Rain complicates play at Spa Six Hours

Of course, it’s sunny in Spa on Friday and it rains on race day on Saturday. Weather conditions made racing at the Spa Six Hours complicated. David and Olivier Hart and Nicky Pastorelli steered their Ford GT40 to victory.

Katarina Kyvalova gave us the warmest of welcomes on Friday, but was already wary when we asked her for her outlook on Saturday’s race: “It’s going to be mayhem,” she predicted. And she was proven right. Whilst at the start of the Spa Six Hours on Saturday the sun was still out, that was to change quickly.

Rain evolved into a downpour and with darkness setting in, conditions became tricky. Kyvalova was one of the victims, the Jaguar E-Type she shared with Ben Clucas held back and ultimately finished 64^th and fifth in class.

Heyday for Lotus Elan

At the front, things evolved into a Ford GT40 battle, as was to be predicted with 18 GT40s at the start. David Hart, Olivier Hart and Nicky Pastorelli made the most of their pole position and managed to stay out of trouble for the duration of the race. The Dutch trio in the end scored a dominating victory, winning by a lap from the GT40 in the hands of Olivier Galant and pro driver Nicolas Minassian. Oliver Bryant and James Cottingham rounded out the top three, in a GT40 of course.

The Gipimotor’s GT40 attack looked set to keep Pastorelli busy at the front, but the Belgian squad’s offensive dwindled through mechanical issues. Eric Van de Poele and Jim Farley in the MEC Auto-run GT40 were slowed through a puncture.

The adverse weather conditions made one particular car shine: the light and nimble Lotus Elan. Sam and John Tordoff, together with BTCC racer Andrew Jordan steered their Elan to an impressive sixth overall, first non-GT40, and class winner of course.

Formula 1

In the other races programmed around the Spa Six Hours, the first race of the Masters F1 Racing Legends saw Christophe d’Ansembourg triumph on his home track in his Williams FW07C. In race 2, Marco Werner put to rest the gearbox troubles that had hampered him in race 1. He won from third on the grid in the Lotus 87B.

Steve Tandy won a wet first race in his Peugeot 90X in the Masters Endurance Legends series. Race 2 saw two Peugeot 90X’s take victory, Brooks leading from Lendoudis after Lendoudis spun his car just before a safety car intervened and neutralised the race.

Beurlys

On a more emotional note, the ashes of Jean ‘Beurlys’ Blaton were dispersed at the foot of the Eau Rouge climb. One of Belgium’s finest gentleman drivers, and the financier to many a Belgian talent’s career, passed away at the end of 2020.

Full results of the Spa Six Hours here

Full results of the Masters Historic series here