Monday 29th July 2013

Mercedes SLS takes victory at Spa 24-hour

PH reports back from another great Spa enduro

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So after 24 hours, 564 laps and 2,468 miles, the HTP Motorsport Mercedes SLS GT3 took victory at Spa over the weekend. It set a fastest lap of 2:21.861 came on lap 467 and finished just a single lap ahead of the Manthey Racing Porsche 997 GT3. An Audi R8 LMS completed the podium positions, a further five laps behind.

From 65 starters, 35 cars crossed the line

The victorious #84 SLS, driven by Bernd Schneider, Maximilian Buhk and Maximilian Götz, had been towars the front of the field after qualifying in third. During the murky and grim night stint, it was part of a four-way battle for the lead with a pair of Z4 GT3s run by Marc VDS Racing and the Manthey GT3.

However, once the BMWs retired with electrical and engine issues, it became a battle between the Porsche and Mercedes. When the 911 was penalised with a drive-through penalty, the result was nearly guaranteed; it became secure when the Porsche went down to five cylinders for the finish.

The first British team home was the GT Academy Nissan GT-R, prepared by RJN Motorsport and featuring Jann Mardenborough as one of its drivers; they finished seventh, third in the ProAm category. The Gulf Racing McLaren 12C came 14th (7th in Pro), followed by the Von Ryan 12C.

Manthey car one of two 997s in the top ten

The 350-mile trek home gave plenty of time for some reflection on the Spa 24-Hour. I think it's the accessibility of such an event that makes it so captivating. The freedom to walk and watch almost anywhere allows for a wealth of viewing experiences, augmented by the breathtaking scenery of Spa. Moreover, considering the event from a wider perspective, it was within easy reach from Britain, even for a total novice who hadn't driven overseas before.

The Blancpain Endurance Series now moves on to Germany for the Nurburgring 1000km. Anyone for a road trip?

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A big thanks to all at McLaren GT for their invitation and hospitality over the Spa weekend.

Photography: Frozenspeed / Blancpain Endurance Series

 

[dinkel]

"The freedom to walk and watch almost anywhere allows for a wealth of viewing experiences, augmented by the breathtaking scenery of Spa. Moreover, considering the event from a wider perspective, it was within easy reach from Britain, even for a total novice who hadn't driven overseas before.

The Blancpain Endurance Series now moves on to Germany for the Nurburgring 1000km. Anyone for a road trip?"

>>> Good call: Spa is an experience. The Nurburgring 1000km seems to be a riot.

[Ahonen]

Will there be a proper report at some stage? It would be interesting to hear more about the atmosphere, crowd, live music, weather etc.

[jeremyc]

Ahonen said:

Will there be a proper report at some stage? It would be interesting to hear more about the atmosphere, crowd, live music, weather etc.

Did you read Matt's blog that covered all this (and is linked in the article)?

[Ahonen]

jeremyc said:

id you read Matt's blog that covered all this (and is linked in the article)?

Ah, that's more like it.

[vernz]

We have just got back from the race after missing Le Mans this year due to other commitments.

It was a really good event but it's very different from Le Mans....

Prior to going we looked for a camp site at the circuit and couldn't find anything and in the end found a really nice site (68 Euro's for 4 nights) about 2 miles away from the Blanchimont entrance gate. There was no normal parking allowed inside this entrance but at 10 euro's for parking elsewhere, we just parked (along with everyone else) on the quiet road outside.

The racing was great and Spa is obviously a fantastic circuit, with good/great viewing opportunities The atmosphere is nothing like 'La Sarthe' though. Forget the 'road trip' down with loads of Brits in TVR's etc. We saw very few Brits and most were just families on holidays.

Pros:

1) Nice campsite away from the noise and hassle (clean showers!)
2) Excellent race program with good support races also
3) Brilliant circuit and short enough to see cars more frequently
4) Great choice of GT cars on show
5) Easy journey from Calais with no tolls
6) Cheap tickets and camping

Cons:

1) Missed the 'Le Mans' type of road trip down
2) Very hard to follow race at circuit (no broadcasts in English/no big screens)
3) No apparent choice for onsite camping
4) Very few Brits (not always a bad thing!!)
5) Having to drive to the circuit each day

Will we go again.....possibly.....but if we do, we will probably get a hotel, as there doesn't seem much point in camping, if you still need to drive to the circuit each day.

