Peter Auto’s rolling circus returned to Spa, and so did we. Spa Classic 2024 offered all the spectacles we expected, with a few add-ons that ensured another refreshing experience. All in all, we would come back again next year.
Apparently, we are not the only ones: the twelfth edition of Spa Classic attracted over 25,000 visitors, who got to see over 400 historic race cars competing over three days.
This three-day period also offered plenty of excitement on the weather side. The unpredictable weather brought an extra layer of show element, each day offering a different setting for photographers. Those who visited on Friday could produce some really remarkable photos on the rain-soaked track. We saw a Saturday dominated by sunshine, while the Sunday offered a bit of everything.
The event is also a petrolhead paradise with several clubs booking the best spots around the track, offering a fancy spot to follow the event. The organisers noted over 1300 club cars on display, though we had the impression that we saw fewer cars than in previous years.
The BMW club was a familiar sight as they usually occupy the corner of the Source, but there were some novelties this year for other clubs. Most importantly, an Alfa Romeo Booth was erected next to the cosy corner where the Ferrari Drivers Club used to take cover (at the Hotel de l’Eau Rouge). This year, Ferrari parked a lineup of modern-day cars in the centre of the compound.
Near the Kemmel straight, the centre hosted animations and catering at pretty reasonable prices. It also hosted the Exhibitors Village, which lined up memorabilia and art shops, dressers, and booksellers.
Animation and shows encompassed a wide variety of activities, from concerts, exhibitions, and a parade of old scooters to dancers and vintage make-up artists, offering something for every age group.
This area hosted a key thematic spectacle, the Porsche 917 exhibition, on a podium featuring five rare specimens.
The white Porsche 917, chassis number 043, was assembled in June 1970 in a long-tail version. It is famous for finishing second behind another Porsche at the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans with Gérard Larrousse and Willi Kauhsen. In 1971, she participated again in the Sarthe event under the Gulf colours but had to abandon the race.
Our favourite is the psychedelic one, the green/blue Porsche 917 with chassis number 021. It was built in March 1969, then converted to a short-tail version in April 1970 before being sold to Aarnio Wihuri’s AAW team. She participated in the 1000 km of Spa and Monza. The car then took the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with David Piper and Gijs Van Lennep, but it retired after an accident. It was since then restored and a frequent guest at car shows with its distinctive psychedelic livery.
The red Porsche #917/10-002 was completed in July 1971 and entered the Can Am racing series, with Jo Siffert finishing 4th in the championship despite limited participation. After an eventful racing career involving several accidents and incidents, the car was restored in 1998 using the original blueprints and the help of the people responsible for its initial development at Porsche.
With the other two white cars, the fleet of 917s totalled five specimens, and the cars also participated in a victory parade lap, as part of the Spa Classic programme.
The core element of the event is still classic car racing, and the fleet is mainly based on Peter Auto’s iconic classic car series, with probably the best cars in the world. This year’s Spa Classic featured the following classes:
2.0L Cup – Porsche 911 2 litre short chassis pre-1966
Classic Endurance Racing 1 – GT 1966 / 1975 & Protos 1966 / 1971
Classic Endurance Racing 2 – GT 1975 / 1981 & Protos 1972 / 1981
Classic Touring Challenge – Pre-66 Touring Cars
Endurance Racing Legends – GT & Protos 1990 / 2000
Group C Racing – Protos from 1982 to 1993
Heritage Touring Cup – Touring Cars from 1966 to 1984
Six—es’ Endurance – Pre-63 sports cars & pre-66 GTs
The Gentlemen Challenge – GT & Protos 1950 /
The Classic 911 2.0 cup resonated well with the 917 thematic, but the series is a spectacle on its own right, with the 911s powersliding in the hairpins.
Group C is arguably the main attraction of Peter Auto’s rolling circus. This year, however, it almost got cancelled, so much so that the fleet was not even featured in the event’s official journal.
The Group C regulations were in force between 1982 and 1993. They can thus be considered the true predecessors of today’s WEC LMP1 endurance cars. In the early days, Porsche 956s dominated the field, but with the arrival of Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda, the upgraded Porsche 962s faced more intense competition.
Although this year’s fleet consisted of only ten cars, the field reflected the colourful variety of the late generation.
Our favourite was the silver 1990 Mercedes-Benz C11, which also finished first in the race, though it could win the beauty contest on looks alone. The C11 was the first time that Mercedes-Benz chose to put their name on the car instead of simply using Sauber. Their trust was justified as Sauber won the WEC championship that year.
Watching the 1993 Peugeot 905 EV1B taking its laps was a spectacle on its own.
There were also two Porsche 962 C 1990 race cars, a black one with pink accents (breathing fire from its exhausts) and a white one with blue Blaupunkt livery.
There were three Jaguar XJRs: the 1988 Jaguar XJR-9 and 1990 Jaguar XJR-11 were part of the earlier design, while the purple Jag is an XJR-14 winning the 1991 World Sportscar Championship season.
The XJR-14 was designed by Ross Brawn (yeah, that one!) and John Piper and built and run by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) on behalf of Jaguar Cars.
In the 1991 WEC season, the car won both drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
Now, we take a rhetorical break before moving on with the remaining categories of Saturday.
