Bob Wollek. Of course, the Porsche 962C, the type of racing car that drove everything into the ground back then, is always at the start. But there was also a Sauber Mercedes C11 in silver, which is still driven extremely fast today. Then there was a very rare appearance by a Peugeot 905 EVO1 Group C. This racing car has a spectacular shape, is extremely flat and wide, for me the most beautiful Group C racer of the weekend. A very well-known team that normally makes a name for itself at the Nürburgring was completely new to the historic Group C. The Frikadelli Racing Team around Klaus Abbelen entered a Porsche 962 for the first time. The 962 in black livery with yellow Havoline logos on the side had been in the Ringwerk Museum for seven years and is now ready for action again after extensive reactivation. Unfortunately, the weekend was characterised by some technical problems, so that Klaus Abbelen didn’t get to drive much, but at least the brake problems in particular could be identified and fixed, so that nothing should stand in the way of further races.
Of course, the other races also featured some extraordinary racing cars. For example, countless Porsche 934/935s started in the CER 2, which look absolutely spectacular with their very special bodywork. Three Porsche 904s, four Ferrari 250GT SWBs, two Lister Jaguar Knobby and many other rarities started in the Gentlemen Challenge. In the Sixties Endurance, there were mainly Jaguar E-Types, Shelby Cobras and five Shelby Cobra Daytonas at the start. I’m not sure how many of the Daytona’s were originals, but it doesn’t matter, because original or not, they look beautiful.
As always with Peter Auto’s events, the whole weekend was perfectly organised, even though there were numerous red flags due to the weather. The thirteenth edition of the Spa Classic once again lived up to expectations. Packed starter fields with exciting and interesting racing cars from many decades on one of the most beautiful race tracks in the world. What more could a petrolhead’s heart desire? It was actually an anniversary for me, as this was my tenth time at this fantastic event, and I am delighted to be able to report on it. The Spa Classic by Peter Auto is definitely a five-star event. I can absolutely recommend a visit next year, in fact it’s a must-be-there. Find out more about our photographer Ralph Lüker.
You can find everything you need to know and the results of the weekend at https://www.peterauto.fr/en/events/spa-classic.
