2009 Spa 1000 km report and slideshow ...
Dear Ultimatecarpage.com visitor,
This weekend the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit hosted the second round of the 2009 Le Mans Series. The long, fast and undulating circuit is a favorite among the drivers and no fewer than 51 cars lined up for the 1000 km race. While victory was the objective, many also used the race as the final preparation for next month's 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Peugeot Sport and Team Essex made their first (European) appearance of the season while Oreca fielded a brand new car and Reiter Engineering debuted the GT2 version of the Gallardo.
The support program was headlined by the ever exciting Classic Endurance Racing one-hour 'enduro' on Saturday. No doubt attracted by racing at Spa for an hour, a very impressive 53 classic racing cars were entered. Among them was plenty of tantalizing machinery like several Lola T70s, a Porsche 936 and the ferocious Ferrari 712 Can-Am. The race was closely disputed and incident packed.
The same could be said of the 1000 km race on Sunday where the incidents already started during the formation lap. Despite further restrictions, the Peugeot easily qualified on the front row and gradually built up a lead in the race. Behind them it was absolute mayhem with not one seeming to get through the race unscathed. For some entries the battle damage had major consequences, causing them to fail the post-race scrutineering.
After conflicting schedules forced us to miss the previous two editions of the Spa 1000 km race, we were back this year. Three days of running around the track have resulted in an action packed 200-shot slideshow and a 2500-word report.
2009 Spa 1000 km report and slideshow
Regards,
Wouter Melissen
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)