Spa 6 Hour 2024

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Franchittis/ Lotterer leaders! Dont ask me why I can't appreciate Sc's! Ex-leader, Harts, stopped on track? Its canned for them. Drrrama!

The Harts still showing 2nd overall, behind the 'Pro' GT40 with an Elan 26R (with Shedden on board) classified 3rd a few seconds behind. The winner had a 2:39FL so some dry running!

Gilbern now showing 57th overall.

[Gerard C]

Hope the scrutineers won't have a go into the fuel tanks to check the capacity. Or some '40s are really not thirsty…

[E.B]

Night all. Or good morning. just noticed daylight is coming here!. Whoops.

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by E.B

The winner had a 2:39 FL so some dry running!

Lotterer back from ashes !!!!!

[Peter Mallett]

G'night chap.

[Gerard C]

Night Chris. Take care. Don't catch the………… B!

[delta]

Guys thanks for your support . It’s going to take ages to do the report but little Gilbert finished again . We all enjoying a debrief now with a few beers .?

[MartinH]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Will, just out of curiosity, where would you use the brakes at Spa? At the famous Beer stop and the other famous Pee stop?
Less seriously I do enjoy the ambiance of this part of the forum on race days. May be because unlike some others they's a lot of real racers here…
By ze way, Martin H I saw you passing! Where are you? Panneautage with a nice blonde or a killer brunette may be?

Sorry, Gerard, only just seen this …. I am now back at our rental house inStavelot, with internet !

Pity we didn’t meet up, would have been nice to have a chat face a face !
Let’s make a plan for next year’s 6hr event ?

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by MartinH

Let’s make a plan for next year’s 6hr event ?

Chiche! Would be great, Martin! Take care, race days at post race there are a lot of Brits in your area who tend to forget that you're using "the wrong side" on the road.

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by delta

Guys thanks for your support .

Iain, did you find your Visa to pay the Total station?

[356sc]

Originally Posted by delta

Guys thanks for your support . It’s going to take ages to do the report but little Gilbert finished again . We all enjoying a debrief now with a few beers .?

Well done Team Gilbert!

[E.B]

Originally Posted by 356sc

Well done Team Gilbert!

+1 to whatt Will said.

[MartinH]

Got back home about an hour ago & just reading this thread in full ..... Gerry should be doing the live race commentary via a live podcast .... would get lots of hits, me thinks !!



Honestly, as a pure spectator this year, the race was a bit of a joke ..... 14 safety car periods is just ridiculous, plus the random way in which you can lose or gain 1/2 a lap just by chance due to your relative position to the safteycars, plus the constant inability to get even one of the two SCs in front of the race leader (in nearly all races, not just the 6hr) enabled the Ginetta to gain nearly 1.5 laps & end up running 2nd overall for a long time.



Also, cars were being held at pit exit, sometimes for more than a minute while the safely car train passed, yet at the same time, cars were coming out of the fuel station without being held back at all.


The issue of how much time you lose when refuelling has always been there, since they started using the Total (lottery) fuel station, but now you have the unknown time loss due to SC trains as well.



As the budget to front run in this race is now in the region of more than £12K, I would be exceedingly peed off at losing so much time & positions due to these random factors.


Anyway, the Franchitti x2 + Lotterer car was quick all race long,while the Hart x2 + Pastorelli car was a bit inconsistant & eventually, H.Junior popped it in the gravel but was pushed or towed out & recovered to pip the Elan, on what turned out to be the last lap !!


Spoke to Iain & David + crew this morning, as they were doing the track day for Mary Bell to run Gilbert, despite a Mustang having taken a big 'bite' out of the left rear corner of the car's bodywork last night !


I even turned up with some 'kwassants & pain chocolates' for them all to munch...... made my day, that !!


Roll on next year... but FFS get the safety car situation sorted ....oh, and the weather !!


Martin H

[Peter Mallett]

The live timing is somewhat esoteric. It shows cars as stopped but you don't know if they are involved in the same incident. When Gilbert was first shown as stopped the Pochciol Cobra was also shown as stopped. Since Gilbert was stopped in the first sector and the Cobra in the second it seemed reasonable to assume they had come together with the Cobra limpimg further along.

