Spa 24 Hours flatters spectacular speed of winning Maseratis
Le Mans may be king, but its little brother proved a thriller as the Vitaphone team took a one-two finish
Giles Richards guardian.co.uk,
Monday August 4 2008
Living in the shadow of Le Mans, the Spa 24 Hours does not attract the same attention as its Gallic cousin but make no mistake there is serious racing to be had here. For fans of Le Mans this is the perfect place to see the GT1 and GT2 classes take centre stage. Without the LMP1 and LMP2 cars that can make them look somewhat stolid at La Sarthe, here at Spa their speed and raw power is undiminished, unfettered and spectacular.
The race is the fifth round of the FIA GT Championship, a series that regularly throws up some great racing, with a wide variety of competing marques – the grid at Spa represented this in GT1 with Saleen, Corvette, Aston Martin and Maserati in the front five and Lamborghini close behind.
Fans of Spa will need no persuading that the circuit is special. It nestles in the Ardennes mountains, surrounded by trees, a natural course of sweeping changes in elevation and stunning turns. It is a favourite among drivers and as the action began at 4pm on Saturday they took to it with gusto. The entrance to Eau Rouge as the cars head down from La Source saw them two or three abreast, jostling for position at the base of the hill, the GT1 contenders taking it flat out, compressing into the track as they head up the hill into Raidillon, their only concession to slowing a circumspect squirt of the brakes to avoid tagging one another. For the fans it is a magnificent sight, the pack hurtling down the inside line then, in an instant of shuddering air and exquisite noise, they are gone. It was an appropriate scene-setter for the first part of the race.
During the opening six hours the No6 Phoenix Corvette and the Astons of Gigawave and Jetalliance had the edge over the two Maseratis of Vitaphone. But there was almost nothing between them – by lap 86 only 1.4seconds separated second and fifth place. Some intense racing was illustrated superbly at Les Combes. At its entrance the track is peppered with marbles, where the drivers hug the inside leaving eddying clouds of brake dust in their wake as they mount the rumble strip of the corner in search of the fastest line. Then, at its hairpin, the Maseratis' and the Astons' growl turns to a hum as they lift off slightly. The Corvettes, spitting flame from their exhausts, bang and crackle before roaring hungrily back to life as the throttle goes back on. The Lamborghini, in contrast, buzzes angrily on and off in rapid succession through the turn – a staccato binary that repeats faster and faster as its mechanical zeros and ones accelerate into a smooth whole.
It would be asking too much for the full 24 hours to keep up such momentum and as night fell the race began to take the shape that would see it through to the finish. The persistent drizzle that fell on and off throughout took its toll as the 33 Jetalliance caught a damp patch and tagged the No6 Corvette, taking itself out of the race and putting the Phoenix car in the pits for eight laps, leaving the way open for the two Vitaphone Maseratis to take to the front. They would remain there for the duration while the Gigawave Aston, with Darren Turner (GT1 winner at Le Mans this year) and Andrew Thompson among its drivers, settled in to fourth. The Maseratis swapped the lead through the night until early in the morning when Stephane Sarrazin in the number one car put in some stunning laps and by midday had the one lap advantage it would maintain until the end.
Britain's Gordon Shedden in the CR Scuderia Ferrari took fourth in GT2 while the win gave Eric van de Poele a remarkable fifth win at Spa in the GT1 class. GT2 was won by the F430 of BMS Scuderia Italia, G2 by the Porsche of PMB Motosrport with the Porsche of Muhlner Motorsport taking the honours in G3.
Although few would argue that Spa can seriously challenge Le Mans' hegemony in endurance racing, it is an event that is unique (quite apart from the circuit itself, the pervading smell of waffles must make Spa the sweetest smelling track in the world) and offers a superb opportunity to see these thoroughbred cars take the spotlight.
Fans wishing to visit the race can find details at:
www.total24hours.com, Eurotunnel offer crossings from £49 one way for a car and all passengers (
www.eurotunnel.com, 08705 353535) and information about visiting Belgium is available at:
www.belgiumtheplaceto.be
