Jean-Pierre Gaban / Noel “Pedro” Van Assche reunion at the 2017 Spa 24H
To celebrate this first victory for Porsche at the Spa 24H, Jean-Pierre Gaban and Noel “Pedro” van Ascche were at the Spa 24H race, together with a replica of the Porsche 911 #23 they drove in the 1967 race. Fans from all ages welcomed the both pilots as true heroes. The #23 Porsche 911 could be admired at the famous Raidillon, and even made a lap on the track with the 2 pilots from back them.Porsche is not only in Le Mans very succesful. Between 1967 and 2010, Porsche took no less than 6 overall victories at the Spa 24H. Unfortunately the Porsches this year weren’t as successful. The Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by KÜS Team75 Bernhard with Laurens van Thoor, Kevin Estré and Michael Christensen at the wheel just missed out on the podium.
Porsche victory at the 1967 Spa 24H
However, this 69th edition of the Spa 24H was special to Porsche in a particular way. In 1967 the duo Jean-Pierre Gaban and Noel Van Assche, nicknamed Pedro, took the very first victory at the 24H endurance race in Spa.4 Porsches 911s at the start of the 1967 Spa 24H. The Belgian duo Jean-Pierre Gaban / Noel van Assche was the fases during qualifying and secured pole position in the 1600 – 2000 class. The Porsche 911 with start number 23 achieves the 7th time overall, not bad at all against opponents like Ford ustand and Alfa Romeo GTA’s.The 19th edition of the Spa 24H had to cope with periods of severe rain, making the wet track extremely slippery and dangerous. The Belgian idol Jacky Ickx who teamed up with Hubert Hahne, dominates the first part of the race in his Ford Mustang, After 4,5 hours of racing, the Ford Mustang of Jacky Ickx and Hubert Hahne returns to the pits with differential problems. However the mechanics didn’t manage to bring the car back on the track within the allowed time. Regulations stipulated that a lap could no longer take than 1 hour. That meant the end for Jacky Ickx / Hubert Hahne of the 1967 Spa 24H with a disqualification, to the advantage of the Porsches that were running very close after the Ford Mustang.
