The second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship will, as in the last two years, take place at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps track in Belgium in the month of May. The 4.352 miles / 7.004kmtrack which rolls through the Ardennes forest is a favourite of almost every racing driver, and those on the grid for the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps are no different.
The traditional dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans turned out to be a comprehensive, all-Audi affair in 2012 as Toyota’s LMP1 challenger was not present in Spa. The R18 e-tron quattro of Romain Dumas, Marc Gené and Loïc Duval claimed the top step of the podium in the FIA WEC’s first appearance at the Belgian track, and the all-conquering German marque repeated the feat in 2013 – 2012 World Champions Lotterer, Tréluyer and Fässler taking the chequered flag ahead of their team mates to form a second, consecutive Audi 1-2-3. The LMP1 Privateer entry of Rebellion Racing’s Neel Jani, Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Prost won ahead of Strakka Racing in both 2012 and 2013.
ELMS entrant Jota Sport took 2012 victory in the LMP2 category ahead of FIA WEC entrants ADR-Delta, with John Martin, Robbie Kerr and Tor Graves at the wheel. One year later the category offered up a thrilling battle to the finish, with the Pecom Racing ORECA Nissan of Pierre Kaffer, Nicolas Minassian and Luis Perez-Companc taking its second WEC win under bright Belgian sunshine.
LMGTE has never failed to deliver excitement and tension, and both years of the WEC 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps have yielded different winners in the Pro class. Richard Lietz and Marc Lieb won for Team Felbermayr Proton in the Porsche 997 GT3 RSR in 2012 ahead of two Ferrari 458 Italias, but the tables were turned last year when AF Corse’s Gianmaria Bruni and Giancarlo Fisichella clinched class victory in their F458 Italia, despite a couple of visits to the penalty box.
The Am category was also a Porsche-Ferrari affair across the two years. IMSA Performance Matmut’s Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo and Anthony Pons won in 2012 while the 8Star Motorsports entry of Enzo Potolicchio, Matteo Malucelli and Rui Aguas claimed a convincing victory in 2013.
FIA WEC Fastest Laps
2012
LMP1 L. Di Grassi Audi R18 e-tron quattro 1m58.934 212.0kph
LMP2 N. Minassian ORECA 03 - Nissan 2m07.697 197.5kph
LMGTE Pro G. Bruni Ferrari F458 Italia 2m19.106 181.3kph
LMGTE Am A. Simonsen Aston Martin Vantage V8 2m20.355 179.6kph
2013
LMP1 M. Fässler Audi R18 e-tron 2m01.851 206.9kph
LMP2 S. Sarrazin HPD-Honda 2m09.835 194.2kph
LMGTE Pro F. Makowiecki Ferrari 458 Italia 2m20.116 180.0kph
LMGTE Am P. Ruberti Porsche 911 RSR 2m22.085 177.5kph
CLICK HERE for the results from the 2012 and 2013 seasons
Fiona Miller
Photos: SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS CIRCUIT (SPA, BELGIUM), WEC 6 HOURS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS. TOP: Loic Duval won in the No.3 R18 e-tron quattro in 2012. BOTTOM: 8Star Motorsports' Ferrari 458 Italia claimed LMGTE Am victory in 2013.
