Spa 24 Hours 2018

[GregoryDG]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

2016. Mercedes qualified 1-2-3-4-5-6. After they were thrown to the back of the grid, no adjustment was made to the BoP. Those cars started the race with a 5 minute penalty, lost 2 laps in the opening hour, and still managed to finish on the lead lap. Without the penalty (which didn't give them any significant speed advantage), they'd have won the Spa 24 Hours comfortably by 2 laps and locked out the podium based on speed.

Call it on a case by case basis. SROs 2018 BoP is pretty good. But 2 years ago it was abysmal. So was ACOs, and so was VLNs.

SRO was tipped by the ADAC after what had happened that year at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, where Mercedes monopolized the whole podium. When the six Mercedes cars dominated qualifying at Spa, SRO knew what it had to do and found the illegal mapping.

The situation is different than it was this year, as even without the fixing tape Audi maybe was a tiny bit too fast. Mercedes wasn't in 2016. If you took the effort to do some research, you would have seen that the Mercedes only lost one lap with their 5 minute penalty, thanks to a Ferrari being stuck in the Fagnes chicane in the first lap. Lucky break.

Looking at the opening hours, the Mercedes did not manage to unlap themselves to the other Pro cars, or at least not in a way you would expect with a 'clear BoP advantage'. The Mercedes in second place finally finished about two minutes away from the winning BMW. Knowing that taking a lap back is relatively easy thanks to the use of the Full Course Yellow and the Safety Car, that is NOT what I would call a clear advantage.

Remember how Team Bernhard's Porsche managed to come back after a 3 minute penalty after three hours last year? So did the Porsche have a BoP advantage? Or did the Audi in 2016 when it came back to third place after a collision with the Jaguar?

[Akrapovic]

I'm not sure how anyone could argue the Mercedes didn't have a clear advantage in 2016.

They qualified 1-2-3-4-5-6. They were demoted 5 minutes and still finished on the podium on the lead. Whilst you could argue that FCY managed to claw back some of that time, they still managed to go from last, to second. That overtook literally the entire field, after locking out the first 3 rows.

Can anyone name a time when any other manufacturer in GT3 has qualified 1-6, served a 5-minute penalty, and still finished ahead of everybody but one car? If Audi qualified 1-2-3-4-5-6 then there would be cries of a VW managers head on a stake. If the only example that can be brought up is a single car (rather than an entire fleet from a manufacturer), and a penalty that's a fraction of the one Mercedes got, and a car that didn't podium, then I think that about sums it up. Nothing is even close to what happened in 2016, hence the massive fall out over it all.

Once again (since it seems to keep getting missed): SRO have made balls ups with BoP before. Turns out, BoP is hard. Who'd have thought? Saying the ACO BoP is bad doesn't mean you're an SRO fanboy. Saying the SRO BoP is bad (or was) doesn't make you an ACO fanboy. That kind of attitude is far too simple and is for simple people who think the world is black and white. You can like SRO And admit they got stuff wrong.

[GregoryDG]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

I'm not sure how anyone could argue the Mercedes didn't have a clear advantage in 2016.

They qualified 1-2-3-4-5-6. They were demoted 5 minutes and still finished on the podium on the lead. Whilst you could argue that FCY managed to claw back some of that time, they still managed to go from last, to second. That overtook literally the entire field, after locking out the first 3 rows.

Can anyone name a time when any other manufacturer in GT3 has qualified 1-6, served a 5-minute penalty, and still finished ahead of everybody but one car? If Audi qualified 1-2-3-4-5-6 then there would be cries of a VW managers head on a stake. If the only example that can be brought up is a single car (rather than an entire fleet from a manufacturer), and a penalty that's a fraction of the one Mercedes got, and a car that didn't podium, then I think that about sums it up. Nothing is even close to what happened in 2016, hence the massive fall out over it all.

Once again (since it seems to keep getting missed): SRO have made balls ups with BoP before. Turns out, BoP is hard. Who'd have thought? Saying the ACO BoP is bad doesn't mean you're an SRO fanboy. Saying the SRO BoP is bad (or was) doesn't make you an ACO fanboy. That kind of attitude is far too simple and is for simple people who think the world is black and white. You can like SRO And admit they got stuff wrong.

