In glorious sunshine, we race the 90th 24 Hours of Spa. In Belgium, not only will there be great racing, but also, the best beer, and frites mayonnaise, you can find. A feature of the Spa 24, is the annual parade into town, so fans can see these gorgeous automobiles, up close and personal. There are autograph sessions, media interviews, and, the driver's briefing in the evening, before race prep starts with practice and qualifying.
61 cars, will start this prestigious race. Laurens Vanthoor grabbed pole for the race, and their team car has Le Mans winning drivers, Benoit Treluyer, Marcel Fassler, and Andre Lotterer. Bentley has two wins already. But it's the #7 car. #8 still has to have some better luck. Jerome d'Ambrosio, is confident. Marc VDS Racing, has not run Blancpain races in 2014. But, they are back, with two cars, and local superstar, turned DTM racer, Maxime Martin, on the driver's strength.
Last year's winners, for Mercedes Benz (Max Buhk, Max Gotz, and Bernd Schneider), have been divided up amongst two cars for the HTP Motorsports, Mercedes SLS AMG squad. Schneider, (a two-time winner of the Spa 24), is looking for another good one this time around. The ART Grand Prix McLaren MP-4/12C has already been in the wars this weekend, with Alvaro Parente crashing the car heavily in Pouhon corner.
Parente says he messed up a ligament in his ankle. But the Portuguese driver, will still race, joining French colleagues Gregoire Demoustier, and Nicolas Lapierre. Nissan is ready to race again this year. Alex Buncombe had a massive shunt in this race at the top of Eau Rouge in 2013.
Nissan, will race with different drivers in some of their cars. In the #35 machine, will be Miguel Faisca of Portugal, Japanese racers Katsumasa Chiyo and Masataka Yanagida, along with Mark Shulzhitskiy, from Russia. Alex Buncombe, is in car #80, sharing with Nick McMillan of the United States, Germany's Florian Strauss, and Wolfgang Reip, of Belgium. There are many Australians in the Spa 24 for 2014. One, is a hero to Aussie racing fans. V8 Supercar legend, Craig Lowndes. He has won the Bathurst 1,000 on many occasions, as well as championships.
This time, he's having a go, making a return, to Europe. We cannot forget Aston Martin, and the Beechdean Ice Cream, Scooby Doo V12 Vantage. Car #107, in Pro Am, is being piloted by Brits Andrew Howard, Jonathan Adam, Daniel Lloyd, and experienced German Aston Martin racer, Stefan Mucke. Aston Martin has four or five cars. But. #107 is the main car to look out for in this one, chaps.
Welcome to the 90th running of the 24 Hours of Spa. Points will be scored at six hours, twelve hours, and at the finish. Normally, the weather is cold. But, it's been steaming hot leading up to this running of the 24 hours. Felix Baumgartner waves the Belgian flag, to set this gorgeous field of 61 cars, off on it's pace lap. OK. We're ready for a start. Go! We are green, for the 90th anniversary of the Spa 24, and the 66th overall running of this great race!
Laurens Vanthoor in the Audi, leads. He shares this car, with Rene Rast and Markus Winkelhock. The GT3 cars fly towards Eau Rouge. Alessandro Pier Guidi in the Ferrari 458 Italia, is second. They begin the climb up towards Les Combes. Everyone has managed to keep their brilliant supercar, undamaged and avoid contact on lap one, which is a rarity for this 24 hour contest. They drop down to Brussels hairpin, which has had several names over the years.
These blokes are going three wide already, and there's some contact going on. Don't play dodge 'em cars early on, boys. Touring car veteran Tom Onslow-Cole tries to elbow his #96 Aston Martin through traffic. That will work in touring cars, but not in GT racing, sunshine. This is the #96 PGF Kinfaun AMR entry that Onslow-Cole shares with fellow Brits John Gaw, Phil Dryburgh, and Paul White.
They make their way to the Piff Paff for the first time. Alvaro Parente started way back in the field, and is steaming to the front, in the #98 McLaren, sharing again, with Nicolas Lapierre, and Gregoire Demoustier. They run through Campus, and the school buildings at the Spa circuit, headed towards Paul Frere curve. Laurens Vanthoor has a two second gap over Alessandro Pier Guidi at the moment. Everyone wants to be brave into La Source hairpin, on the opening lap. Be careful, there. We also watch the #77 Marc VDS BMW Z4 with Lucas Luhr at the wheel. He shares with Markus Palttala of Finland, and Belgian, Dirk Werner, another veteran BMW factory driver.
