Spa Six Hours 2024: Masters Racing Legends for 66/85 F1 Cars

From pole, title contender Matthew Wrigley looked set for a straightforward win in the first Masters Racing Legends race at the Spa Six Hours, albeit challenged by sensational Formula One rookie Olivier Hart, but was forced into a last-lap sprint to the line after a late safety car. Wrigley’s Tyrrell 011 and Hart’s Arrows A3 were both slipstreamed past by local man Werner d’Ansembourg in the Brabham BT49C, but Wrigley bounced back in the second part of the lap to win from d’Ansembourg and Hart.

“I had a great start, got away as much as possible and I knew there were some quick guys behind me”, said Wrigley. “I just thought I’m going to get my head down and then I saw Olivier catching me and it was just getting worse and worse. And then the safety car – I thought, oh God! But anyway, great race…”

“I’m very happy with the result”, said Werner d’Ansembourg. “I mean, when you start, qualifications were quite tough on me. I didn’t feel right with the conditions and everything, but here during the race it just felt right. I got very lucky with that safety car which made me catch up with the group and sneaked a little overtake right when it left. But very happy with the result and had a nice father-and-son bonding time.”

Christophe d’Ansembourg was fourth in the Williams FW07C after having been second initially, using the same local knowledge as his son, but was passed by Hart before the safety-car intervention and by d’Ansembourg Jnr as the green flag dropped for that last-lap dash. The Belgian was trailed home by front row starter Sam Hancock in the Fittipaldi F8B and Steve Hartley in the McLaren MP4/1.

In seventh overall, Nick Padmore brought home another comfortable pre-78 class win in the Lotus 77, but not before three-time Grand Prix winner Thierry Boutsen dropped back and eventually retired his Shadow DN5 with electrical issues. Another local celebrity, Stéphane De Groodt, took up the chase in the March 741 but when he retired during the safety-car period, Max Werner’s Hesketh 308 and Geoffroy Rivet’s Trojan T103 took over the mantle, with Rivet passing Werner for second in class on that same last-lap sprint to the line.

“It was a brilliant race”, said Padmore. “I was stuck behind Steve Hartley for most of it, so I was getting so much turbulence off the back of his car that it was making me a bit giddy! It’s good fun, it’s just that the ground-effect cars are so fast compared to me around here. But glad to be back on the podium!”

In cloudy but dry conditions, but with the threat of heavy rain in store later on the day, the Masters Racing Legends 3-litre Formula One ventured out for their first race of the Spa Six Hours weekend. Title favourite Matthew Wrigley’s Tyrrell 011 headed a strong 26-car field, with Sam Hancock’s Fittipaldi F8B beside him, while local hero Christian d’Ansembourg’s Williams FW07C and Formula One rookie Olivier Hart in the Arrows A3 lined up on the second row. In fifth and sixth, in a fully Belgian row, one of the country’s real Grand Prix stars, Thierry Boutsen headed the pre-78 entry in a Shadow DN5 offered to him by Masters owner Fred Fatien, joined by young Werner d’Ansembourg’s Brabham BT49C.

Wrigley fired away into the lead but a fast-starting d’Ansembourg (C.) was up into second past Handock with a move on the Kemmel straight, as Boutsen was slow to get away and dropped to ninth behind Simon Fish in the Arrows A4 and Steve Hartley in the McLaren MP4/1 while handing the pre-77 class lead to Nick Padmore in the Lotus 77. The still recovering Boutsen then fell down to 15th before finding his feet again to start and make up places. At the end of lap 1, he was back up into 13th.

At the front, Wrigley had built a nice three-second cushion over d’Ansembourg, but the Belgian was soon swamped by young Hart who cheekily stole second place from the local veteran, who now had to deal with son Werner, who had passed Hancock. In fact, Fish also found a position at Hancock’s cost, who were now fifth and sixth, and chased by Hartley, Padmore in the lead pre-78 car and the returning 2019 FIA Masters Historic Formula One champion Matteo Ferrer-Aza in the Ligier JS11/15. Behind Warren Briggs in the McLaren M29, Boutsen was back up into 11th, while another local celebrity, Stéphane De Groodt, was 14th overall and third in the pre-78 class in the March 741, as he chased Mark Higson’s McLaren MP4/1B. Meanwhile, Yutaka Toriba’s Williams FW07C and Valerio Leone’s Arrows A6 were the first casualties of the race, both with fuel pump issues.

On lap 4, Wrigley’s lead over Hart had crumbled to 2.2 seconds, as the two had dropped the d’Ansembourgs by seven seconds. Fish was a lonely fourth, with Hancock and Hartley still in sixth and seventh, followed by Padmore, Ferrer, Briggs and Higson. Behind them, Boutsen was into the pits with electrical issues, relinquishing second place in the pre-78 class to De Groodt, but the March was hounded by six more pre-78 cars all snapping at his heels, led by Max Werner’s Hesketh 308 and Geoffroy Rivet’s Trojan T103.

One lap later, Hart had cut the gap to Wrigley to a mere seven tenths, but then a full-course yellow was announced for Fish’s Arrows A4, that had stopped out on track. This was soon converted into a safety car, allowing the field to bunch up again. Into lap 9, the field was released again, but it would be for one final flying lap. De Groodt would not be part of it, as the Belgian retired to the pits, handing second place in class to Werner, with Rivet promoted to third.

