Spa 24 Hours
 | |
 | |
| GT World Challenge Endurance Intercontinental GT Challenge | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps |
| Corporatesponsor | CrowdStrike |
| First race | 1924 |
| Duration | 24 Hours |
| Most wins (driver) | Eric van de Poele(5) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | BMW(25) |
The24 Hours of Spais anendurance racingevent for cars held annually since 1924 at theCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps,Stavelot,Belgium.It is currently sponsored byCrowdStrike.
History
[edit]
The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and Henri Langlois Van Ophem just one year after the inaugural24 Hours of Le Manswas run. It debuted in 1924 over a 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) circuit on public roads between the towns ofFrancorchamps,Malmedyand Stavelot, under the auspices of theRoyal Automobile Club of Belgium(RACB). The present 7.004 kilometres (4.352 mi) circuit was inaugurated in 1979 with only slight variations since then.
The Spa 24 Hours was part of theEuropean Touring Car Championshipfrom 1966 to 1973, again in 1976 and from 1982 to 1988 (with the exception of1987when it was part of theinauguralWorld Touring Car Championship). The event also counted towards theWorld Sportscar Championshipin1953and theWorld Endurance Championshipin1981.As on theNürburgring,both a 24h and a 1000 km race is held at Spa, as the1000 km Spaforsports car racingwere introduced in 1966.
Cars entered have spanned from the RussianMoskvitchand models with sub-1 liter engines such as theNSU PrinzTT to the luxurious V8-poweredMercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3.Tuned byMercedes-AMG,the 6834 cc and 420 hp (313 kW) so-called"Red pig"finished as high as second in 1971.
During the 1975 race, Dutch driver Wim Boshuis and a track marshal were killed in two separate incidents. Boshuis was killed when his vehicle collided with other cars on the track, while the track marshal was killed 30 minutes later when Belgian driverAlain Peltiercollided with a railing.[1]
With the participation ofSwissLilian Bryneron the victoriousFerrari 550of theBMS Scuderia Italiateam, the 2004 race marked the first time in history that a female driver was part of the winning team of a 24-hour endurance race in aGran Turismowith more than 500 hp (370 kW).
The current version of the Spa 24 Hours is an event under the GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS and Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar, although it was previously run as part of theFIA GT Championshipfeaturing GT1 and GT2 machinery, and by various touring car series. Currently, the cars run fall under the FIAGT3and GT3 Cup classifications. It has also been a round of theSRO Group'sIntercontinental GT Challengesince its inaugural season in 2016.
2020 saw the race heldbehind closed doorsfor the first time.
The 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, which is part of the 2023 F1 calendar released by the FIA on 21 September 2022, was scheduled on the race weekend of 28 July to 30 July and clashed with the Spa 24 Hours. This forced the Spa 24 Hours in 2023 to reschedule from its traditional late July race weekend to the race weekend between 29 June to 2 July.
Coupe du Roi
[edit]The best manufacturer wins theCoupe du Roi(King's Cup), which is not necessarily the race winners. The cup is won by the manufacturer with the most points, accrued by cars that are made by the same manufacturer.[2]For example, Australian car manufacturerHoldenwon the Coupe du Roi in 1986 despite theircarsfinishing the race in 18th, 22nd and 23rd positions outright.[3]
List of winners
[edit]
Statistics
[edit]By driver
[edit]| Wins | Driver | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 5 |  Eric van de Poele
|
1987, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2008 |
| 4 | Jean-Michel Martin
|
1979, 1980, 1987, 1992 |
| Thierry Tassin
|
1983, 1986, 1994, 1996 | |
| 3 |  Attilio Marinoni
|
1928, 1929, 1930 |
 Hans Heyer
|
1982, 1983, 1984 | |
 Dieter Quester
|
1973, 1986, 1988 | |
 Roberto Ravaglia
|
1985, 1988, 1994 | |
| Marc Duez
|
1997, 1998, 2001 | |
| Michael Bartels
|
2005, 2006, 2008 | |
| Philipp Eng
|
2016, 2018, 2023 | |
| 2 | Francesco Severi
|
1936, 1938 |
 Luigi Chinetti
|
1933, 1949 | |
| Helmut Kelleners
|
1968, 1970 | |
| Jean Xhenceval
|
1974, 1975 | |
| Philippe Martin
|
1979, 1980 | |
| Eddy Joosen
|
1977, 1982 | |
| Armin Hahne
|
1982, 1983 | |
 Tom Walkinshaw
|
1981, 1984 | |
| Altfrid Heger
|
1986, 1988 | |
| Win Percy
|
1984, 1989 | |
| Steve Soper
|
1992, 1995 | |
| Alexander Burgstaller
|
1994, 1996 | |
| Frédéric Bouvy
|
1999, 2000 | |
 Christophe Bouchut
|
2001, 2002 | |
| Fabrizio Gollin
|
2004, 2007 | |
| Andrea Bertolini
|
2006, 2008 | |
| Kurt Mollekens
|
2000, 2009 | |
 Mike Hezemans
|
2007, 2009 | |
| Romain Dumas
|
2003, 2010 | |
| Timo Scheider
|
2005, 2011 | |
| Bernd Schneider
|
1989, 2013 | |
| René Rast
|
2012, 2014 | |
| Markus Winkelhock
|
2014, 2017 | |
| Laurens Vanthoor
|
2014, 2020 | |
| Jules Gounon
|
2017, 2022 |
By manufacturer
[edit]| Wins | Manufacturer | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | BMW
|
1965, 1966, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2023 |
| 8 | Porsche
|
1967, 1968, 1969, 1993, 2003, 2010, 2019, 2020 |
| 7 | Alfa Romeo
|
1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1938 |
| 6 | Ford
|
1971, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1989 |
| 4 | Audi
|
2011, 2012, 2014, 2017 |
| Ferrari
|
1949, 1953, 2004, 2021 | |
| Mercedes-Benz
|
1931, 1964, 2013, 2022 | |
| 3 | Peugeot
|
1926, 1999, 2000 |
| Maserati
|
2005, 2006, 2008 | |
| 2 | Chrysler
|
2001, 2002 |
| Chevrolet
|
2007, 2009 | |
| Aston Martin
|
1948, 2024 | |
| 1 |  Nissan
|
1991 |
| Jaguar
|
1984 | |
| Mazda
|
1981 | |
| Bugatti
|
1934 | |
| Excelsior
|
1927 | |
| Chenard-Walcker
|
1925 | |
| Bignan
|
1924 |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Ivanowski was a Russian national, but inexilesince theRussian Revolution
- ^Djordjadze was a Russian national, but inexilesince theRussian Revolution
References
[edit]- ^UPI (28 July 1975),"2 Killed at Spa",The New York Times
- ^Vincent Wouters (27 July 2015),Spa Post-Race Notebook,SportsCar360
- ^Gricey's King's Cup Story (Spa 1986)
- ^"SPORTS CAR RACING".kolumbus.fi.Archived fromthe originalon 10 September 2017.Retrieved16 April2017.
- ^abGreenhalgh, David (28 June 2024)."Breaking Down The History Of Belgium's Greatest Endurance Race".Dailysportscar.Retrieved8 July2024.
- ^"1993 Spa 24 Hours".touringcarracing.net.Retrieved31 July2016.
- ^"28 Jul 2014 – Belgian Audi Club Team WRT takes home win after nail-biting finish".total24hours.com. 28 July 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 28 July 2014.Retrieved28 July2014.
External links
[edit]
- TotalEnergies Spa 24 Hours website:Available in English, French and Dutch
- 1971 results
- 1972 results
- 1981 results
- FIA GT Website