Luhr passes Wolfgang Reip in the #80 factory Nissan. The rest of the field is playing rough with the Bentley Boys, forcing one of their cars onto the curb at Speaker's corner. Uh oh. The Bentley, is actually slowing down. He has not been nudged out of the way. There is right front damage to the #8 Bentley Continental GT3. Jerome D'Ambrosio, Antoine Leclerc, and Duncan Tappy, share that car. Oh boy. Some argy bargy between Stefan Mucke, and Nick Catsburg in one of the BMW Z4's. This is the #12 TDS Racing machine.
Catsburg, the Dutchman, shares with Pierre Thiriet, and Henry Hassid, of France, and German Jens Klingman, another standout BMW sports car rookie. Did Catsburg get nudged? He was tapped slightly, by the Beechdean Aston Martin, got loose, and got off in the marbles. The #8 Bentley, that was having issues earlier, is in the garage, getting the steering fixed. Was their contact? Did the steering rack, break? It is easy to get the steering rack out. But, the crew has to go through the radiators, and up to the firewall, which is behind the motor, to get there.
Laurens Vanthoor opens a gap on the Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, and is able to control the pace, as race leader. Oh boy. Into Pouhon, it's the battle of the Brits. Aston Martin vs. Bentley. Stefan Mucke is forcing his way past Guy Smith. Marcel Fassler is coming fast, too. Down the front straightaway, it's a drag race. Fassler and Smith. Audi vs. Bentley. These two makes are under the Volkswagen umbrella. 5.2 liter V10 vs. 6.0 liter V8. Who has the oomph, down the straight? Who will blink first into Eau Rouge?
Bentley noses inside. But the Audi says "oh no, you don't!" It's bravery. But, it's also respect, between two, veteran drivers. Maxime Martin and Lucas Luhr want in on this fight, too. Nicky Catsburg, is demoted, three spots. Whoa! We've got a spinning Nissan! That's the #35 car. Katsumasa Chiyo at the controls. Was there an assist to spin him through the Bus Stop? It doesn't look like it. All the other blokes had to slam on the brakes to avoid disaster. Ooh. The #188 Porsche 911 GT-3-R- has some damage to the left front fender.
This is the Swiss, Fach Auto Tech entry in the Pro Am Cup class. Swiss driver Philipp Fromenweiler shares with experienced Porsche shoe, Martin Ragginger, of Austria, and Germans Otto Klohs, and Swen Dolenc. The contact between the Nissan and the Porsche, was a fair old thud, if nothing else. Ooh. More incidents, and this race is not even an hour old. A McLaren, with a puncture. Car #98. This is Alvaro Parente, the lead ART Grand Prix driver, limping back to pit lane with a flat right rear tire.
Alessandro Pier Guidi pits the Ferrari, handing over to one of his team mates. Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is also in the box. Markus Winkelhock takes over the car, and promptly, stalls it. He's lost time. Oh! Big accident, as we have just passed an hour and a half into this race, folks. That's a destroyed Ferrari 458 Italia. He's gone off right at the top of Eau Rouge. This is the #100 SMP Racing 458. Romain Mavlanov at the wheel of it. Mavlanov shares with countryman Viacheslav Maleev, Italian Ferrari GT veteran Daniel Zampieri, and Spaniard, Jose-Manuel Perez-Aicart.
The safety car will definitely be dispatched; Now, he's getting out the driver's side door, facing traffic. This is dangerous. Everyone has to slow down, and know Romain Mavlanov, is there. Correction. It's Viacheslav Maleev, who has wrecked. Get out of the way, sunshine. Don't trip over bodywork and hurt yourself. Last year we saw a similar wreck, with Alessandro Pier Guidi. Maleev carries too much speed into Eau Rouge at the bottom of the hill, gets into a tankslapper, sliding the car all over the road.
Then, the inevitable. Ker-runch! Straight into the barriers! We come to the end of the second yellow flag, with nearly two hours gone. Oh no! Just as we come back to green, another massive wreck! This is at Blanchimont. It's a McLaren that has absolutely been destroyed. It has had contact with one of the BMW Z4's which has come to pit lane. It is either the Von Ryan Racing McLaren, or, the similar, Boutsen Ginion machine.
