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News

2006 Race Reports

Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, 14-16 July 2006

   
     
  Click here to see more photos from the event  
     
Race 1 - 60 minutes on Saturday (optional 2 driver)
 
  A welcome return to Spa and some great racing at the first of our Long/Short race weekends.

Aaron Hsu qualified on pole with his 'twin wing' ex-Joest Porsche 962 in a stunning 2:13.024 at 117.99mph on the revised 'Bus Stop' Circuit, followed by David Mercer, Spice SE90C in a superb 2:14.807 and Justin Law and Christian Gläsel in Jaguar XJRs with Mark Sumpter/Chris Goodwin in Mark's Porsche 962, all in a time well under 2:18.

Aaron pulled out an early lead and was never seriously challenged. By the end of lap 3, Law had Gläsel behind him, followed by Mercer, Sumpter, Eyre (sharing Mullen's Spice GTP) and Mauro Pane in Rini's XJR12D, all separated by under 4 seconds!

Gläsel dropped back to 7th on Lap 4 getting back to 3rd overall at the end after Mercer retired on lap 8 with a loss of power. Law dropped back on Laps 11 & 12 but was back in the groove on lap 13 at 2:18 and the order was Hsu, Sumpter, Eyre, Gläsel and Law.

The first of the big guns (Pane/Rini) came in for a refuel/driver change on lap 11, followed by Gläsel (refuel) on lap 14, Sumpter/Goodwin and Law on lap 15, Hsu on lap 17 and Eyre/Mullen on lap 20 - Richard having got the Spice up to 3rd place. However, with Gläsel just 3.5s behind at the refuel/driver change and flat out, Mullen was unable to hold on to the place but ended an excellent 4th overall. Very nice to see Richard Eyre with a smile on his face after the disappointing 'mechanical weekend' at Nurburgring.

Henry Pearman who had an overnight engine change, shared the Skoal Bandit Porsche 956 with Philipp Brunn and started from the pitlane but they both drove well to finish 5th overall. Mauro Pane shared the Bud Light XJR12D with Nick Rini, bringing the car home in a fine 6th place.

Meanwhile, there were great scraps down the field with Klaus Frers (Porsche 962), Andrew Smith (Ecosse Cosworth DFL) and Nick Randall (Spice SE90 DFR) running close. Alvin Powell (Tiga 288), Stefano Rosina (Tiga GC289), in his first run with the Primagaz car, and John Edwards at last back in his Argo Cosworth ran for lap after lap within 2-3 seconds of each other, a magic sight until Rosina had mechanical problems. What a shame that Smith had brake problems as we all enjoyed the dice between him and Frers, in David and Goliath mode.

Klaus Frers promises some changes by Silverstone to put the record straight!! Terrific stuff and a wonderful advertisement for C2 cars, backed up by Alvin Powell and John Edwards, following in the footsteps of Gary Pearson's display at Brands in his very quickly driven ADA.

Duncan McKay again took Class 4 honours in his unique Bardon DB2 having been chased by Richard Chester and Richard Batemen/Ed McDonough in their Tigas. Great racing on the World's finest track.

Back at the front, Law retired with overheating on lap 17 having been running in 5th and the final result was Hsu, Sumpter/Goodwin, Gläsel, Mullen/Eyre, Pearman/Brunn, Pane/Rini, the amazing Alvin Powell in his Tiga and Klaus Frers in the 962.

Overall result:- Aaron Hsu
Mark Sumpter/Chris Goodwin
Christain Gläsel
   
Class Winners:- 2 - Henry Pearman/Philipp Brunn
3 - Alvin Powell
4 - Duncan McKay
 
     
Race 2 - 30 minutes on Sunday
     
Aaron Hsu again lead from start to finish but not without David Mercer (overnight engine change) keeping him honest by getting to within 3.5s of him on lap 6 and just 8s at the end!

Mercer was chased hard by Sumpter, Gläsel and Mullen followed by Pearman and Rini.

The other feature of this race was Andrew Smith who was driving the wheels off the little C2 Ecosse and was finally rewarded with a great 8th place overall, the tussle with Frers ending when his gearbox said 'enough'! Janine Payne in the Porsche 962 having had a frustrating practice, worked her way up to 9th and the C2 cars of Powell, Edwards and McKay again brought up the rear but without the excitement of the first race.

Great sympathy to Richard Oddie and Stephen Hepworth in the GTP Argo, which was plagued by electrical gremlins all weekend. A great shame as the car and driver combination have been in exceptional form so far this year. Here's to Silverstone in two weeks!

All in all, another fantastically friendly weekend at the greatest track in the world with some of the finest race cars in perfect weather. Why race anything else with anyone else!

Thanks to EVERYONE who made it so successful and special thanks to our American friends, Aaron Hsu and Rick Villate, Jim Mullen and Jay Dow, Jim and Joan Loftis and Eric. Also, great to have Mauro Pane and Chris Goodwin join the best historic racing in Europe and we look forward to welcoming them back in the future, maybe at Paul Ricard?

Finally, to thank our very good friend, 'Kiki' Bruyn and all his team at Spa.

