{"id":5941,"date":"2022-12-01T13:01:30","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T13:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/?p=5941"},"modified":"2022-12-01T13:01:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T13:01:31","slug":"in-tazio-5-spa-1992-if-steve-made-that-move-again-now-hed-be-penalised","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/?p=5941","title":{"rendered":"In Tazio 5 – Spa 1992: “If Steve made that move again now, he’d be penalised”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Tazio 5, we look back on the closest finish in the history of the Spa 24 Hours. Just 0.48 seconds separated Steve Soper and Eric van de Poele in 1992. For the last two laps, the two BMW drivers were at each other\u2019s throats. Thirty years on, we reconstruct that race.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spa 1992. Both driving for BMW but not for the same team, Steve Soper makes it the closest finish in the Spa 24 Hours ever. Spa 2022. It\u2019s the same car and it\u2019s the same crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Dirk de Jager<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The one that got away<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thirty years on, Eric van de Poele still has not forgotten that big blow. Even if, with five wins in the Spa 24 Hours to his tally, he is the record holder, it\u2019s the one that got away that still hurts. \u201cI never should have lost that race,\u201d the Belgian says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet he did. Because\u2026 because Soper of course. The British touring car ace has a killer instinct unlike any other. \u201cWhen I got back in that car for the final stint, I didn\u2019t care: either it was going to break, or we were going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo BMW Group Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot the last lap. Oops\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The complete story, a touring car thriller unlike any other, is spread out over twelve pages in the latest issue of Tazio, entirely focused on the 50 years of BMW Motorsport. For this reunion, we were able to bring Steve, Eric and the #5 Bigazzi BMW M3 back to Spa. Whilst still taking a tough pose in the pictures, both are great friends once the cameras and microphones are tucked away. They share a common past and have tons of incredible stories to tell. As we found out over the impromptu lunch on a terrace in the Francorchamps village. These two are still sparring, as they were in their prime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Dirk de Jager<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some controversy ensued in the Spa race when Soper muscled his way past with just one lap to go. \u201cIf Steve made that move again now, he\u2019d be penalised,\u201d van de Poele says now. \u201cI thought it was my last lap move. Only to find out we had another lap to go as I rounded La Source. Oops,\u201d Soper laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo JoD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jean-Michel Martin\u2019s birthday<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The next day, more stories flowed when the whole crew of the #5 car was reunited at Jean Michel Martin\u2019s BMW dealership in Brussels for a surprise party that was thrown for his 69th<\/sup> birthday. With Christian Danner, Jean-Michel Martin, Steve Soper, and Bigazzi team manager Didier Debae together at the same table, more stories flowed. Thirty years on, this is still one of the strongest tales in the history of BMW Motorsport. It stems from a time when sport still prevailed over team and manufacturer politics. A rare thing these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our thanks go out to Lu\u00eds Pedro Liberal, to Curbstone Events<\/a> and to Thibaut Miserque at the Jean-Michel Martin dealership<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo BMW Group Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo BMW Group Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo BMW Group Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo Dirk de Jager<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo Dirk de Jager<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo Dirk de Jager<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Tazio 5, we look back on the closest finish in the history of the Spa 24 Hours. Just 0.48 seconds separated Steve Soper and Eric van de Poele in 1992.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[115,190,111],"tags":[567,139,566,480,564,569,542,565,568,269,404,176,122,160],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-5941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-from-tazio-magazine","category-main-article","category-tazio-the-magazine","tag-bigazzi","tag-bmw","tag-bmw-m3","tag-bmw-motorsport","tag-christian-danner","tag-didier-debae","tag-eric-van-de-poele","tag-jean-michel-martin","tag-schnitzer","tag-spa","tag-spa-24-hours","tag-steve-soper","tag-tazio","tag-tazio-magazine","post_format-post-format-video"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t