Glad all is well and they finished but the sheer quality of the (professional) drivers in the more expensive machinery means the mere amateurs are just cannon fodder these days. I note there were more 911s and fewer MGBs this year.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

The live timing is somewhat esoteric. It shows cars as stopped but you don't know if they are involved in the same incident. When Gilbert was first shown as stopped the Pochciol Cobra was also shown as stopped. Since Gilbert was stopped in the first sector and the Cobra in the second it seemed reasonable to assume they had come together with the Cobra limpimg further along.

Glad all is well and they finished but the sheer quality of the (professional) drivers in the more expensive machinery means the mere amateurs are just cannon fodder these days. I note there were more 911s and fewer MGBs this year.

I think it’s a real pity that the professionals and GT40$ have largely taken over.
I suppose it was inevitable but it would be much more interesting to me if there were far more people and cars that I knew taking part!
Would love there to be more MGBs, Ginettas, Gilberns, TVRs, Morgans, Marcos, etc and would love to see Mk2 Jags, Lotus Cortinas and Alfa (105) GTVs taking part.
Maybe there should be one 6 hour race for the big banger GTs and Sports cars and one for Saloons and the smaller engined Sports cars?
Maybe it’s time for a club level 6 hour race??? Oh, I think we have been here before. Perhaps not. Very sadly.

[John Elwin]

I did know the crew of the winning car & have done for years - in fact both Marino & Andre were schoolboys when I first met them.

I first came across Dario when he was racing Vauxhall Junior for David Leslie's team. As I was then writing for the Glasgow Herald through Vauxhall Lotus, F3 & DTM which was then a wonderful series. I haven't seen much of him since he went to America but we remained friends.

Originally met Lotterer when he was competing in the BMW Junior single-seater series & he & a couple of others were brought to join us at a BMW dinner at the Nurburgring because they spoke English. It happened to be the night of the Eurovision Song Contest & their eyes were out on stalks when a then-young Ulrika Jonsson came on as the show's host. They wanted to know all about her.

It's a bit scary for me that I first knew them all as they were embarking on their careers, they've all been more or less to the top & now they are back in historics. Makes me feel old!

[Gerard C]

Thanks Martin for the explanation about the raging battle for the win. Strange enough, I guessed some of the details about the Harts GT40 adventures when it disappeared then was announced running and so on. All the rest I could not imagine but you gave an idea here, use the Total station as a short cut when the race is under SC! Well done.
IMO it was chronicle of a mess to come as soon as they released the schedule which makes a night race only. As to being too professional its not new.
All in all, its almost good news, this will fill the 3 Hour grid which could become the 4 Hours -why not?- offering daylight and a summer weather. Please note that summer at Spa doesn't mean sunny!
#GoSummerClassic

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

As to being too professional its not new.

Have to disagree. Whilst there have always been retired ex F1/Touring Car etc. racers. There are now many more drivers who are paid to race these cars and thus the level is much greater than even five years ago. Although my last time was 2021(?) I've been going to the 6hrs since the mid nineties (and I've entered a few of them) but you can't compare the current events to those days.

[Mike Harte]

Is it possible that the Spa organisers are taking a page out of the Goodwood play book, considering how pretty successful that has been over the last few years?

[Peter Mallett]

I'm sure they are and fair play to them.

[Gerard C]

What I find annoying is the difference in speed. The range goes from 234 kph to 170 kph and the lap times go from 2'39 to 3'. Not a concern on tracks like LM or Paul Ricard, but at Spa its a different thing.

[Peter Mallett]

Indeed, lap times have increased in the top echelons.

[Gerard C]

Videos? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ527Ht2T7k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XDdDZHZ_08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ527Ht2T7k&t=91s
One maestro at wheel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8_jhoXqhZY

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Videos? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ527Ht2T7k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XDdDZHZ_08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ527Ht2T7k&t=91s
One maestro at wheel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8_jhoXqhZY

Thanks for the links Gerard. Very nice to wake up to!

A bit sad in the first one to see Gilbert having a chunk of rear end torn off the back by what looked like an impatient (Shelby?) Mustang. Presumably the second self inflicted hit the Mustang got in the kitty litter put it out for the day. At least Gilbert continued to the very end of the race, albeit with another appearance in the video right at the end of the first clip.

Were driving standards an issue? That looked a bit rude by the Shelby to me..

[Gerard C]

You're welcome of course! I think the towing of Gilbert happened prior to the Shelby push. Driving standards… I remember my bloke and ex codriver José Close being sent in the kitty then rolling his 911. On the video a red GT40 was seen I've been told…