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Video + Photos + Report: Spa Classic 2011

Submitted by on June 8, 20114 Comments

The first Spa Classic was held  on 27, 28 and 29 May, in Belgium on the Spa Francorchamps layout. A brand new event which kept its promises, offering high standard grids and entertaining activities. During the whole week‐end, 10 000 visitors enjoyed the show, both on and off the track.

Classic Endurance Racing 1: the Lolas do not give up
Entries: 40 ‐ Races: 1 – Track time slot : Qualifications 2 x 30′ + Races 1 x 60′

As could be expected, the Lolas T70 MkIII dominated the qualifications, taking the first four places. Marc Hevia’s McLaren M1B, had a disappointing transmission problem which led it to withdraw. Finally three Lolas T70 Mk III were on the podium, David Hart on the top step. In GT1, Claude Nahum’s Ford GT40 ranks before Philippe Lancksweerts’ Ferrari Daytona driven by former owner John Bosch.

Proto 1: 1. David Hart – 2. Pierre‐Alain France – 3. Bernard Thuner / Claude Nahum
GT1: 1. Claude Nahum / Bernard Thuner – 2. John Bosch – 3. Alfred Strebel

Classic Endurance Racing 2: the protos have a good time

Entries: 43 ‐ Races: 1 – Track time slot : Qualifications 2 x 30′ + Races 1 x 60′

This second round of the season has put together handpicked cars such as the 935 Porsche Moby Dick driven by Stéphane Ortelli and Jean‐Marc Luco’s Ligier JS3. The grid included many 3‐Litre protos with Gulf Mirage, Rondeau 379C or Lolas T298. The show offered by the qualifications was quite exciting with local Loic Deman driving his Osella PA 4 at the lead. Patrice Lafargue on Lola T298 BMW and neighbour from Luxemburg Louis Zurstrassen on GRD 73 S completed the holy trio. After a start in pole position, Loic Deman has to withdraw on engine problems while Stéphane Ortelli interrupts his race because of a faulty Turbo. Drop outs which are beneficial to Paul Knapfield who went straight to the victory followed by Patrice Lafargue
In GT2, Michael Foveny’s Porsche 935 has started first in front of Christian Traber’s and Sean McInerney’s BMW M1s. Despite a good qualification, another Porsche 935 wins with Marc De Siebenthal.

Proto 2: 1. Paul Knapfield – 2. Patrice Lafargue – 3. Frédéric Da Rocha
GT 2 : 1. Marc De Siebenthal / Jean‐Michel Martin – 2. MR John of B – 3. Micheal Foveny

Sixties’ Endurance : fast and …historic

Entries: 41 ‐ Race: 1 – Track Time: Qualifications 1 x 40′ + Races 1 x 120′

The American V8s made a clean sweep during the qualifications; AC Cobra and TVR Griffith …qualifying as favourites. The domination was confirmed during the race with pole‐man Hans Hugenholtz on AC Cobra and Sean McInerney’s TVR Griffith close on his heels. The race was very lively with two 911 Porsches driven by Jean‐Marc Bussolini and Damien Kohler.

The Index of Performance which awards the older cars and small cubes, once again crowned Fabrice Mestrot on Triumph TR2, right after his victory in Pau. We can also note Miroslav Krejsa’s performance on the meeting’s oldest car, a 1948 Skoda Sport.
Race:
VHC: 1. Hans Hugenholtz / David Hart – 2. Sean McInerney / Michael McInerney – 3. Ludovic Caron
Index of performance: Fabrice Mestrot / Philippe Louet – 2. Mirsolav Krejsa – 3. Dennis Singleton / David Franklin

Trofeo Nastro Rosso : the Belgian Dolce Vita

Entries: 20 ‐ Races: 2 – Track Time: Qualifications 1 x 40′ + Races 2 x 45′

After the dropout from the first race of most beautiful pole car, Maximilien Werner’s Maserati Birdcage; Vincent Gaye, already on the podium in Pau, took the lead and kept it. Aboard his Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta, the Belgian resisted Alberto Francioni’s ISO A3C and the pressure of the three Ferrari 275GTBs fighting for third place. The same for the second race in which the local driver once again was rewarded with the winner’s trophy.
Race 1: 1. Vincent Gaye – 2. Alberto Francioni – 3. Dennis Singleton / David Franklin
Race 2: 1. Vincent Gaye – 2. Michael Erlich – 3. Jan Gizen

