3 months after the Spa Summer Classic, vintage racing was back at Spa-Francorchamps for one of the highlights of the year, the Spa Six Hours, organized by ROADBOOK.
I decided to only spend the Saturday there as I just came back from a long trip on Friday evening and was exhausted. Despite this, I woke up early and got to the track at 7:30 am to be welcomed by dense fog, providing a nice early morning atmosphere.
The races should have started at 9 am but due to the fog, the inaugural race was delayed by 30 minutes. Even then and as cars were passing by, it was impossible to see clearly above the Raidillon. What an experience it must have been for the drivers! The weather soon changed and a beautiful blue sky was above Francorchamps for the rest of the day.
The event gathered a lot of cars with no less than 12 different categories, ranging from touring cars to legendary Formula 1s, like the McLaren M23 for example. Ford GT40s and E-Type Jags were well represented in the paddock, but they were not alone. I will just make a quick overview to show you the variety of the cars: Lotus Elan, De Tomaso Mangusta, Tyrrell 001, Dodge Viper GTS-R, Lotus 25, Alfa Romeo P3, Aston Martin DB4, Austin Mini Cooper S, BMW 1800Ti, Ford Cortina Lotus, Peugeot 908 HDI-FAP, Ford Falcon… Yes, every type of car was represented!
What differentiates this event from Spa Classic, for example, is the atmosphere in the paddocks. It is less “professional” than the Peter Auto event. I mean, you see much more competitors coming to the track with their mobile homes and their racing cars on a trailer. That’s what’s great about it and the organizer achieves it while maintaining high quality regarding the cars.
Unfortunately, I was not able to assist to the highlight of the weekend, the Spa Six Hours race. It was a quick visit to Spa-Francorchamps but I tried to take enough pictures to describe what it feels to be there.
