Part of this intro, can be credited, to commentators Brian Kreisky and Richard Nichols, from Videovision Broadcast International, and their narrations of some of the great races of the past, from the heyday of the 1980s Group C prototype era, here at Spa Francorchamps, having accessed those races for viewing enjoyment via the Motorsport TV website. Thank you, Brian, and thank you, Richard, for the inspiration.
Spa Francorchamps, in Belgium. Here in the pines of the Ardennes forest, lies the most beautiful rendezvous of the FIA World Endurance Championship, twisting, climbing, diving, in a spectacle of speed. It's a combination of long straights, and neck wrenching corners, sheer speed, tossing the cars of the FIA World Endurance Championship around the turns of the circuit with such well known, famous names. La Source, Eau Rouge, Raidillon, Blanchimont, Pouhon, Stavelot, The Bus Stop. South of Liege, in the aforementioned pines of the Ardennes, Spa boasts natural springs, and people. have come to Spa to take the water, since the 16th century. It gave it's name to health farms the world over. The town has a clean, gentile air of existence. The race track bearing it's name, is the centerpiece, the jewel in the crown. Folks, our journey to this town is far more than just finding the famous, purest mineral water possible. Drink to your health, ladies and gentlemen, but also, enjoy some world class sports car racing.
Come with me, now, as we are about to find out about the latest epic chapter in the odyssey that is the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship season, in the first race back for the championship in nearly six months after the season, was put on hold due to the worldwide COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. After two straight weeks of sweltering heat in the Spa Francorchamps area, will start in an absolute deluge. It's raining cats and dogs as we prepare to go racing. This is the first 2020 WEC event where the wet weather Michelin tires will be pressed into service.
This race will begin in formation behind the safety car. Rebellion has claimed pole position for this motor race, as they were the fastest car in dry weather running during qualifying. We can see that the field takes a few laps to acclimatize itself, to the conditions. The drivers must be extremely cautious, driving in the wet. Finally, it's time to officially go racing. The drivers have sussed out where the water, the rivers, and the puddles are on the road. It's red lights out, for the rolling start, and away we go! The 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps is underway!
Rebellion leads the sway, but only briefly, as diving into Eau Rouge for the first time, the 4 wheel drive, turbocharging, and hybrid power, equipping the two factory Toyota TS050 Hybrids, kicks in, and the Japanese cars,find their feet here, at Spa, in the wet. Car #7 in the hands of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jose Maria Lopez, and the sister #8 machine, being shared by Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Kazuki Nakajima. Rebellion and ByKolles give chase in LMP1. It's Gustavo Menezes, Norman Nato, and Bruno Senna sharing the #1 Rebellion R13 Gibson. Aboard the #4 ByKolles LMP1 car, we have Oliver Webb of England, who will share the car, in this race, and at the forthcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Tom Dillman of France, and Canadian Bruno Spengler, who was actually born in Alsace.
Rebellion have made a snafu and have fudged their tire selection. So, they've dropped back and are now caboose on the field in the LMP1 class. In the LMP2 class, it's United Autosports leading, with their ubiquitous blue #22 Oreca 07, in the hands of Filipe Albuquerque, Paul di Resta, and Phil Hanson. Giedo van der Garde, the Dutchman, is working his way through the LMP2 field after starting at the back, aboard the #29 Racing Team Nederland Oreca 07 he shares with countrymen Frits van Eerd and Nyck de Vries. Meanwhile, in LM GTE Pro, it is indeed a three way battle for the top spot between the three factory marques in the championship.
At first, it was a battle between Porsche and Aston Martin, and then, Ferrari quickly appears on the scene to spoil the party, look. The #95 Aston Martin Vantage AMR of Marco Sorensen, Nicki Thiim, and new recruit for this race, and Le Mans, Englishman Richard Westbrook, is quickly overhauled by the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 GTE shared by James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi, the Briton and the Italian, joined by third driver, Daniel Serra, from Brazil, for this race and for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Again, in case you did not know, Daniel Serra, is the son of former Formula 1 driver, Chico Serra. Pier Guidi would go on to race nearly four hours of this event, without a break, without relief from Serra or from Calado.
He is bringing the Ferrari through the field and challenging against one of the Porsche's on the downhill run to Eau Rouge. That is indeed the #92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 he is flashing by in the wet, the car shared by Michael Christensen of Denmark, Kevin Estre of France, and Belgian Laurens Vanthoor, in his home race. Trouble for Aston Martin and a spin into the gravel for Paul Dalla Lana after he changes to slick tires. Dalla Lana, the Canadian, sharing with Englishman Ross Gunn, and new Aston Martin recruit, Brazilian Augusto Farfus, a familiar name, as he is a former factory driver in DTM and FIA WEC for BMW, who has also spent some time in LMP2 prototypes this season if memory serves me right.