Challenge ASAVE & Groupe 1: a popular success

Entries: 55 – Number of races: 1 – Track Time: Qualifications 1 x 30′ + Races 1 x 80′
Dominated by the Porsches, the Challenge ASAVE saw three of them leading the pack right after the start of their first race within a Peter Auto meeting. The 911s remained in the lead from start to finish in front of the Fords unable to take back the upper hand.
Race : 1. Christophe Terriou / Pierre Gary – 2. Christian Lange / Pierre‐Alain Thibault 3. Jean‐Claude Allemang / Denis Allemang

BOSS GP: the F1s on the track

Entries: 20 ‐ Races: 2 – Track Time: Qualifications 1 x 20′ + Races 2 x 20′

The Ardennes heard the ’90′s single‐seaters’ engines roaring again. Back to the roots for those of them which had a glorious past there. An exciting race for the public’s enjoyment. After passing the chequered flag in the lead in race 1, Klass Zwart had a fierce battle with his first rival Marijn van Kalmtghout during the second race. A battle he will not win.
Course 1: 1. Klass Zwart – 2. Marijn van Kalmtghout – 3. Micheal Woodcock
Course 2: 1. Marijn van Kalmtghout – 2. Klass Zwart – 3. Henk de Boer

Group C Racing: the story of men

Entries: 25 ‐ Races: 1 – Track time: Qualificationss 2 x 45′ + Courses 1 x 60′

No big surprise for this grid: Bob Berridge and Christian Gläsel took the the lead of the qualifications for this grid which was very much appreciated by the Belgian public.
Course: 1. Christian Glaesel – 2. Katsu Kubota – 3. Ferdinand de Lesseps

The Clubs in the paddock

Nearly 500 Club cars made their headquarters in the Spa Francorchamps alleys to participate in this premiere. Between track laps and parades, the collector cars discovered the favourite layout of the greatest international racing drivers. A meeting which delighted all the owners; already looking forward to the next edition. In 2012, Triumph, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lotus and MG will once again hold a place of honour.

And the village lives

During the whole week‐end, the exhibitors created a unique atmosphere in the old F1 stands. Visitors were able to combine competition and shopping with dozens of shops dedicated to the automobile theme.

The Soap Boxes on the Raidillon

The Soap Boxes were very successful when they took the Eau Rouge Raidillon the wrong way round. The drivers, young or not, offered themselves an unforgettable descent with a top speed of 104Km/H!

Tomorrows’ drivers at Spa

The public’s and competitor’s children were able to drive mini replicas of prestigious cars. Many vocations have surely been born during the Little Big Spa parade.
For its first three day edition, Spa Classic fulfilled its promises and the seven grids were well decided to win the Belgian victory and put down their names in the Spa Francorchamps prize list. Now in the annual calendar, a not to be missed meeting for all motor sport enthusiasts.

Full results here

Images: www.spa-classic.com via Photoclassicracing

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  • http://Pineda4governor Chuck Pineda

    If you want to know who was the King of the Class A Production sports cars in the sixties all you have to do is look at:
    2011 SPA Francorchamps Sixties Endurance on U-Tube.

    You will see car 54, a Griffith 400, compete against six Shelby AC Cobras and beat all of them! Car 27, the fastest of the Cobras, is passed by the TVR Griffith 400 of Sean and Michael McInerney at 6;09 and stays ahead,8:41.

    At the end of the race it was the AC Cobra that won the race. The Griffith 400 came in second, and another AC Cobra came in third. However, the winning Cobra had an after market hardtop which wasn’t factory original equipment in the 60′s. So, the Griffith races in its original condition and the Cobra has to use a non-original hardtop to be able to attain the high speeds necessary to win at the SPA.

    Therefore, the TVR Griffith 400 should have been given the honors of first place. As to why the organization that controls the SPA allows after market non original equipment such as the hardtop on car #27 is beyond fundamental fairness.

    To prove my point look at the beatiful silver AC Cobra without the non original hardtop. It starts off in third place and is soon left far behind. The original Griffith has a Manx tail which gives it a Kamm effect necessary for high speeds. The AC Cobra doesn’t have the Kamm effect in its original form and,therefore,all of the original open canopy Cobras fell behind.

    Since the Griffith 400 was build by Jack Griffith to beat Corvetts,Cobras, Porshe 904s, and Jaguars it never received the accolades it deserves from the international press especially in the United States. It seems as if the Cobra was to be the only car that was to receive press coverage. Yet, today the Griffith continues to prove itself worthy of the King of the A Production original racing sports cars, and all you have to do is watch it on the 2011 SPA Francorchamps Sixties Endurance.

