Spa 24 Hours

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24 Hours of Spa
GT World Challenge Endurance
Intercontinental GT Challenge
VenueCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Corporate sponsorCrowdStrike
First race1924
Duration24 Hours
Most wins (driver)Eric van de Poele (5)
Most wins (manufacturer)BMW (25)

The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by CrowdStrike.

History[edit]

Alfa Romeos after triple win in 1930

The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and Henri Langlois Van Ophem just one year after the inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans was run. It debuted in 1924 over a 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) circuit on public roads between the towns of Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot, under the auspices of the Royal 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 the European Touring Car Championship from 1966 to 1973, again in 1976 and from 1982 to 1988 (with the exception of 1987 when it was part of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship). The event also counted towards the World Sportscar Championship in 1953 and the World Endurance Championship in 1981. As on the Nürburgring, both a 24h and a 1000 km race is held at Spa, as the 1000 km Spa for sports car racing were introduced in 1966.

Cars entered have spanned from the Russian Moskvitch and models with sub-1 liter engines such as the NSU Prinz TT to the luxurious V8-powered Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3. Tuned by Mercedes-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 driver Alain Peltier collided with a railing.[1]

With the participation of Swiss Lilian Bryner on the victorious Ferrari 550 of the BMS Scuderia Italia team, 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 a Gran Turismo with 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 the FIA GT Championship featuring GT1 and GT2 machinery, and by various touring car series. Currently, the cars run fall under the FIA GT3 and GT3 Cup classifications. It has also been a round of the SRO Group's Intercontinental GT Challenge since its inaugural season in 2016.

2020 saw the race held behind closed doors for 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 the Coupe 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 manufacturer Holden won the Coupe du Roi in 1986 despite their cars finishing the race in 18th, 22nd and 23rd positions outright.[3]

List of winners[edit]

The original 15 km track layout (used from 1924 to 1949)
The quicker 14 km track layout (used from 1953 to 1978)
The slower 7km modern track (used from 1979 onwards)
ROWE Racing BMW after win in 2016
Year Drivers Team Car Layout Distance (km) Average (km/h) Notes
1924 France Henri Springuel
France Maurice Becquet
Bignan 2L 15 km
1925 France André Lagache
France René Léonard
Chenard-Walcker
1926 France André Boillot
France Louis Rigal
Peugeot 174S
1927 France Robert Sénéchal
Belgium Nicolas Caerels
Excelsior
1928 Russia Boris Ivanowski[NB 1]
Italy Attilio Marinoni
Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 S
1929 France Robert Benoist
Italy Attilio Marinoni
Alfa Romeo 6C 1750SS
1930 Italy Attilio Marinoni
Italy Pietro Ghersi
Alfa Romeo 6C 1750GS
1931 Russia Dimitri Jorjadze [NB 2]
Italy Goffredo Zehender
Mercedes-Benz SSK
1932 Italy Antonio Brivio
Italy Eugenio Siena
Alfa Romeo 8C 2300LM
1933 Monaco Louis Chiron
Italy Luigi Chinetti
Alfa Romeo 8C 2300LM
1934 France Jean Desvignes
France Norbert Mahé
Bugatti Type 44 Reduced to 10 hours[4]
1935 Not held
1936 Italy Francesco Severi
France Raymond Sommer
Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A 15 km
1937 Not held
1938 Italy Carlo Pintacuda
Italy Francesco Severi
Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B 15 km
1939

1947
Not held
1948 United Kingdom St. John Horsfall
United Kingdom Leslie Johnson
Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports 15 km
1949 United States Luigi Chinetti
France Jean Lucas
Ferrari 166 MM
1950

1952
Not held
1953 Italy Giuseppe Farina
United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn
Ferrari 375 MM Pinin Farina 14 km World Sportscar Championship. First use of 14km layout
1954