The field pours through the Piff Paff. We watch a whole gaggle of supercars. Ferrari, Bentley, Audi. The #25 Sainteloc Audi R8 LMS from the Gentleman Trophy class, is in this mix. This is an all-French squad of endurance racing veterans. Jean Paul Buffin, Philippe Haezebrouck, Marc Rostan, and Claude-Yves Gosselin, share the car. Oh! The hits just keep on coming! Another monstrous pileup.
The #85 Mercedes and the #15 McLaren, have crashed into each other, with disastrous results. #85 for HTP Motorsports, has three big names on the driving team. Sergey Afanasyev of Russia, and Dutch Blancpain Endurance Series veterans Stef Dusseldorp and Xavier Maassen. Safety cars breed safety cars, as the saying goes. The #15 Boutsen Ginion McLaren, involved in this mess, has an eclectic mix of drivers including Karim Ojjeh of Saudi Arabia, Luxembourg's Olivier Grotz, Frederic Vervisch of Belgium, and former open wheel racer (in the old F3000 series and in Indycars), Giorgio Pantano, of Italy.
This is the second or third major calamity of the race. When the safety car comes out, tire pressures and temperatures drop. Then, when you mash the throttle and book it, disaster can happen, if someone makes a mistake. There's more damage too, for a heavy hitter. The #66 Marc VDS BMW Z4 shared by Maxime Martin, Jorg Muller, and Augusto Farfus. Let's piece together all the shemozzle here. Ojjeh spins on the uphill out of Eau Rouge, and dear me, clobbers the wall a ton! The #85 Mercedes does a "sympathy spin", because whoever is driving, can't see through all the smoke.
The Marc VDS BMW has a totally different wreck. The field was slowing down, and the BMW still was on the gas, before... boom! An accordion effect, and he ran into the back of a Ferrari 458. Factory BMW pilot Jorg Muller, will be really embarrassed. Muller has to limp all the way from the top of the course, downhill, with the bonnet flapping in his face. Slow down, and be very careful to avoid further damage.
It is bizarre, chaps. We've had three straight safety cars. You need to remember, there are gentleman drivers in this form of GT racing, or any kind of sports car racing. So, those blokes are not as fast, and maybe they don't quite have the awareness that a pro driver does. Now, we've since had another fracas happen. A Ferrari runs wide on the uphill out of Eau Rouge, spins to the left, spins across the racetrack, and while two Mercedes sneak through, an Aston Martin cannot see, and, kaboom! Another monstrous shunt.
Other cars scatter, but they can't avoid getting into the debris field, and wreaking havoc, spinning into the tires. This has been more of a demolition derby than a 24 hour sports car race. Xavier Maassen is in real trouble, because one of the gull wing doors on his Mercedes SLS AMG is open, and the bonnet is torn up, just like Muller's BMW was earlier. So, we have yet another restart. Remember, the bonnet, is also called, the hood.
The Von Ryan McLaren had a huge wreck earlier, with Tim Mullen at the controls. He is fine, but being checked at the hospital. That was the car, that was due to be started by Australian V8 Supercar ace Shane van Gisbergen. We did not see that wreck with the Von Ryan McLaren. We fast forward from the fourth hour, to the fifth hour, and more off track shemozzle, with the #26 Audi R8 LMS spinning out of second overall! Gregory Guilvert of France, has had a spin. He shares this car, with fellow Audi factory pilots Stephane Ortelli (a former winner of Le Mans and this race), and with Sweden's Edward Sandstrom.
Malhereusement, indeed! He comes to pit lane, ahead of Dirk Muller in the BMW. Michele Rugolo is going well in a Pro Am Ferrari. Pro Am, is being led by an Aston Martin. The #79 MP Motorsport AMR machine, in the hands of Englishman Richard Abra, sharing with Mark Poole, Joe Osborne, and Aston Martin GT and prototype veteran, Darren Turner. Henry Hassid's BMW and Lucas Lassere's Porsche are second and third in Pro Am. Michele Rugolo, passes Lucas Lassere. The cars are #52 and #93, respectively.
