Over 70-car entry list
Exciting three-hour race in the cards
Last year's winners change car
The arrival of summer always has a special flavour for Iberian Historic Endurance, with the longest race of the year, the one that takes place on one of the greatest stages of world motorsport, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The "3 Hours of Spa" marks the halfway point of the 2023 season, and this celebration during the Spa Summer Classic weekend is done with an extensive starting grid of over seventy exceptional cars and drivers from thirteen different countries.
The grid is as eclectic as it is appealing, with cars that we do not always see racing in southern Europe so often, such as the Plymouth Hemi Cada, the Aston Martin DB4 or the TVR Grantura MK3. A careful look at the entry list reveals several big names from world motorsport: Sam Dejonghe, former reserve driver for Mahindra in Formula E, Alexis Van de Poele, son of former F1 driver Eric Van de Poele, or John Tordoff, father of former BTCC driver Sam Todorff, who will team up behind the wheel of a Lotus Elan with Andrew Jordan, the 2013 BTCC champion.
On the circuit the locals call "le Toboggan des Ardennes", Christophe Van Riet and Fred Bouvy were victorious in an AC Shelby Cobra in 2022. This year, the Belgian duo from Gipimotor will be driving a Chevrolet Corvette C2 to try and repeat the feat. Also present will be Rhea Sautter and Andrew Newall, again with the Jaguar E-Type that was second last year, as well as Lars Rolner and the former Belgian touring car champion Pierre-Alain Thibault, third classified, in the usual Porsche 911 RS, a car that last season won the Historic Endurance race at Estoril Classic and the 250km of Estoril.
Names and cars apart, the race promises to be demanding, since besides the seventy cars on track, on a selective 7,004-kilometre circuit, there are also the inclement high-speed corners of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and its capricious weather, influenced by the Ardennes forest, which means that at some point the rain will make its appearance.
L'Eau Rouge, Raidillon, Kemmel, Malmedy, Stavelot, Blanchimont or La Source are names that resonate in the heart of every motorsport enthusiast. At stake this race will also be the Index of Performance, the classification that gives preponderance to the older and smaller cars, will also be discussed. The Austin Healey and Lotus Elan will always be the natural favourites, but the Ginetta G4, with less than 1000cc, will have its say in this "other fight", the winner of which will take home a coveted Swiss Cuervo y Sobrinos watchmaker.
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