After this spin for Dalla Lana, the safety car is deployed, cuing another round of pit stops for the leaders, specifically for both Toyota's. Rain is not far from anyone's thoughts at this stage in the motor race. However, we are rapt, transfixed by the scrum in LMP2 between United Autosport and Racing Team Nederland. Giedo van der Garde had started this motor race shotgun on the field, and he sneaks through to make a move on the favorite United Autosport #22 car, the Albuquerque/Hanson/di Resta machine. Pit stop time, look for AF Corse and the #51 car. Alessandro Pier Guidi cannot be persuaded to hand it over yet, even though the team must be thinking, "look, Alessandro, your drive time is nearly up, let your co-drivers have stints, too."
As the weather begins to improve, we can see Aston Martin making inroads in GTE Pro and perhaps in GTE Am as well. Meantime, there's more tussling for position among the LMP2 cars and this time, it's United Autosport vs. Signatech Alpine. The trio of Pierre Ragues of France, Thomas Laurent, of France, and Brazilian Andre Negrao, are moving to the fore in the smaller, lighter prototype category. Thomas Laurent does move past Paul di Resta after he was installed into the #22 on the most recent pit stop. di Resta proves he is a danger man, retaking second in class in LMP2 from the French car. But soon after, there's calamity, catastrophe, and disaster, for Signatech! Trying to take third spot away in the downhill section of the course, Thomas Laurent loses control and flips the car on it's side!
Drama, drama, drama! Thomas Laurent is one lucky bloke to walk away from that shunt, unhurt. Laurent is fine. The car, is written off, and will have to be rebuilt before the 24 Hours of Le Mans next month. Something the Alpine team is surely capable of. In the meantime, more ding dong scrapping in LMP2, look. The battle is on up the hill on the Kemmel straightaway, between Frits van Eerd for Racing Team Nederland, and Nicolas Lapierre for Cool Racing, as he is sharing their #42 Oreca 07 with Swiss drivers (for a Swiss team), Antonin Borga, and Alexandre Coigny. Frits van Eerd is hanging on well to a podium place in LMP2 as this race is closing in on the finish.
A spot of bother entering La Source, for Aston Martin Vantage #97. He loses a place to the Porsche and loses the LM GTE Pro class lead to Porsche, inside the final hour of the motor race. Pit stop time for the Aston to sort out any maladies caused by that off course excursion. It's a splash and a dash for the #97, dropping it down behind the team car, the #95. The team of Alex Lynn, Maxime Martin, and Harry Tincknell (new recruit for this race and Le Mans) is placed behind the sister car, the aforementioned #95 Sorensen/Thiim/Westbrook car.
The race is now coming to it's conclusion. We've not seen the Toyota's all day because they've run and hid as they usually do, motoring off into a lead they'd never relinquish. In the LM GTE Am class, AF Corse wins with their #83 Ferrari 488 GTE driven by French endurance racing veteran Emmanuel Collard, sharing with countryman Francois Perrodo, and Dane Nicklas Nielsen. GTE Pro honors go the way of the #92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor. United Autosports takes the LMP2 class win for Filipe Albuquerque, Paul di Resta, and Phil Hanson. In the overall and LMP1, it is Toyota winning, and it is the #7 of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jose Maria Lopez, scoring their first ever win at Spa Francorchamps.
They have bested their sister car, #8, which comes home second, with Kazuki Nakajima, Brendon Hartley, and Sebastien Buemi.
Overall/LMP1: #7 Conway/Kobayashi/Lopez Toyota TS050 Hybrid
LMP2: #22 Albuquerque/di Resta/Hanson Oreca 07
LM GTE Pro: #92 Christensen/Estre/Vanthoor Porsche 911 RSR-19
LM GTE Am: #83 Collard/Perrodo/Nielsen Ferrari 488 GTE
The 6 Hours of Spa is now done and dusted, and we look ahead, to the penultimate race of the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship, the 88th renewal of the greatest sports car race on earth, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which of course has been moved to September, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which also means, for the first time in the race's history, it shall be run behind closed doors with no fans in the tribunes at Le Mans, when we are usually used to seeing 200,000+ people there to cheer on the competitors, of course, due to the pandemic. Le Mans is coming up, in a month or so. See you then. Looking forward to bringing you wall to wall coverage of the world's greatest sports car race again, this year.
So long, from the Ardennes forest and Circuit de Spa Francorchamps, everybody. Take care.
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