1963
Not held
1964 Belgium Robert Crevits
Belgium Gustave Gosselin
Mercedes-Benz 300SE 14 km 3962.100 164.825
1965 Belgium Pascal Ickx
Belgium Gérard Langlois van Ophem
BMW 1800 Ti/SA 3812.591 158.855
1966 Germany Hubert Hahne
Belgium Jacky Ickx
BMW 2000ti 4048.368 168.681 European Touring Car Championship
1967 Belgium Jean-Pierre Gaban
Belgium Noël Van Assche
Porsche 911 4052.883 168.867 European Touring Car Championship
1968 Germany Erwin Kremer
Germany Willi Kauhsen
Germany Helmut Kelleners
Porsche 911 4004.827 166.867 European Touring Car Championship
1969 France Guy Chasseuil
France Claude Ballot-Léna
Porsche 911 4272.231 187.006 European Touring Car Championship
1970 Austria Günther Huber
Germany Helmut Kelleners
BMW 2800CS 4252.407 177.183 European Touring Car Championship
1971 Germany Dieter Glemser
Spain Alex Soler-Roig
Ford Capri RS 4385.100 182.690 European Touring Car Championship
1972 Germany Jochen Mass
Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck
Ford Capri RS 2600 4498.436 187.431 European Touring Car Championship
1973 Netherlands Toine Hezemans
Austria Dieter Quester
BMW 3.0 CSL 4422.980 184.290 European Touring Car Championship
1974 Belgium Jean Xhenceval
Belgium Alain Peltier
Belgium Pierre Dieudonné
BMW 3.0 CSi 4147.289 172.804 Trophée de l'Avenir
1975 Belgium Pierre Dieudonné
Belgium Jean Xhenceval
Belgium Hughes de Fierlandt
BMW 3.0 CSi 4249.270 177.053 Trophée de l'Avenir
1976 Belgium Jean-Marie Detrin
Luxembourg Nico Demuth
Belgium Charles Van Stalle
BMW 3.0 CSL 4087.904 170.329 European Touring Car Championship
1977 Belgium Eddy Joosen
France Jean-Claude Andruet
BMW 530i 4083.835 170.159 Trophée de l'Avenir
1978 United Kingdom Gordon Spice
Belgium Teddy Pilette
Ford Capri III 3.0S 4315.594 179.816 Trophée de l'Avenir
1979 Belgium Jean-Michel Martin
Belgium Philippe Martin
Ford Capri III 3.0S 7 km 3083.632 128.485 Trophée de l'Avenir. First use of 7km layout
1980 Belgium Jean-Michel Martin
Belgium Philippe Martin
Ford Capri III 3.0S 2952.318 123.013
1981 Belgium Pierre Dieudonné
United Kingdom Tom Walkinshaw
Mazda RX-7 3183.952 132.737 World Endurance Championship
Trophée de l'Avenir
1982 Germany Hans Heyer
Germany Armin Hahne
Belgium Eddy Joosen
BMW 528i 3132.224 130.808 European Touring Car Championship
1983 Belgium Thierry Tassin
Germany Hans Heyer
Germany Armin Hahne
BMW 635 CSi 3333.726 130.808 European Touring Car Championship
1984 Germany Hans Heyer
United Kingdom Tom Walkinshaw
United Kingdom Win Percy
Jaguar XJS 3055.485 131.091 European Touring Car Championship
1985 Italy Roberto Ravaglia
Switzerland Marc Surer
Austria Gerhard Berger
BMW 635 CSi 3470.000 144.344 European Touring Car Championship
1986 Austria Dieter Quester
Germany Altfrid Heger
Belgium Thierry Tassin
BMW 635 CSi 3463.060 144.232 European Touring Car Championship
1987 Belgium Jean-Michel Martin
Belgium Didier Theys
Belgium Eric van de Poele
BMW M3 3338.140 139.908 World Touring Car Championship
1988 Germany Altfrid Heger
Austria Dieter Quester
Italy Roberto Ravaglia
BMW M3 3532.460 146.929 European Touring Car Championship
1989 Italy Gianfranco Brancatelli
United Kingdom Win Percy
Germany Bernd Schneider
Ford Sierra RS500 3338.140 139.130
1990 Germany Markus Oestreich
France Fabien Giroix
Venezuela Johnny Cecotto
BMW M3 Evolution 3247.920 135.330
1991 Sweden Anders Olofsson
Australia David Brabham
Japan Naoki Hattori
Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R 3587.980 149.456
1992 United Kingdom Steve Soper
Belgium Jean-Michel Martin
Germany Christian Danner
BMW M3 Evolution 3560.220 148.947
1993 Germany Uwe Alzen
Brazil Christian Fittipaldi
France Jean-Pierre Jarier
Porsche 911 RSR 2154.904 144.667 Race stopped after 15 hours due to the death of King Baudouin[5]
1994 Italy Roberto Ravaglia
Belgium Thierry Tassin
Germany Alexander Burgstaller
BMW 318is 3625.960 151.047
1995 Germany Joachim Winkelhock
United Kingdom Steve Soper
Netherlands Peter Kox
BMW 320i 3612.532 150.531
1996 Germany Jörg Müller
Germany Alexander Burgstaller
Belgium Thierry Tassin
BMW 320i 3507.821 145.956
1997 Belgium Didier de Radiguès
Belgium Marc Duez
France Éric Hélary
BMW 320i 3372.680 140.252
1998 France Alain Cudini
Belgium Marc Duez
Belgium Eric van de Poele
BMW 318i 3344.807 139.344
1999 Belgium Frédéric Bouvy
France Emmanuel Collard
France Anthony Beltoise
Peugeot 306 GTI 3428.427 142.588
2000 France Didier Defourny
Belgium Frédéric Bouvy
Belgium Kurt Mollekens
Peugeot 306 GTI 3330.870 138.686 Last race for touring cars
2001 Belgium Marc Duez
France Christophe Bouchut
France Jean-Philippe Belloc
France Larbre Compétition Chrysler Viper GTS-R 3679.104 152.999 FIA GT Championship