Oh dear! Another wall slammer! Two cars are in this shunt. This one, is in Stavelot corner. Another safety car, halfway through the fifth hour. The cars off in this crash, are two triple digit Ferrari 458's. #333 is the GT Corse by Rinaldi entry shared by Marco Seefried of Germany, Norbert Siedler of Austria, (both known for being Porsche drivers), as well as Russian drivers Vadim Kogay, and Rinat Salikhov. #111 for Kessel Racing has American driver Dr. Steve Earle (who is a historic racer, and amateur endurance racer), Marcus Mahy of England, Freddy Kremer of Germany, and Australian Liam Talbot, on the driving strength.
Marcus Mahy was at the wheel, when the incident happened. There are two groups of cars, behind two safety cars. Spa Francorchamps, like Le Mans or The Nurburgring (even though it is far smaller than those two tracks), is still, a long circuit. So, the field is divided into two groups, during yellows. Pro Am leader, Michele Rugolo, pits. Alexander Sims is second in class, at the wheel of the #79 Ecurie Ecosse BMW Z4 sharing with fellow Britons Oliver Bryant, Andrew Smith, and Alasdair McCaig.
The race is now being suspended, with a red flag coming out. It won't stop, though. We are coming to hour six. The leader now, is Audi #3 for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT. Frank Stippler, Christopher Mies, and James Nash, are on the driver's strength. The car is in the garage. The car pitted after the red flag came out, and had to be penalized. The team will work on the car, but then, have to serve a drive through penalty.
Still under red flag, we will be given an estimated time to resume the race under the safety car. There will be a delay, as the officials from the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium (RACB) assess things. The race is restarted, and the team can rotate the car on the dolly's and move the car out to pit lane, and it will be on it's way, before taking a drive through penalty. We restart the race seven hours and ten minutes, into the action.
It's dark. 10:40 P.M. local time. Drivers try to gain track position as the #3 Audi led before it's penalty. Laurens Vanthoor is second. Edward Sandstrom is in third place overall. We are 99 laps, (427 miles), into the race. Everyone needs to treat the event and each other, with respect, after all the carnage earlier. The three Audi's lead, with BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, the top six. The #3 car has made a pit stop.
The leading Audi, serving two penalties, has lost two minutes. The #1 Audi leads as the fireworks flash overhead in the darkness of night, at Spa. OK, folks. The night racing continued, and now, we're getting into Sunday morning. The Saturday sunshine, gives way, to gray, overcast skies on Sunday morning. We end the race at 4:30 P.M. local time. So, still eight and a half hours to go. It's about 8:00 A.M. Dirk Werner in the #77 Marc VDS Racing BMW leads overall now.
The race has definitely settled down. The first six hours of the event on Saturday, were downright iffy. The top six at this stage shows the #77 BMW leading the #1 Audi, the #3 Audi, the #2 Audi, the #26 Audi, and the #86 Mercedes. There were a couple major accidents during the night, with an Aston Martin, and a Ferrari. But, now, it can be sensed by drivers, teams, and fans, that there's a calm. The fans begin to wake up. Marc VDS is down to one bullet in the gun, as they lost the #66 BMW. The #66 car, ingested a rabbit of all things. So, no hope for that BMW, or for Mr. Peter Cottontail, either.
Marc VDS is not a factory BMW team. Two drivers, in Lucas Luhr, and Dirk Werner, are BMW factory drivers. Markus Palttala, is a Marc VDS regular. We see a shot of car #66, when it ran over the rabbit. The mesh screen for the radiator is busted. But, there's more serious damage, to the motor of the car. In Pro Am, the #90 Scuderia Villorba Corse Ferrari 458 Italia, leads. Sharing the driving chores are Italian's Andrea Rizzoli, Stefano Gai, ex-Formula One and veteran endurance racer, Andrea Montermini, (all Italians), and Italian, but living in Monaco, Francesco Castellaci.
Montermini at the controls, has the car, seventh in the overall right now. The leading #77 BMW pits. The team changes to a new set of Pirelli tires. The teams have been double stinting tires because of all the yellow flag running, and red flags, during the day yesterday. Lots of brake dust, has also collected in the wheel rims, which is common, because of the modern carbon brakes these cars use. BMW has to do one brake pad change between fifteen and seventeen hours in. Audi, has to do two brake pad changes.