Overall result:- Aaron Hsu
David Mercer
Mark Sumpter
   
Class Winners:- 2 - Henry Pearman
3 - Alvin Powell
4 - Andrew Smith

  Qualifying  
     
 
Pos No Class Drivers Nat Car Time Laps Gap Km/h
1 77 GTP1 Aaron Hsu USA Porsche 962 2:13.024 6   188.790
2 21 GTP1 David Mercer GB Spice SE90C - DFR 2:14.807 12 0:01.783 186.293
3 8 GTP1 Justin Law GB Jaguar XJR12 2:16.715 11 0:03.691 183.693
4 4 GTP1 Christian Gläsel D Jaguar XJR8/9 2:17.485 11 0:04.461 182.664
5 53 GTP1 Chris Goodwin GB Porsche 962 - TS/03C 2:17.653 13 0:04.629 182.441
  53 GTP1 Mark Sumpter GB Porsche 962 - TS/03C 2:17.803   0:04.779 182.243
6 32 GTP1 Mauro Pane I Jaguar XJR12D 2:20.135 11 0:07.111 179.210
  32 GTP1 Nick Rini USA Jaguar XJR12D 2:30.888   0:17.864 166.439
7 12 GTP1 Richard Eyre GB Spice GTP 2:21.471 12 0:08.447 177.518
  12 GTP1 Jim Mullen USA Spice GTP 2:21.940   0:08.916 176.931
8 33 GTP2 Philipp Brunn D Porsche 956B 2:23.199 3 0:10.175 175.376
  33 GTP2 Henry Pearman GB Porsche 956B 2:27.476   0:14.452 170.289
9 78 GTP4 Andrew Smith GB Ecosse - Ford 285 2:28.347 11 0:15.323 169.290
10 39 GTP1 Klaus Frers D Porsche 962 2:28.351 11 0:15.327 169.285
11 26 GTP3 Alvin Powell GB Tiga 288 (upgraded) 2:31.853 11 0:18.829 165.381
12 80 GTP1 Nick Randall GB Spice SE90 - DFR 2:32.945 11 0:19.921 164.200
13 19 GTP3 John Edwards GB Argo JMC19 2:34.801 10 0:21.777 162.232
14 28 GTP1 Stephen Hepworth GB Argo Chevrolet JM20C 2:36.034 9 0:23.010 160.950
  28 GTP1 Richard Oddie GB Argo Chevrolet JM20C 2:46.617   0:33.593 150.727
15 107 GTP3 Stefano Rosina I Tiga GC289 2:36.920 7 0:23.896 160.041
16 6 GTP1 Janine Payne GB Porsche 962 2:37.315 10 0:24.291 159.639
17 103 GTP4 Duncan McKay GB Bardon Ford DB2 2:47.515 10 0:34.491 149.919
18 81 GTP4 Richard Chester GB Tiga Buick GTP 2:49.097 9 0:36.073 148.516
19 203 GTP4 Jim Loftis USA Mazda 757 2:53.959 11 0:40.935 144.365
20 98 GTP4 Richard Bateman GB Tiga-Rover - GC286 2:57.346 9 0:44.322 141.608
  98 GTP4 Ed McDonough GB Tiga-Rover - GC286 3:16.041   1:03.017 128.104
 

  Race 1 - Saturday  
     
 
Pos No Class Drivers Nat Car Time Laps Gap Race Km/h Best Lap Km/h
1 77 GTP1 Aaron Hsu USA Porsche 962 1:00:57.216 25   171.672 2:15.396 185.483
2 53 GTP1 Mark Sumpter/
Chris Goodwin
GB/
GB
Porsche 962 - TS/03C 1:03:07.762 25 2:10.546 165.755 2:19.841 179.587
3 4 GTP1 Christian Gläsel D Jaguar XJR8/9 1:01:03.929 24 1 Lap 164.503 2:20.128 179.219
4 12 GTP1 Jim Mullen/
Richard Eyre
USA/
GB
Spice GTP 1:01:19.790 24 0:15.861 163.794 2:20.233 179.085
5 33 GTP2 Henry Pearman/
Philipp Brunn
GB/
D
Porsche 956B 1:02:57.375 24 1:53.446 159.562 2:20.662 178.539
6 32 GTP1 Nick Rini/
Mauro Pane
USA/
I
Jaguar XJR12D 1:01:41.289 23 2 Laps 156.057 2:20.474 178.778
7 26 GTP3 Alvin Powell GB Tiga 288 (upgraded) 1:02:31.686 23 0:50.397 153.961 2:35.521 161.480
8 39 GTP1 Klaus Frers D Porsche 962 1:02:49.189 23 1:07.900 153.246 2:30.680 166.668
9 80 GTP1 Nick Randall GB Spice SE90 - DFR 1:01:45.285 22 3 Laps 149.111 2:32.590 164.582
10 19 GTP3 John Edwards GB Argo JMC19 1:02:52.915 22 1:07.630 146.438 2:36.343 160.631
11 103 GTP4 Duncan McKay GB Bardon Ford DB2 1:02:16.142 21 4 Laps 141.158 2:48.407 149.124
12 81 GTP4 Richard Chester GB Tiga Buick GTP 1:03:20.433 21 1:04.291 138.770 2:48.813 148.766
13 98 GTP4 Richard Bateman/
Ed McDonough
GB/
GB
Tiga-Rover - GC286 1:03:20.963 20 5 Laps 132.143 2:49.617 148.061
14 203 GTP4 Jim Loftis USA Mazda 757 1:01:18.949 17 8 Laps 116.047 2:59.528 139.887
15 8 GTP1 Justin Law GB Jaguar XJR12 0:42:15.297 16 9 Laps 158.489 2:18.003 181.979
16 21 GTP1 David Mercer GB Spice SE90C - DFR 0:16:46.940 7 18 Laps 174.584 2:18.210 181.706
17 107 GTP3 Stefano Rosina I Tiga GC289 0:18:27.417 7 1:40.477 158.743 2:35.899 161.089
18 6 GTP1 Janine Payne GB Porsche 962 0:25:59.731 7 9:12.791 112.709 2:33.463 163.646
19 78 GTP4 Andrew Smith GB Ecosse - Ford 285 0:10:16.379 4 21 Laps 162.975 2:31.413 165.862
20 28 GTP1 Richard Oddie/
Stephen Hepworth
GB/
GB
Argo Chevrolet JM20C 0:02:42.867 1 24 Laps 154.197 --:--.---  
Fastest Lap
  77 GTP1 Aaron Hsu USA Porsche 962   12     2:15.396 185.483
 

