After two years of interruption, Spa-Classic is finally celebrating its tenth edition! And not only the drivers are looking forward to this event. All classic race car fans look with great interest to the return of some fabulous race cars to Spa-Francorchamps. Not only is it called one of the most beautiful circuits on the planet. The Belgian circuit is mostly guaranty for great action on the tarmac. The unpredictable weather makes the races even more spectacular, as you never know whether the next lap will be on a dry or wet circuit. In 2019, over 20.000 visitors flocked to Spa-Francorchamps. And after the absence of a major classic car event on the Belgian tracks for 2 years, we believe there will be a large crowd at the Spa-Classic 2022 too.
9 grids in the Spa Classic 2022
The spectators will see cars in 9 different grids on the track. The 2.0L Cup is the only single-make race. It is reserved for 2-liter short wheelbase early Porsche 911s. This way, it all comes to the setup of the car, and the skills of the drivers. We counted 35 cars on the entry list of the 2.0L Cup. That means a guarantee for success. For many classic Porsches fans, this will probably be one of the best grids of the weekend.
Classic Endurance Racing
The 2 main grids in Peter Auto Events are always the Classic Endurance Racing 1 and 2. The Classic Endurance Racing fields echo one of the most mythical periods in the history of the World Endurance Championship and have cars in it from 1966 t0 1981. In previous years you could see legends like the Ferrari 512 and the Porsche 917 on the track. And yes, the Porsche 917-008 of Claudio Rodarro is among the 59 cars on the entry list of CER1. Further, you’ll see quite a lot of Porsche 911 RSR, Peter Vögele in the Porsche 908/3, the Porsche 910, and a Porsche 911 ST. Far fewer Porsches in CER2, as we only counted 3 in the list that has 39 cars on it. But yes, you’ll enjoy CER2 too with cars like the Ferrari 512BBLM of Alexander Rittweger / Sam Handcock and a handful of BMW M1 ProCars. For Porsche fans, the presence of the Porsche 935K3 and Porsche 934 will be the icing of the cake.
The Heritage Touring Cup
The Heritage Touring Cup houses cars, that excited the audience in the halcyon era of the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) between 1966 and 1984. BMW has the majority of cars in the field, with some extraordinary cars like the BMW 3.0 CSL and the BMW 652 CSI. Ford comes next, with lovely racers like the Ford Escort RS and of course the Ford Capri RS. Even though the Heritage Touring Cup is a very exciting series, this might be the moment for Porsche fans to go in the paddocks, as there are no Porsches at the start grid.
Group C Racing
A few years ago, Peter Auto introduced a Group C racing series. And for many race fans, that will be the headliner of the program. Jaguar’s XJR-8, XJR-9 and XJR-14 will fight against the powerful Porsche 956 and Porsche 962. A total of 21 cars are on the entry list at the moment of writing. And that promises to bring quite some race-action.
Sixties Endurance and Fifties Legends
The Sixties’ Endurance, for pre-63 Sports and pre-66 GTs, offers a wonderful occasion to admire all icons of the world championship at the time. The race of 2hours is a strong endurance highlight at the Spa Classic. It brings together a wide range of cars (E-Type Jaguars, Ferrari 250 GTs, Porsches 911).
The Fifties’ Legends series aims at cars from the 1950s and the very beginning of the 60s. In this field, you can find the oldest cars competing in circuit events organized by Peter Auto. The grid pays homage to the World Championship for Makes that was introduced in 1953 for sports cars and a bit later on for grand touring vehicles. The start grid only has British cars at the moment of writing, except for a 1961 Porsche 356B Hardtop Coupe.
The Greatest Trophy
The Greatest’s Trophy (formerly Trofeo Nastro Rosso) is open to the exceptional cars that marked the major endurance events of the 50s and 60s. This series brings the most exclusive (and often very valuable cars) on the start grid. So far, we have only noticed the 1962 Porsche 356 (B) 2000 GS Carrera 2 coupé and a Porsche 904 Carrera GTS on the entry list. Let’s just hope more rare Porsches show up to compete against the Ferrari 250 GT SWB, Ferrari 275 GTB, and other Italian racers.
Endurance Racing Legends
The last series on the list is the Endurance Racing Legends. The most modern cars competing in a Peter Auto track events will start in this series. It brings together cars that young spectators go wild about GTs and prototypes from the 1990s and 2000s. And I’m pretty sure Porsche fans will go nuts for this series. About half of the cars on the track will be a Porsche: from the Porsche 993 GT2 over the 993 GT2 EVO, the Porsche 996 GT3-RS, and Porsche 996 GT3 RSR to the Porsche 997 GT3 RSR. This is about as close as you can get to the real endurance racing from the 1990s. Pretty sure you’ll enjoy the event. You can always take a look at previous articles about Spa Classic too, to bring you in the good atmosphere.
We advise you to visit the Peter Auto website for more information about tickets and the timetable. To book a hotel for the weekend, take a look at the map underneath.
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Pictures courtesy Vintage Race Photography