[josephmoore]

Excellent weekend - rough guide to the Spa 24hr here. Enjoyed it more than Le Mans thanks to the amazing circuit and absence of loutish behaviour. Felt like a much more family-oriented event and very relaxed. We stayed at l'Eau Rouge which was just fine and not too far from the circuit. You can camp trackside for 40 euros (pay at the gate near Campus) but there are no facilities.

The only thing I missed was the camaraderie of the cars on the drive down from Calais, though we did come across a British registered McLaren near Brussels. Seemed to be attended mostly by Dutch and Belgian enthusiasts.

[JamesHayward]

vernz said:

Pros:

1) Nice campsite away from the noise and hassle (clean showers!)
2) Excellent race program with good support races also
3) Brilliant circuit and short enough to see cars more frequently
4) Great choice of GT cars on show
5) Easy journey from Calais with no tolls
6) Cheap tickets and camping

Cons:

1) Missed the 'Le Mans' type of road trip down
2) Very hard to follow race at circuit (no broadcasts in English/no big screens)
3) No apparent choice for onsite camping
4) Very few Brits (not always a bad thing!!)
5) Having to drive to the circuit each day

I went as well, and as an avid Le Mans fan I would say it's better than Le Mans in many ways. The Le Mans road trip element wasn't there but I didn't miss it. I just looked on it as a different event. The lack of Radio was annoying but twitter from daily sports car kept us quite up to date. There were a couple of big screens as well but as far as I can tell only up in the paddock complex.

Next year though I will get a Belgian sim card with enough credit on it to use the 3G for Radio Le Mans coverage and probably go down a little earlier in the week to see more action.

What an event though, and such a beautiful circuit.

josephmoore said:

We stayed at l'Eau Rouge which was just fine and not too far from the circuit.

We were there too, were you the guys with the white Megane? Nice campsite eh.

Edited by JamesHayward on Tuesday 30th July 16:03

[Dakkon]

A group of us went to this, great weekend.

You are so much closer to the action than you can ever be at Le Mans, however, no prototypes and far less fans, however, less fans means less security which means, you can wander round the pits and people talk to you.

During the GT parade, at the same time you had the pit walk, I have footage of the cars coming down into Eau Rouge from the pit wall, this is something I could never get to see / do at Le Mans.

In response to the English commentary, we bought a Belgium pay as you go sim, put it in a tablet to stream radio Le Mans who covered the race in full and then used a tiny FM transmitter from the tablet to broadcast it to our little group, range is only 5m, but enough for all of us sat around, worked reall well and meant we could easily follow the race.

We stayed in a B&B in Malmedy and did not camp at all and just got the bus up to the circuit each day, worked really well, decent bed and shower and we ate at restaurants in Malmedy, lovely little town 7Km's away.

There is much more of a grass roots feel to the event, with less fans you can get around the circuit much more easily, your never queing, grandstand seats are first come first served, but apart from the start of the main race easy to get good seats.

There is no Le Mans convoy as others have mentioned and you do miss the spot the suppercar on the way there and back.

Really great event it does lack that party / excitement feel that Le Mans has, but also no idiots around to ruin it and unlike the N24, with the circuit being smaller, you can walk to all your favourite corners easily.

GT cars at full tilt into Eau Rouge is an amazing site everyone should see.

[josephmoore]

JamesHayward said:

We were there too, were you the guys with the white Megane? Nice campsite eh.

We had the silver Ford Puma, tucked in amongst the static caravans at the top of the site. Great campsite - it was so refreshing to be able to leave your stuff and not worry about it, or have to dash back to your tent to stop some making off with it after the race like at a certain French endurance race I think the only thing I missed about it was not being able to hear the cars hooning round the track as I went to sleep, but it's a small price to pay.

[vernz]

Yep.....we were team Megane!

It's wifey's car actually and we were toying with taking down my 911, but as we didn't know what to expect really and wanted to shove plenty of camping gear/food in the back, the Megane worked out great.

We thought we were the only Brits on the site, amongst the (very friendly) Dutch.

Excellent campsite with really clean toilets and showers etc. It made the camping part of the trip really easy.

We did spend time at the paddock and didn't see the screens. We will look closer next time!

We've just booked a camping pitch for Le Mans 2014.......I just need to prepare myself a bit for the crappy showers and the usual mayhem!