2002 France Christophe Bouchut
France Sébastien Bourdais
France David Terrien
Belgium Vincent Vosse
France Larbre Compétition Chrysler Viper GTS-R 3654.059 152.019 FIA GT Championship
2003 France Romain Dumas
Monaco Stéphane Ortelli
Germany Marc Lieb
Germany Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3-RS 3327.613 138.557 FIA GT Championship
2004 Italy Luca Cappellari
Italy Fabrizio Gollin
Switzerland Lilian Bryner
Switzerland Enzo Calderari
Italy BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello 3888.144 161.974 FIA GT Championship
2005 Germany Michael Bartels
Germany Timo Scheider
Belgium Eric van de Poele
Germany Vitaphone Racing Maserati MC12 4000.896 166.638 FIA GT Championship
2006 Belgium Eric van de Poele
Germany Michael Bartels
Italy Andrea Bertolini
Germany Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12 4092.961 171.034 FIA GT Championship
2007 Italy Fabrizio Gollin
Netherlands Mike Hezemans
Switzerland Jean-Denis Délétraz
Switzerland Marcel Fässler
Netherlands Carsport Holland
Germany Phoenix Racing
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R 3726.660 155.241 FIA GT Championship
2008 Germany Michael Bartels
Italy Andrea Bertolini
France Stéphane Sarrazin
Belgium Eric van de Poele
Germany Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12 4041.885 168.096 FIA GT Championship
2009 Belgium Anthony Kumpen
Belgium Kurt Mollekens
Netherlands Mike Hezemans
Netherlands Jos Menten
Belgium PK Carsport Chevrolet Corvette C6.R 3915.236 163.128 FIA GT Championship
2010 France Romain Dumas
Austria Martin Ragginger
Germany Jörg Bergmeister
Germany Wolf Henzler
Italy BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 997 GT3-RSR 3789.164 157.832
2011 Germany Timo Scheider
Belgium Greg Franchi
Sweden Mattias Ekström
Belgium Audi Sport Team WRT Audi R8 LMS 3817.180 158.898 Blancpain Endurance Series
2012 Italy Andrea Piccini
Germany René Rast
Germany Frank Stippler
Germany Audi Sport Performance Team Audi R8 LMS ultra 3565.036 148.543 Blancpain Endurance Series
2013 Germany Bernd Schneider
Germany Maximilian Götz
Germany Maximilian Buhk
Germany HTP Motorsport Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 3950.256 164.594 Blancpain Endurance Series
2014 Germany René Rast
Germany Markus Winkelhock
Belgium Laurens Vanthoor
Belgium Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra 3691.108 153.732 Blancpain Endurance Series
Red flag (1 hour)[6]
2015 Netherlands Nick Catsburg
Germany Lucas Luhr
Finland Markus Palttala
Belgium BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS BMW Z4 GT3 3754.144 156.423 Blancpain Endurance Series
2016 Austria Philipp Eng
Belgium Maxime Martin
United Kingdom Alexander Sims
Germany ROWE Racing BMW M6 GT3 3719.403 154.975 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, Intercontinental GT Challenge
2017 France Jules Gounon
Germany Christopher Haase
Germany Markus Winkelhock
France Audi Sport Team Saintéloc Audi R8 LMS 3824.184 159.341 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, Intercontinental GT Challenge
2018 United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist
Austria Philipp Eng
Norway Christian Krognes
Germany Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 3579.044 149.127 Intercontinental GT Challenge, Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup
2019 France Kévin Estre
Austria Richard Lietz
Denmark Michael Christensen
United Arab Emirates GPX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R 2542.45 105.78 Intercontinental GT Challenge, Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup
18 hour race. Racing suspended from 4:00 AM to 11:30 AM (rain), initially by safety car, but red flag at 5:40 AM.
2020 New Zealand Earl Bamber
United Kingdom Nick Tandy
Belgium Laurens Vanthoor
Germany Rowe Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R 3691.10 153.7 Intercontinental GT Challenge, GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
2021 France Côme Ledogar
Denmark Nicklas Nielsen
Italy Alessandro Pier Guidi
Italy Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 3894.22 162.0 Intercontinental GT Challenge, GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
2022 France Jules Gounon
Spain Daniel Juncadella
Switzerland Raffaele Marciello
France AMG Team AKKodis ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 3754.14 156.2 Intercontinental GT Challenge, GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
2023 Austria Philipp Eng
Germany Marco Wittmann
United Kingdom Nick Yelloly
Germany ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 3761.14 156.7 Intercontinental GT Challenge, GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup

Multiple winners[edit]

By driver[edit]

Wins Driver Years
5 Belgium Eric van de Poele 1987, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2008
4 Belgium Jean-Michel Martin 1979, 1980, 1987, 1992
Belgium Thierry Tassin 1983, 1986, 1994, 1996
3 Italy Attilio Marinoni 1928, 1929, 1930
Belgium Pierre Dieudonné 1974, 1975, 1981
Germany Hans Heyer 1982, 1983, 1984
Austria Dieter Quester 1973, 1986, 1988
Italy Roberto Ravaglia 1985, 1988, 1994
Belgium Marc Duez 1997, 1998, 2001
Germany Michael Bartels 2005, 2006, 2008
Austria Philipp Eng 2016, 2018, 2023
2 Italy Francesco Severi 1936, 1938
United States Luigi Chinetti 1933, 1949
Germany Helmut Kelleners 1968, 1970
Belgium Jean Xhenceval 1974, 1975
Belgium Philippe Martin 1979, 1980
Belgium Eddy Joosen 1977, 1982
Germany Armin Hahne 1982, 1983
United Kingdom Tom Walkinshaw 1981, 1984
Germany Altfrid Heger 1986, 1988
United Kingdom Win Percy 1984, 1989
United Kingdom Steve Soper 1992, 1995
Germany Alexander Burgstaller 1994, 1996
Belgium Frédéric Bouvy 1999, 2000
France Christophe Bouchut 2001, 2002
Italy Fabrizio Gollin 2004, 2007
Italy Andrea Bertolini 2006, 2008
Belgium Kurt Mollekens 2000, 2009
Netherlands Mike Hezemans 2007, 2009
France Romain Dumas 2003, 2010
Germany Timo Scheider 2005, 2011
Germany Bernd Schneider 1989, 2013
Germany René Rast 2012, 2014
Germany Markus Winkelhock 2014, 2017
Belgium Laurens Vanthoor 2014, 2020
France Jules Gounon 2017, 2022

By manufacturer[edit]

Wins Manufacturer Years
25 Germany 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 Germany Porsche 1967, 1968, 1969, 1993, 2003, 2010, 2019, 2020
7 Italy Alfa Romeo 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1938
6 United States Ford 1971, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1989
4 Germany Audi 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017
Italy Ferrari 1949, 1953, 2004, 2021
Germany Mercedes-Benz 1931, 1964, 2013, 2022
3 France Peugeot 1926, 1999, 2000
Italy Maserati 2005, 2006, 2008
2 United States Chrysler 2001, 2002
United States Chevrolet 2007, 2009

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Ivanowski was a Russian national, but in exile since the Russian Revolution
  2. ^ Djordjadze was a Russian national, but in exile since the Russian Revolution

References[edit]

  1. ^ UPI (28 July 1975), "2 Killed at Spa", The New York Times
  2. ^ Vincent Wouters (27 July 2015), Spa Post-Race Notebook, SportsCar360
  3. ^ Gricey's King's Cup Story (Spa 1986)
  4. ^ "SPORTS CAR RACING". kolumbus.fi. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  5. ^ "1993 Spa 24 Hours". touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  6. ^ "28 Jul 2014 – Belgian Audi Club Team WRT takes home win after nail-biting finish". total24hours.com. 28 July 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.

External links[edit]