Rene Rast is at the wheel of the #1 WRT Audi right now. He has won the Spa 24 Hours before, in 2012. Ooh! The Sainteloc Junior Team Audi has gone off the road. This is car #25, coming towards the Bus Stop chicane. This Audi R8 LMS is the Gosselin, Buffin, Rostan, Haezebrouck machine. Claude Yves Gosselin has crashed it. He spins the car, and ker-rash! Straight into the concrete wall. He's lost the rear bonnet (that covers the V10 engine), off the car. So, an aerodynamic default, has caused this shunt. Stefano Gai pits his Ferrari, which was leading Pro Am for a while. But, no longer.
Gai has had the #90 in the garage, and is running seventh overall. Ecurie Ecosse by Barwell Motorsport now lead Pro Am. Alexander Sims leads ahead of Louis Machiels. With just under three and a half hours left, we have now lost an Audi. Audi #2 has had a wreck and dropped down the order. This is the Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer, car... shared by the winning trio from the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A Mercedes dove alongside the Audi and made contact, dropping the #2 Audi down the order.
Lucas Luhr leads Rene Rast, and Christopher Mies. With just over three hours to go, there's the a second between the #77 BMW and the #1 Audi. The Audi has a real head of steam, through Les Combes, up the Kemmel straightaway, and into Raidillon. The Audi has a lot more straight line speed, than the BMW. Lucas Luhr does not fight and lets the Audi go. The #53 Ferrari of Andrea Bertolini, leads Pro Am Cup. This is the AF Corse machine, Bertolini shares with fellow Italian Marco Cioci, and Belgian's Louis Machiels and Niek Hommerson.
They are sixth overall, with just over two hours left in the race. Let's fast forward. Just under 45 minutes remain now. Marcus Mahi who drove the #111 Ferrari that had a huge crash, was transferred to Liege hospital on Saturday evening, is conscious, and should be OK. Audi #1 pits. Rene Rast is asked by his co-driver if he's OK. He is. He'll finish. New tires, and a routine stop. The #77 Marc VDS car has added fuel. But, they rolled the dice, and did not take tires. Hmmm. This will be a gamble on their part, with 41 minutes now left to run.
Race Director Alain Adam comes over the radio and tells the #1 car to respect the track limits. There have been two warnings to Rene Rast, for pushing too hard. Less than 20 minutes to run, and the two leaders are now nose to tail. Rene Rast is trying to pass Dirk Werner. Dirk Werner is not giving up. Rast has fresher tires. Rast tries on the outside. No. Dirk Werner keeps fighting, as the ROAL BMW moves aside. Werner hangs onto the race lead by the skin of his teeth.
Down toward Pouhon, Werner is still maintaining an advantage. Rast tries the outside line at Pouhon. He's moving around the outside, and looks to be moving ahead! Rast is wide into the Piff Paff. Werner slides into the Piff Paff and just barely holds on! Down to La Source, the Audi has more power, and better traction. Rast makes a clean pass. Audi lead the Spa 24 Hours, with just about 15 minutes to run.
Marc VDS team manager Bas Leinders looks on, and quietly applauds Audi. He knows that BMW's chances for their first win at Spa since 1998, in the touring car era, may not come. We are on the last lap, folks. The #1 and #2 Audi's set up for a photo finish. The clock has run out. Towards Blanchimont for the final time, and the photo is choreographed. Rene Rast, Laurens Vanthoor, and Markus Winkelhock, win! Rast wins his second Spa 24 Hours. Audi wins their third Spa 24 Hours.
Ferrari wins Pro Am and Gentleman Trophy. Pro Am goes to Niek Hommerson, Louis Machiels, Marco Cioci, and Andrea Bertolini. In Gentleman Trophy it is the #51 AF Corse Ferrari shared by Peter Mann of England, Francisco Guedes of Portugal, Cedric Mezard, of France, and Alexander Talkinitsa, who is one of the few racing drivers yours truly has heard of, who hails from Belarus. So, here are the winners:
Overall/Pro Cup: #1 Vanthoor/Rast/Winkelhock Audi R8 LMS Ultra
Pro Am Cup: #53 Hommerson/Machiels/Cioci/Bertolini Ferrari 458 Italia
Gentleman
Trophy: #51 Mann/Guedes/Mezard/Talkinitsa Ferrari 458 Italia
One more race to cover from Blancpain Endurance Series 2014, at The Nurburgring. The iRacing.com 1000 kilometers of The Nurburgring. News of that race, will come, soon. So long, for now.
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