Event>>spa 24 Hours Through The Lens

Tales from the Forest………..

In Europe each year we have three famous 24-Hour races on three famous circuits.

Le Mans is known by everyone and is the pinnacle of endurance racing with full works entries and massive factory involvement. There is worldwide media coverage on a par with any Grand Prix or NASCAR race and there are fans that follow this race to the exclusion of all others. It is arguably the most famous motorsport event on the planet. Winning here will overshadow any other achievements in the year………….just ask Peugeot………or Audi.

At the other end of the scale comes the Nurburgring event, which is much more like a long club race over the world’s most charismatic track, the Nordschleife and is genuinely for the little guy. With 250 cars starting and over 200,000 fans cheering them on it has a unique flavour but is largely unknown outside Germany

So somewhere in between these two comes the Spa 24 Hours, the 2008 edition of which was held last weekend. The race forms the centrepiece of the FIA GT Championship, counting for double points in the title race, so success in Belgium usually goes a long way to deciding the titles for drivers and manufacturers.

For me the Spa 24 has always been a bit odd. In anticipation there is always the feeling that it will be another Le Mans style extravaganza but when actually on site during practice and qualifying things feel flat. The race really doesn’t start till the race starts.

Those of you paying attention will know that Rod, Antonio and I had been on the road for a week or so………and for the Spa race Rod asked me to blog my approach to the race coverage and to be honest we had several shoots to complete during the Thursday and Friday so I missed much of the on track action.

The conventional way would be to write a “I done this and then I done that” piece, which would send most of you into a coma…………so I am going to pick a selection of shots tracking the action as it rolls from 4.00pm Saturday to 4.00pm Sunday.

Of course shooting the race is much easier when there are two of you in the team and when the other guy is Master of Speed and Light, David Lister, the result is not in doubt. This situation also allows some risk taking in the photos, you always assume that the other guy will catch any mistakes………..yeah right.

Yes……mistakes…….

I'm not sure what Andrew Kirkaldy had with his cornflakes at breakfast last Saturday but on track he turned into a Bull Goose Loony……….this clash with a Porsche occured in the braking zone at the end of the Kemmel Stright………..at around 160-170mph…..anything going wrong here usually has severe consequences as we shall see……..Andrew had already punted off Tim Mullen in the other CR Scuderia Ferrari……red car, red mist……….he'll be getting his cards if this continues.

The Phoenix Corvette was the class of the field during the opening few hours…….particularly as the fastest Saleen and the SRT Corvette had disappeared…………this rear view was what the other drivers saw but even then somehow the Maseratis looked really strong………….and 24 Hours is a hell of a race distance. Rumours abounded that the 'Vette was running a special development engine, though this was denied by the team…………well they would, wouldn't they?

The number 1 Vitaphone Maserati MC12 driven here by team principal Michael Bartels had a conservative start to the race………..Spa is a place where being too brave can bite you big time……………a message that was reinforced by the fate of the pole winner, Labre Competition's Saleen S7R…………..it did not take the start after a massive shunt in the warm up nearly split the car in two……………..so Bartels' softly-softly approach would pay dividends in the long term.

The Spa 24 Hours not only features the regulars of the FIA GT Championship but it also attracts a number of locals such as this Ice Pol Racing Porsche. This puts another 20 cars into the race and adds considerably to the crowd as they come out in big numbers to support their heroes.

The main challenger to the number 6 Corvette was the Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 with Karl Wendlinger leading the initial charge. Many fancied this car to take overall victory and perhaps a decisive lead in the 2008 title chase. It had already won twice this season, third time lucky?

One of the keys to success in long distance racing is to minimise the time spent in the pits…………so nothing outside of tyre and driver changes and of course more fuel if at all possible. Seconds lost while on a stop can be very hard to make up on the track.

Here the Scuderia Ecosse 430 comes in for routine fill up.

The BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari led the GT2 class right from the opening lap despite being up against the "werks" cars of AF Corse with their star studded line up. Tidy driving, good pitwork and the right strategy put the boys from Brescia into a lead that they never looked like surrendering.

Unlike Le Mans Spa is very dark at night with virtually no lighting outside of the pit area………so unless flash is used there will be no pix………….unless you can find a spot to shoot near the pits…………..the roof terrace seemed handy………….and not too far to walk, another prime consideration when staying up all night………….here the PekaRacing Saleen passes a Porsche down the pit straight.

Cranking the speed down sometimes works……………but the delete key puts in overtime during processing……………….this one kind of works……………at least I think so……….and no flash, just a steady hand and available light

More of the same…………trying to pan the Maserati across the paddock to give a feeling of speed……………the hours of darkness decided the race………..completely out of character Karl Wendlinger stuffed the Jetalliance Aston into the Armco taking with him the leading Phoenix Corvette, the elimination of these two from the leaderboard meant that it was going to be a one two for Vitaphone Maserati with the Gigawave Aston Martin not quite able to get on terms.

As to which Maserati? Well a double stint by sportscar superstar, Stephane Sarrazin, put the number 1 car on top and then there was no looking back. Not surprising really as Bartels and Bertolini are looking to take the drivers' title again.

Meanwhile back in third overall was the Aston……………a few minor problems lost a lap here, a lap there, so the bottom step of the podium was the realistic target for the team who competed in their first 24 Hour race……………they looked the business throughout and if either of the Maseratis were to suffer a problem then who knows?

And the battle scarred number 1 MC12 just kept on going, seen here in the early morning sun, itself a rarity during a generally overcast weekend.

Despite a big appetite for gearboxes the glorious sounding Lamborghini Murcielago screamed its way to a top ten finish with Czech ace, Tomas Enge, running at near record speed during Sunday morning.

No matter how many times you see it, the Eau Rouge/Radillion section of Spa is breath taking…………large cojones are mandatory to take this corner at speed…….wusses and photographers need not apply

4.00pm on Sunday and the celebrations begin for the victors…………and anyone who manages to finish.

Eric Van de Pole guides the MC12 across the line to take the Chequered Flag………….it is a record breaking fifth overall win for the popular Belgian veteran who with his team mates, Andrea Bertolini, Michael Bartels and Stephane Sarrazin completed 577 laps or 2,511 miles………average speed 104.63mph………..

Of course there is another darker side to Spa……………the wreckage of the Jetalliance Aston Martin comes back to the pits on a tow truck…………a new tub and a shedload of work for the already exhausted team if they are to be ready for the next round of the FIA GT Championship in 3 weeks…………….roll on Bucharest.

 -John Brooks

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1

Nice and interesting coverage :)

Thank's



btw, as I can see, I'm not the only one who have trouble to shoot at night at Spa :D

2

Great shots, I need to practise my camera work more and try and get some more speed into my shots. At the moment they all come out looking too static. Maybe one day you can write an article that gives away some of your camera secrets =P

3

John, amazing coverage. I can't believe how awesome those pit stop photos came out. I really enjoyed your commentary as always. I'd love to see some random snap posts with some of your best shots.

4

This trip has been soo incredibly crazy. We've been traveling all over Europe, the UK, and Japan

5

Please!!!



Make available the Gordon Porsche image as a desktop size!

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