Spa Summer Classic 2013

Classic car enthusiasts gathered during the weekend of June 14th until June 16th at Spa-Francorchamps for the annual Spa Summer Classic, a great event organised by the Roadbook Organisation. Over 500 classic cars, 10 different races, including touring cars, GT’s and single seaters found their way to the Ardennes rollercoaster.

By © Marcel Hundscheid / www.speed-o-graphica.com

The BRAVO organisation from Belgium has been existing for more than thirty years organizing events for historic cars. In 2008 BRAVO decided to set up a Belgian national historic championship known  as the Belgian Historic Cup open to touring cars and GT’s up to 1976.

Historic Motor Racing, Spa Ardennes Challenge and the Crosslé Racing Drivers Club combined their grids into a vast field of 1966-71 closed prototypes, sports cars, GT cars and touring cars as well as a number of Crosslé 9S sports racing cars. The Crosslé Company, originally founded in 1957 is the oldest constructor of customer racing cars in the world.  The company has built close to 1000 cars over the and won countless championships.

The Classic Sports Car Club was set up in 2001 presenting CSCC Swingin Sixties, a series open to sports cars, touring and GT’s produced during the ‘60s. Over the weekend of lot of Triumph, MG and Austin Healey models found their way to Spa as well as some TVR’s, Porsches, BMW etc. Another combined grid managed by the Classic Sports Car Club came from the Inter-Series Cup and the French HTCC Le Group 1 (Historique Tourisme Champion Car). This serie was initiated in 2003 by a driver who revived the Group 1 category featuring all kinds of touring cars and GTs.

Fans of Caterham/Lotus Seven type cars had their own race within the combined grid of the Magnificent Sevens race series managed by the Classic Sports Car Club and the French Trophée Lotus. Frenchman Jean-Paul Couilliot relaunched the Trophy Lotus Seven in 1987 as it became the Trophée Lotus Seven from 2005.

The Monoposto Racing Club from Great Britain and the French Trophée Formule Ford Kent combined their grids into a large field of classic single seaters, featuring F3, Formula Ford and some very fast Jedi single seaters.

The Historic Sports Car Club from the UK presented the Guards Trophy GT and Sports Racing Championship. This serie is open to GT and sports racing cars built before 1966. An invitation class for pre ’69 sports-racing, GT and sports-prototypes is also included. Several Chevron B6’s and B8’s as well as a bunch of Jaguar E-Types to name just a few.

Fastest cars on track during the weekend were the single seaters from the French Trophy F3 Classic. A nice field of Ralt RT1’s and RT3’s, different Chevron and March chassis as well as bunch of different Martini’s coupled with pre-1995 Formula Renaults. Classic liveries from the ‘80s featuring the March of Nigel Mansell, the Ralf of Andrea de Cesaris and many others claimed the legendary Ardennes rollercoaster.

Finally touring cars and GTs from the French ASAVE Challenge GT-Tourisme & Trophée Maxi 1000 as well as F.I.S.C. Legendary Circuits claimed the track. Like during earlier versions of the Spa Summer Classic, it was an event not to be missed and we’re already looking forward to the next edition in 2014.

(scroll down below the results for more photos)