A volatile Spa Six Hours Endurance grid with near on … 20 Ford GT40!
On the international historic scene, Spa Six Hours, the meeting organised by Roadbook to be held at the beginning of autumn on the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, is one not to be missed! And its flagship race is definitely the one that gave its name to the event, Spa Six Hours Endurance. Scheduled on Saturday 1st October between 15.55hrs and 21.55hrs, it stands out thanks to an awesome grid. The 2022 vintage is no exception, seeing near on 20 Ford GT40 are awaited at the start! What else?
Last year the British duo Oliver Bryant and James Cottingham offered the legendary Ford GT40, hero of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, its 15th victory at the Spa Six Hours Endurance! It goes to show that the car boasting the blue oval is the ideal, in fact the absolute weapon, to claim victory. And if, twelve months ago we counted 12 machines of this type at the start, the 2022 entry list now boasts……19 GT40! Which implies that the battle for victory will be more volatile than ever. All the more so seeing the cars will be well tamed, with a mix of specialists from historic racing and drivers emanating from modern competitions. For example, the Brit Alex Brundle and the German Frank Stippler will be the choice reinforcement drivers for their teammates, while in the well-filled British ranks, the references are Bryant, Cottingham, Pearson, Hancock, Wright, Gans, Wolfe, Davies, Jordan, Newall, Meins, Lynn and others …
However, this year, overall victory could well slip through the hands of a team having crossed the Channel. Two GT40 from the ‘Low Countries’ are in fact well-armed to create the surprise, namely the #78 manned by the Dutch David Hart, Olivier Hart and Nicky Pastorelli, but also the #4 of the Belgians Emile Breittmayer, Christophe Van Riet and Fred Bouvy! As for Eric van de Poele, he will once again be teamed up with the American Jim Farley, who needs no introduction, at the wheel of the #98!
To give chase to the GT40, we can traditionally count on the best of the Jaguar E-Type models. Perhaps somewhat less numerous this year, but still top performers, starting with the Lightweight and Semi-Lightweight versions of John Clark, Gordon Mutch and Alasdair McCaig on the one hand, William Paul and Rory Butcher on the other. Jon Minshaw, Jack Minshaw and Phil Keen will also be putting their faith in the renowned feline.
Carroll Shelby’s brilliant creation, the Cobra on the other hand is becoming more widespread. And with such drivers as Christian Traber, Seb Perez, Armand Adriaans, not forgetting a certain Marc Duez as also other Belgians such as Jacques Castelein Kurt Dujardyn, a surprise is not impossible. Two ‘Coupé Daytona’ versions will be at the start, with on the one hand Olivier Muytjens and Brice Pineau, David Smithies, Chris Clarkson and Mark Pangborn on the other.
Of a more compact size, the Lotus Elan 26R machines are perfectly capable of upsetting the established values over the distance. Here also the specialists will be jostling one another, with the Shapecraft version of Schryver-Schryver-Weller, but also such drivers as Graham Wilson, Armand Mille, Harvey Stanley, Simon Evans, John Littlejohn and Miles Griffith!
With a field of near on … one hundred cars, the pack will also include Ford Mustang, Galaxy and Falcon Sprint, with no less than Vanina Ickx teamed up with Bernd Georgi and Manfredo Rossi di Montelera, the unmissable Aston Martin DB4 GT DP214 of Wolfgang Friedrichs and Simon Hadfield, various Porsche 904 GTS (with Eric Mestdagh), Ferrari 250 GT SWB (with Marc Devis), Gilbern 1800 GT, Triumph TR4 SLR, Marcos 1800 GT, Ginetta G4R, TVR Grantura and Griffith, Porsche 911 (with Markus Palttala), etc.
As you can see, no aficionado of classic competition cars can find a valid excuse to miss out on this Spa Six Hours Endurance, which more than ever offers up a fabulous journey back in time …
Spa Six Hours – 29.09.22 – 02.10.22
The Sound of History