Mega Gallery & Report: The Epic 13th Edition of the Peter Auto-Spa Classic 2025

Submitted by Marcel Hundscheid on June 13, 2025

By Marcel Hundscheid

Erratic weather conditions did little to detract from the 13th edition of the Spa Classic, which brought strong fields and an interesting collection of cars to the iconic circuit for some great races. Motorsport Retro has been reporting on this unique event since the very first edition in 2011 and we are pleased to continue the tradition this year.

All Peter Auto grids were represented at Spa, including Classic Endurance Racing 1 and 2, open to sports cars and GTs from the period between 1972 and 1981, Group C Racing, Endurance Racing Legends, the Heritage Touring Cup, Gentlemen Challenge, Classic Touring Challenge and Sixties Endurance.

As is now familiar, the starting field of the Endurance Racing Legends was split into two. One was focused on prototypes and GT1s, the second group reserved for GT2s only. During the first very wet race on Saturday, Emmanuel Collard took the initiative in the former BMS Scuderia Porsche 997 GT3 RSR. The Frenchman dominated until the pit stop but Maxwell Lynn in a Ferrari F430 GTC mounted a strong challenge to ultimately secure victory.

The second race on Sunday was also started behind the safety car due to the rain. However, the race really seemed to begin after the pit window. Again Emmanuel Collard took the initiative, but had to bow to a quickly advancing Sebastian Glaser in his Porsche 993 GT2 Evo, who took the lead after the pit stop and did not give up.

Francois Perrodo dominated the first race of the LMP-GT1 series on Saturday afternoon with his Audi R8 LMP, quickly disappearing over the horizon. On Saturday evening, the weather gods did not cooperate at all. The race that was driven in the dark had to be started behind the safety car due to the rain and when it turned out that the intensity of the rain was too high, the race director decided to raise the red flag cancel the race.

The touring cars were considerably less affected by the abundant rainwater and were able to make their race late on Saturday evening. Sebastian Glaser dominated the first part with his fire-breathing BMW CSL, while the Capris of Armand Mille and Emile Breittmayer could only follow. However, what no one had counted on was the combination of father and son Hart.

The Dutchmen had started with their BMW CSL from 26th place. Before the mandatory stop, David Hart was already in the top ten. Son Olivier took over the wheel and proved to be a true rain king. He drove impressively through the top of the rankings for a spectacular win.

The second race on Sunday was again between the CSLs of Glaser and the Hart family and the Capri of Armand Mille and that of Maxime Guenat. Glaser led the field before the pit stop, while Guenat took over after the mandatory stop. Glaser then went into battle with Olivier Hart, but had to settle for the final spot on the podium after 60 minutes of racing.

The Gentlemen Challenge had two 45 minute races on the program. On Saturday, the battle for the lead was initially between John Spiers’ Lister Costin and Carlos de Quesada’s Porsche 904. Both pitted at the same time, with Nigel Greensall getting into the Lister, while de Quesada swapped with Catesby Jones. However, it was Gregor Fisken who, after swapping with Patrick-Blakeny Edwards in the Shelby Cobra 260, had taken a comfortable lead and would not relinquish it.

The second race on Sunday was also won by John Spiers and Nigel Greensall in wet conditions. This race was also plagued by neutralizations due to stranded cars. Spiers and Greensall were the best able to deal with the difficult conditions during this race.

Both Group C races were plagued by the worst possible weather conditions. After the safety car had released the field, Kriton Lendoudis from Greece took the lead in his Mercedes C9, but when exiting La Source in the gravel trap he missed his braking point. As a result Olivier Galant grabbed the lead in his Nissan R90CP, ahead of the Porsche 962 of Ralf Kelleners. Galant kept his leading position after the mandatory pit stop and claimed the win.

During the second race on Sunday the battle for the lead was again fought between Lendoudis and Galant. In the end it was Lendoudis who had the longest legs, Galant following at a respectable distance in second place.

A single sixty minute race was scheduled for the Classic Touring Challenge. It turned out to be a Ford Mustang battle between the combination John Spiers and Nigel Greensall, John Thorpe and Bas Janssen, Nigel Greensall ultimately emerging the victor.

The largest grid of the weekend was presented by Sixties Endurance with nearly 60 epic GTs and touring cars from the sixties. While the Classic Touring Challenge was a pure Mustang affair, the Cobra proved to be making its mark on the event. The race was initially dominated by the Cobra of Olivier Galant and Christophe van Riet. However, with forty-five minutes left on the clock, it was Olivier Hart that dictated the pace. He fought his way to the lead at the expense of leader Olivier Galant and Maxime Guenat, who was in second place at that time. An impressive catch-up race gave Hart another victory.

Three Lola T70s battled for victory after David Hart’s Ferrari 512M dropped back from a leading position in Classic Endurance Racing 1. After sixty-minutes along the Ardennes rollercoaster, Robin Ward and Nick Chester came out on top.

Finally it was a mighty Porsche 935 of Marc and Dennis Busch that outperformed the usually much faster sportscars. In this way, Dennis Busch devoured Yves Scemama’s TOJ quite quickly after the start and disappeared over the horizon. Even after the mandatory stop, Marc Busch continued to drive at the same pace and took a well-deserved victory.