  Race 2 - Sunday  
     
 
Pos No Class Drivers Nat Car Time Laps Gap Race Km/h Best Lap Km/h
1 77 GTP1 Aaron Hsu USA Porsche 962 0:29:40.763 13   183.335 2:13.770 187.737
2 21 GTP1 David Mercer GB Spice SE90C - DFR 0:29:48.848 13 0:08.085 182.507 2:16.543 183.924
3 53 GTP1 Mark Sumpter/
Chris Goodwin
GB/
GB
Porsche 962 - TS/03C 0:30:05.786 13 0:25.023 180.795 2:17.486 182.663
4 12 GTP1 Jim Mullen/
Richard Eyre
USA/
GB
Spice GTP 0:31:14.094 13 1:33.331 174.205 2:22.620 176.088
5 4 GTP1 Christian Gläsel D Jaguar XJR8/9 0:27:47.739 12 1 Lap 180.702 2:17.892 182.125
6 33 GTP2 Henry Pearman/
Philipp Brunn
GB/
D
Porsche 956B 0:28:51.233 12 1:03.494 174.074 2:22.238 176.560
7 32 GTP1 Nick Rini/
Mauro Pane
USA/
I
Jaguar XJR12D 0:29:59.835 12 2:12.096 167.439 2:27.040 170.794
8 78 GTP4 Andrew Smith GB Ecosse - Ford 285 0:30:06.826 12 2:19.087 166.791 2:29.910 167.525
9 6 GTP1 Janine Payne GB Porsche 962 0:30:15.608 12 2:27.869 165.985 2:28.448 169.174
10 26 GTP3 Alvin Powell GB Tiga 288 (upgraded) 0:31:27.950 12 3:40.211 159.625 2:30.822 166.512
11 19 GTP3 John Edwards GB Argo JMC19 0:32:11.084 12 4:23.345 156.059 2:35.880 161.109
12 103 GTP4 Duncan McKay GB Bardon Ford DB2 0:31:23.015 11 2 Laps 146.706 2:47.621 149.824
13 98 GTP4 Richard Bateman/
Ed McDonough
GB/
GB
Tiga-Rover – GC286 0:31:25.927 11 0:02.912 146.479 2:47.549 149.888
14 80 GTP1 Nick Randall GB Spice SE90 - DFR 0:25:28.137 10 3 Laps 164.341 2:29.535 167.945
15 203 GTP4 Jim Loftis USA Mazda 757 0:08:34.276 3 10 Laps 146.499 2:50.558 147.244
16 28 GTP1 Richard Oddie/
Stephen Hepworth
GB/
GB
Argo Chevrolet JM20C 0:09:29.656 2 11 Laps 088.171 6:45.906 061.870
17 39 GTP1 Klaus Frers D Porsche 962 0:02:30.749 1 12 Laps 166.592 --:--.---  
18 81 GTP4 Richard Chester GB Tiga Buick GTP 0:02:54.937 1 0:24.188 143.558 --:--.---  
Fastest Lap
  77 GTP1 Aaron Hsu USA Porsche 962   3     2:13.770 187.737
 

  CLASSES  
     
  GTP1 Group C1, C1a & GTP cars 1988 - 1993  
  GTP2 Group C1 & GTP cars 1985 - 1987 + all earlier Porsche 956/962s  
  GTP3 Group C2 & Camel Lights cars 1988 - 1993  
  GTP4 Pre 1985 Group C, C1 & GTP cars, Pre 1988 Group C2, Camel Lights & C Junior cars  
  GTP5 Interesting sports cars from a similar period.  

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