So what you are saying basically, is that Mercedes just did the race with the same illegal mapping as they did qualifying? Please, for the love of God, watch the race again and you will see Mercedes wasn't faster than the other cars. In qualifying they were, but WITH the illegal mapping. I feel like I'm repeating myself. The 5 minute penalty was converted into a one lap loss after the FCY in the first lap. I was in the grandstands and I can tell you it was one lap. Not two.

Team Bernhard's dropped back to position 30 more or less after more than three hours of last year's race, and it still managed to come home in fourth. I do not see why that is so different from what Mercedes did back in 2016. It's just a matter of staying in the hunt, gaining back the lap at some point in the race, and be fast on Sunday.

Let's take a look at the fastest laps that year:

BMW #99: 2:20.054
Mercedes #88: 2:20.144
Audi #28: 2:18.793
Bentley #8: 2:19.917
Mercedes #86: 2:20.244

Mercedes #84: 2:21.339
Mercedes #0: 2:20.981
Mercedes #85: 2:20.768
Mercedes #57: 2:20.674

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by GregoryDG

So what you are saying basically, is that Mercedes just did the race with the same illegal mapping as they did qualifying?

Err. No. That's not even remotely close to what I'm saying. In fact, what I'm saying is in the previous posts.

[Badlands99]

I was also at that race in 2016 ........

Where SRO got it wrong was allowing the Mercs to take the penalty under a full course yellow on the first lap ........ what should have been somewhere in the region of 2 laps + penalty actually turned into 1 lap and a bit which with a clear track and the field bunched up wasn't going to be too hard to claw back - they did not have a massive performance advantage after the mapping was reverted back to original spec - but they were driven hard and well by professional drivers with the bit between their teeth.

Aston and Bentley effectively did the same this year after starting at the back - should they have been BOPd - no of course not, but they certainly took advantage of the field being close together in the first couple of hours and the subsequent FCYs.

[Bodysnatcher]

Originally Posted by GregUK

666 was fully off the track when it stopped. I don't think that the subsequent accident had any connection with the previous FCY

hmm..
666 was stopped, yes.
On the racing line, facing the wrong way.
It was there because of contact at Eau Rouge. Possibly the bunching for the restart had some bearing on this.
Probably something got broken, it then skimmed the tyre wall at Raidillon, and spun back out.
The Bentley came round at full speed and hit the Lamborghini head on.
Bentley burst into flames and went off the driver's right, Lambo punted further up Raidillon, driver's left.

Green light panels were on because it was a post FCY & SC restart.

https://youtu.be/SnIaec3lYa0?t=12516
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8kQudejDqI

[Miguel]

As you all may have figured out by now, I'm a big Christian Krognes fanboy so I asked him to write about his experience winning the 24 Hours of Spa.

Read it here: https://www.gt-report.com/2018/08/08...-spa-24-hours/

[GregUK]

Originally Posted by Bodysnatcher

666 was stopped, yes.
On the racing line, facing the wrong way.

https://youtu.be/SnIaec3lYa0?t=12516
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8kQudejDqI

Yes, there was some contact heading into Eau Rouge that caused the 666 Lambo to go off. But when it came to a stop, it was entirely off track.

The first link you posted is after the impact of the Bentley.

[Bodysnatcher]

Originally Posted by GregUK

Yes, there was some contact heading into Eau Rouge that caused the 666 Lambo to go off. But when it came to a stop, it was entirely off track.

The first link you posted is after the impact of the Bentley.

well, it's the replay of the initiating event, the Eau Rouge contact being played after the impact.

So, what Meyrick says in Autosport is'nt quite the whole truth - https://www.autosport.com/gt/news/13...24-hours-crash

He was in a group of 3 running close together and as he went up Raidillion he (exceeded track limits) made a passing move and went head on into the stationary Krebs.

I still think it's a direct consequence of the restart bunching cars up after SC after FCY.

Were you standing at the fence at the time?

edit - thanks for the insight Greg, I arrive late to the scene and my fellow marshals said something like "the Lambo spun and was hit head on by Bentley", TBH, the lads were in a bit of shock, having dealt with Lexus a just over an hour before, and English isn't their first language. I didn't press for more details, but helped with the clear-up, thankful that all were okay.

