Page 25 - Paddock Life Issue 13 ADRENALINE

Won by French drivers Henri Sriguel and Maurice Becquet in a Bignan 2L the original circuit was fast and dangerous, but ran until 1949 when American Luigi Chinetti and Frenchman Jean Lucas took the chequered flag in their Ferrari 166MM. The track was changed to a 14km layout and after a two year gap was won in 1953 by the Ferrari 375MM of Italian Giuseppe Farina and British legend Mike Hawthorn as part of the World Sportscar Championship. After this race came another sabbatical until the 24 hour fixture ran again in 1964, this time German team Robert Crevits and Gustave Gosselin took the top step in a Mercedes-Benz 300SE. The endurance race continued to be an annual fixture on this 14km track as part of the European Touring Car Championship, except for 1974-75 and the final race in 1978 when British driver Gordon Spice and German Teddy Pilette won in a Ford Capri III 3.0S when it was the Trophée de l’Avenir.
In 1979 the Trophée de l’Avenir returned, but on the new 7km track that we still recognise today as Spa Francorchamps Circuit, becoming part of the European Touring car Championships again, it was the Ford Capris and BMW 635 that dominated, with a notable exception of 1984 when Tom Walkinshaw’s Jaguar XJS won. The next generation of M3 BMW’s and Ford Sierra RS500’s started to make their mark through the early ‘90’s until a Peugeot 306 GTI won the last touring car race in 2000.
Spa 24 was to become part of the FIA GT Championship with Chrysler Viper GTS-R’s dominating the first two seasons at the 24 hour endurance race. Through the next eight years of the
event two wins went to Porsche, two to Chevrolet with the Corvette C6.R, one to the Ferrari 550- GTS Maranello and three to the amazing Maserati MC12.
In 2011 the Blancpain Endurance Series took over the Spa 24 Hours and the grid was starting to resemble the grid we see today. The 2011 and 12 races were won by Audi in the R8 LMS, with other German manufactures having success in BMW M6 GT3’s and Mercedes SLS AMG GT3’s, but it is the grid of 11 exotic car brands from Aston Martin to Lamborghini that make every element of this race one of the most exciting and glamorous motorsport events today.
The Blancpain Total 24 hours of Spa is not just a 24 hour endurance race, the event starts a full week before with hospitality access on the Sunday evening. Monday sees the paddock come to life with FIA Formula 3 European Championship teams moving in, followed by the Blancpain GT teams on Tuesday when private and Bronze driver testing takes place on circuit. By Wednesday afternoon Lamborghini Super Trofeo cars are present, the scrutineering and technical checks are well under way and the fans are out in force for the parade of Blancpain GT cars from the circuit to Spa city centre mid afternoon and returning to the circuit around 8pm. On Thursday morning the sound of Formula 3 cars and Super Trofeo Lamborghinis fills the air as free practice sessions begin.
Chris and I had intended to arrive on Wednesday, but the London launch of the new Rolls Royce meant a change in our schedule, so by Friday lunch time as I collect Chris in Kew Gardens the Formula 3
race is just getting underway. By the time we hit the Eurotunnel the first Lamborghini Super Trofeo race is starting, the Peugeot 308 Racing Cup race and the Blancpain qualifying race all take place on Friday, whilst Chris and I drive across Belgium. After an evening in the bar next to our hotel we collect our passes bright and early and drive into the Spa Francorchamps paddock to meet the SRO team at the new Blancpain Business Club. A few coffees later we are due just over the way at Kaspersky to see Giancarlo Fisichella, interview done, we eat lunch thanks to Kaspersky Motorsport before heading off to the garages to see the teams prepare the cars for this afternoons race.
The paddock at Spa is like a natural amphitheatre due to the topography of the circuit, it is one of the few circuits that has bars and restaurants in the paddock area that afford good views of the racing, making it a well-loved venue for motorsport fans. The main building above the garages housing the press rooms and organisers offices has a great viewing terrace and the Pit-Bar Restaurant that has a semi covered terrace looking out across the Chicane whilst giving a view over the paddock and pit lane.
As we moved through the garages and on the pit lane we checked out the Ferraris as AF Corse have a row of five or six garages together looking after the various Ferrari 488 teams. The white, green and red Kaspersky Motorsport car of Fisichella, Cioci and Caldo was in the first bay. This was the pole position and surprisingly little was being done in the garage, but as Fisichella said the car was set up perfectly, so all that was left to do was race. Various Lamborghini Hurricane GT3s were dotted
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