Spa 24 Hours – Qualifying Report
A Sense of Spa

Dirk Werner has just reeled off a quick one. This placed the No. 79 BMW second fastest during the second of the evening’s three qualifying sessions, and the first of two regarded as being “night qualifying.”

In the first of our “senses of intuition”, this may be a marker of the power of the factory BMW effort. This may be a GT-only race, but by comparison to most cars in the field, the two M3s have a prototype-like quality. They are developmental cars, running on Dunlops, while nearly all of the other entries use Michelins.

The BMWs are in effect “unclassified” although they are legally within the GTN (for National) class. This has often been a mere field-filling group at the 24 Hours, and many of the cars in the class indeed are potential backmarkers. However, the BMWs are heavy favourites.

But, they are far from prohibitive choices to win. For much of the day the two Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMSs were in the lead, later to be usurped by Gimmi Bruni in the quicker of the two AF Corse Ferraris. These factors augur well for the race.

Apart from the oddity of the Freisinger victory, the past decade of GT1-led races often were top-heavy with a lone favourite. Today, it is as wide open a Spa 24 Hours as we’ve seen in years. The three teams mentioned above represent three different classes, GTN, GT2, and even GT3.

Not having GT1 cars is a mixed blessing. Their speed and sound was certainly impressive, but their absence is filled by a reasonably good entry of not particularly subservient cars. Of course, the GT1s are not absent, but instead provide—depending upon one’s perspective—a great opening act or a minor sideshow. While this may not be a case of the Stones co-billing with the Beatles, the contrast between the two races make for a unique doubleheader.

The GT1 race(s) provide all-out sprints while we have true endurance strategy at play in the long one. If Le Mans has become a long sprint, then Spa is still a classic struggle to survive for the near(er) production cars.

The Spa circuit is, in round figures, one-quarter the length of the Nordschleife, and the entry here is comparably more or less 1/4 that of the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Breaking down the field further yields more similarities, albeit at 1/4-scale. We have a few factory or factory-backed entries at the top. Then come some very competently driven and prepared amateur teams, following a group of highly interesting and exciting members of the unmassaged masses.

The drivers range from Porsche and BMW professionals to a large bevy of Belgian nationals. In between are some veteran names, sometimes looking almost out of context. They include Eddie Cheever (United Autosport Audi), Mark Blundell (ditto), and Carl Rosenblad (Trackspeed Porsche). Next to these “grandfathers” we have 19-year old Christophe Corte in the No. 91 East Belgian Racing Team Porsche.

The meteo today was classic Spa. Apart from snow and locusts we had stretches of every season at some point today. Sometimes it would cycle 2-3 seasons in under an hour. This played particular havoc with the two free sessions. The morning period was all wet, with a couple of mid-strength offs, the rest of the field treading gingerly, and no one recording very good times.

The afternoon period was much improved with a decidedly dry, though brief, racing line in evidence. Conditions then deteriorated to where only the real pros worked all the way through the session. Those out early, set the fastest times - plain and simple.

It was not raining but not, not raining for daylight qualifying—only at Spa would that description hold. Andrea Piccini proved quick in the early going, as was the other Phoenix Audi, and then a bit of a surprise, the Gravity Mosler - briefly shown on the screens as the “Gravity Maserati” alongside the “Vitaphone Mosler.”

Not unlike Le Mans, the fast times came in the cool but not 100% dark of the second session. Importantly, it was dry. The All-Dirk-Bimmer (No. 78) set the provisional, and ultimately final, pole just ahead of its teammate (No. 79, Jörg Müller), with the two Phoenix Audis occupying the second row. The best surprise was next, Peter Kox in the “works” Reiter-built Lamborghini.

The schedule was scrambled when someone left a long trail of oil. The session was halted and time was tacked onto the final period. During that run there were some good improvements near the end, but no significant changes in position.