[GregUK]

Originally Posted by Bodysnatcher;3842368

So, what Meyrick says in Autosport is'nt quite the whole truth - [url

https://www.autosport.com/gt/news/137810/meyrick-leaves-hospital-after-spa-24-hours-crash[/url]

He was in a group of 3 running close together and as he went up Raidillion he (exceeded track limits) made a passing move and went head on into the stationary Krebs.

From my perspective, that pretty much sums it up.

But what do I know? I was tucked up in bed at the time.

[GregoryDG]

Originally Posted by Badlands99

I was also at that race in 2016 ........

Where SRO got it wrong was allowing the Mercs to take the penalty under a full course yellow on the first lap ........ what should have been somewhere in the region of 2 laps + penalty actually turned into 1 lap and a bit which with a clear track and the field bunched up wasn't going to be too hard to claw back - they did not have a massive performance advantage after the mapping was reverted back to original spec - but they were driven hard and well by professional drivers with the bit between their teeth.

Aston and Bentley effectively did the same this year after starting at the back - should they have been BOPd - no of course not, but they certainly took advantage of the field being close together in the first couple of hours and the subsequent FCYs.

SRO didn't allow them to take the penalty under FCY ;-) The cars had just come into the pitlane when the incident happened.

[gert]

Originally Posted by Miguel

As you all may have figured out by now, I'm a big Christian Krognes fanboy so I asked him to write about his experience winning the 24 Hours of Spa.

Read it here: https://www.gt-report.com/2018/08/08...-spa-24-hours/

Thanks for that, nice read!

He came across as a really nice bloke when interviewed during the race.
Do I remember correctly that he has a day time job selling bricks in Norway?
(IIRC I posted that here when I picked that up, but I can't find it anymore)

[Miguel]

Thanks! Yes, he sells bricks during the week and is a very nice bloke indeed. Finally things are starting to fall his way. Very deserving, it's taken him a long time and he worked very hard to get there.

[LC2guy]

I am looking at going to this next year, i was looking at Page & Moy to take my son & i for the weekend, as i used them for Le Mans many years ago, but they have been bought out. I tried Grandstand Motorsports but no joy, can anyone in the UK tell me what travel company may do a long weekend away for the Spa 24hours ? Many thanks.

[GregUK]

Originally Posted by LC2guy

I am looking at going to this next year, i was looking at Page & Moy to take my son & i for the weekend, as i used them for Le Mans many years ago, but they have been bought out. I tried Grandstand Motorsports but no joy, can anyone in the UK tell me what travel company may do a long weekend away for the Spa 24hours ? Many thanks.

Google is your friend!

Here's one thrown up on a quick search:

https://www.selectmotorracing.com/MS_Other/Spa_24.htm

For the full experience, you should arrive in Spa on the Wednesday before to see the parade into Spa town where, for no charge, the public can get up close and personal with cars and drivers.

[LC2guy]

Thanks. I did see this one, but it includes a Hotel, & is a bit pricey, i was hoping for a cheap & cheerful arrive sat morning, watch the race and leave sunday. With taking my son, no change from a grand with this one. Thankyou anyway, appreciate the quick response.

[Bodysnatcher]

The only agent I've seen doing packages is travel destinations. https://traveldestinations.co.uk/acc...u-rouge-spa24/

The campsite, https://en.eaurouge.nl/contact/route which you could book yourself is just off the old circuit, almost down at Stavelot. It's claimed to be a 20 minute walk, but probably nearer 40, and that's only to the bottom end of the circuit. It is possible to drive in and park closer.

Cheap & cheerful is diy and camping on-circuit, campsite P2-6? - atmosphere aplenty. (If you're a le Mans veteran you'll know what that means).

edit - found this resource http://www.lemans-www.com/Info-Spa-Camps.html , disclaimer - have not read any of it yet

[LC2guy]

Many thanks. Looks a Cool way to do it.

[Hedley Verity]

Or there's the campsites at Les Combes, very convenient for the track, but basic

https://www.promocombes.be/?lang=en

Can provide a bit more detail if interested?

[Japanese Samurai]

Good Smile Racing announce 2019 Spa 24h challenge by Fate (Japanese game, not Hatsune Miku!) Ita-sha livery.
http://www.as-web.jp/sports-car/474889?all

Team: Good Smile Racing & Type-Moon Racing
Car: Mercedes AMG GT3
Car-Maintenance: RS-Fine, Black Falcon
Driver: Nobuteru Taniguchi, Tatsuya Kataoka, Adam Christodoulou