    By the way, the Griffith 400s had a sophisticated unequal wishbone suspension on all four wheels, a la formula one, with four shocks and coil springs on the rear end. They had the same Ford Hi-Po 289 cubic inch engine as the AC Cobra,however, the Griffith 400 were 300 pounds lighter than the Cobras,and could do 0 to 60 in 3.8 seconds. Only 59 Griffith 400s were produced, and as you can see on U-Tube it beat everthing on the track.

    Too bad that the early Griffith 200s gave a bad reputation to the heavy duty Griffith 400.

    The early Griffith 200 initially were TVR Grantura which were powered by a small four cylinder British engine.

    Jack Griffith didn’t have the resources and media that Carroll Shelby had, and, therefore, only sold Griffith 200s with no factory racing team or national media. So, the problems of 200s were resolved through driving experience on American highways,autocrosses,and at Santa Barbara,SCCA,in 1995,when Tom Lynch in a Griffith 200 gave Dave Mcdonald and Ken Miles in their factory prepared Shelby AC Cobras a beating for eight laps or until the Griffith 200 blew a left rear tire.

    I was there and saw that tiny Griffith 200 beat the tar out of the best and fastest of all the AC Cobras,and Shelbys best Cobra drivers. And again little information went out on what this little known Eastern car produced in Plainview, New York, and what it did to the so call King of the A production sport cars,at the time, the Shelbys AC Cobra.

    In conclusion, the Griffith 400 is truly the King of the A Production sport cars, and continues to prove it. Again, don’t take my word, see it on U-tube.

    My best,
    Charles

  • charles pineda, jr.

    Griffith News: Take a look at the Sept.2011 SPA Francorchamps races on U-Tube. The six hour race and the Master Gentlemens race are really impressive, especially for those of us who follow the TVR,Griffith 400 sports cars.

    Note that the two Griffith 400′s are the only cars in the front with the Ford GT 40′s. That means that they posted the fastest laps in practice for the first eight spots. In fact, the Griffiths are in front of a lime green GT 40 convertible or open top. The Cobra army and Jaguars are in the back.

    The GT 40′s were produced until 2007 with Ford’s financial, engineering, and racing support learned from the original GT 40′s and they are a great looking, great handeling car, and using late 90′s technology/aerodynamics. Yet, the Griffith 400′s of Jon Shipman and the blue Griffith 400,#65, are right up there with the superfast GT 40′s.

    These Griffiths are 1963 to 1965 cars from a small TVR factory in Blackpool, England who also sent the bodies to Jack Andrew Griffith who called them the Griffith 200′s and the heavy duty, all around unequal wishbone suspension, Griffith 400 with the Ford HI-P0 V/8 made to beat Corvettes, Cobras, Jaguars, and Porsches (904′s).

    My hat is off to Michael and Shawn McInerney and Jon Shipman for proving that the Griffith 400/TVR Griffith 400 are truly the A Production Champions of the 60′s.

    By the way, quite a few of the GT 40′s had problems and left the track for repairs and for a while it was the pea green Griffith 400 of Jon Shipman and his co drivers,Reuben, that were in the lead of all the cars which included the Cobra army, Corvettes,Porshes,Jaguars (super light Jaguars), and a few Aston Martins and Ferraris.

    In conclusion, thanks Jack Griffith in Florida for that wonderful car that bears your Scottish name.

    My best,
    Chuck

  • Chuck Pineda

    To all English car afficionados especially those that own the rare and extremely potent Griffith 400/ TVR-Griffith 400.

    Thanks to Michael and Sean McInerney the real King of the A production sportscar has defeated all comers at the 2011 Silverstone race where over 1000 Jaguars paraded during intermission time to commemorate the marque.

    By the way,you can see the race on U-Tube and see and hear the people clap for the McInerneys in their winning Griffith 400!

    You will also see the David Hart/Hans Hugenholtz Cobra with its red strip on its front fenders trying to keep its winning streak in Europe to no avail for the Griffith with the same engine and hundreds of pounds lighter is also proving to the racing public that it is truly the real King of the A Production sportscars, and it wins the race!

    My hat is off to Michael and Sean McInerney; Jon Shipman and Reuben Niguel for campaigning their TVR Griffiths/ Griffith 400s in the continent. We sure wish you could come to the United States and calm the Shelby AC Cobra Army here. Maybe the Griffiths 400s would receive the press and recognition they and their drivers so richly deserve.

    This is the last day of 2011. We sportscar enthusiast appreciate Motorsportretro.com. God Bless your firm and staff during the coming new year of 2012.