Spa Classic Six Hours

Spa Francorchamps, Belgium

With seven Ford GT405 in the varied 100-car field, it was no surprise when one of their number won the Spa Classic Six Hours at the end of September. Sports car maestro Ralf Kelleners, on a rare foray into historic racing, did the lion’s share in the winning GT40 of Christian Gläsel as they headed the similar car of Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield by just under two minutes when the flag fell in darkness at 10pm.

Most of the other GT4O5 failed to go the distance, including the open-top Roadster that Philip Walker was due to share with Danny Wright and Six Hours newcomer Mike Jordan. They had their eyes on the podium, but were thwarted by a failed gear linkage.

Best of the strong Jaguar E-type contingent was that of Chris Scragg, which was shared with Formula Ford legend Dave Coyne and Mark Wright. Sadly, a messy incident behind the safety car ended the race for the E-type of former winners Jon and Jason Minshaw and Martin Shelton. Their car was rammed from behind with enough force to damage the fuel tank.

Hadfield and Voyazides also teamed up to win the U2TC race in their Lotus Cortina, while double winners included Alistair McCaig (Cooper T53) in the HGPCA races and Roland Kinch (Arrows A4) in Grand Prix Masters. Other key winners included Oliver Bryant (Lola T70 Mk3B) in World Sportscar Masters and Bobby Verdon-Roe (Ferrari 246S) in the Stirling Moss Trophy. Gary Pearson managed to finish first and second in the Woodcote Trophy race, sharing the Jaguar D-type of Carlos Monteverde and his own car with Andrew Smith.

Paul Lawrence