It would prove to be a sensational final lap, however, as Werner d’Ansembourg – who had quickly found a way past father Christophe – used the slipstream down the Kemmel straight to surge past Wrigley and Hart, but at the back of the circuit, Wrigley was back in front and the Tyrrell 011 driver held it to the line, beating young d’Ansembourg by two tenths and Hart Jnr by five tenths. D’Ansembourg Snr was fourth ahead of Hancock, Hartley and pre-78 class winner Padmore. Briggs and Higson separated him from Rivet who had stolen second place in class from Werner on the final lap. They were followed home by James Hagan’s Hesketh 308, Peter Williams in the Lec CRP1, Ewen Sergison in the Shadow DN8 and Martin Bullock in the Williams FW06, the Australian back after a lengthy absence. In 16th, Georg Hallau’s Theodore N183 took post-82 class honours.

In a chaotic contest interrupted by a red flag and two safety cars, Matthew Wrigley was handed victory in the second Masters Racing Legends race at Spa after rookie Olivier Hart was denied his sensational debut win because of a time penalty for causing a collision on the opening lap. On the road, the young Dutchman had rounded off his debut weekend in the category with what looked like a dream win, as Hart’s Arrows A3 surged to the front from sixth on the grid to pass Nick Padmore’s Lotus 77 for the lead at the first restart before holding on to the position on the second restart, but it wasn’t to be.

“Yes, amazing race”, said Hart before he was told that he had lost the win. “First I want to thank Fred [Fatien] obviously to let me drive with his car. It’s an amazing car and it was an amazing race. I finished P1 on my first weekend of Formula 1 and I’m so happy. I don’t know what to say. Very happy, very happy.”

“A good race, just quite chaotic out there”, said Wrigley, “On the out lap, I thought it would be dry enough for slicks. And we left it under the wets and we just then had a big downpour. Then there’s a chaos on the first lap. And I just thought I want to get the car back to the end, as it was very slippery out there. It was unfortunate about a couple of issues but I was trying to make sure I brought the car back in one piece, safely as possible.”

In fact, the driver who finished second on the road also got penalised – and that wasn’t Padmore, as a resurgent Matteo Ferrer-Aza in the Ligier JS11/15 as well Wrigley in the Tyrrell 011 gobbled up Padmore at the second restart to cross the line in second and third behind Hart. Wrigley was initially promoted to second place when Ferrer – the returning 2019 FIA Historic Masters Formula One champion – was slammed with a time penalty for forcing a rival off track at the first start, dropping the Italian to fourth behind Wrigley and Padmore. Then, when Hart was given the 25-second time penalty that dropped him to sixth, Wrigley was declared the winner ahead of Padmore and Ferrer.

“The start was a bit chaotic with people not staying in formation”, Ferrer explained. “So unfortunately, due to that, people were where they shouldn’t have been. And I got a penalty for not expecting someone to be where they were. The race was a good race, the car was very good. I was very happy with it and it was a lot of fun to drive around here, despite the red flag and interruption we suffered. There was still a good amount of racing and it’s always wonderful to drive these old Formula One cars around the wet track, especially one that has the notoriety of Spa. So very happy with the result despite the penalty. Still a podium, so very pleased with that.”

“Another great race, but there was a load of oil down from the previous race. So my car with a lot less aero, it was all over the place. My eyes are like just hanging out”, said Padmore. “It was great fun. I really enjoyed it. It’s a really good battle, so it’s better than the first race yesterday. So Spa, thank you very much. But next time, dry!”

In a close fifth that would become fourth, former Grand Prix star and local hero Thierry Boutsen drove a storming race in the Shadow DN5 to take second behind Padmore in the pre-78 class. In an equally resplendent drive, Yutaka Toriba came from the back to claim an eventual fifth in the Williams FW07C while reverse pole sitter Mark Higson did well to hold on to seventh in his McLaren MP4/1B. In the Lec CRP1, Peter Williams fought off a challenge from James Hagan’s Hesketh 308 to secure third in the pre-78 class while finishing a strong eighth overall. In 13th overall, Valerio Leone (Arrows A6) bagged the post-82 class spoils.

“It was a pretty interesting race. Conditions were really difficult, so I’m very happy with the result”, said Boutsen. “My car was not running yesterday but it ran very well today. Starting last, finishing fifth overall. So I’m pretty happy, very happy.”

On a cold Saturday afternoon at Spa, 26 3-litre Formula One cars set off for their second race of the Spa Six Hours meeting. Following a day with occasional sunny spells, a short burst of rain left the track in a somewhat wet condition, but it was dry when the field got underway with an all-McLaren front row consisting of Mark Higson’s McLaren MP4/1B on reverse pole and Warren Briggs in the McLaren M29. Next up were Nick Padmore’s Lotus 77 and Steve Hartley in another McLaren MP4/1, with Christophe d’Ansembourg’s Williams FW07C and Olivier Hart’s Arrows A3 occupying the third row. Friday’s P1 and P2 sat on the fourth row, Werner d’Ansembourg’s Brabham BT49C next to Matthew Wrigley’s Tyrrell 011.

Higson and Briggs got away well but there was nothing they could do about Padmore charging past in the first half of the opening lap, the pre-78 car now leading the field, with Hartley in fourth, followed by d’Ansembourg (W.), Hart, an equally fast-starting Wrigley, d’Ansembourg (C.) and Ferrer-Aza in the Ligier JS11/15. Soon though, Hart pushed through into second place, with Wrigley up to fifth, as the younger d’Ansembourg and Hartley made contact at the back of the circuit, requiring the arrival of the safety car. With tyre marks on the nose of the Arrows A3, it looked like Hart had been involved in the clash as well.

Among the other pre-78 cars, Thierry Boutsen had produced a demon opening lap to be eighth overall in the Shadow DN8, followed by Peter Williams in the Lec CRP1, while Yutaka Toriba had been equally brilliant with a first tour that had taken the Williams FW07C from the back of the grid to tenth overall. In a separate incident, Geoffroy Rivet’s Trojan T103 had run into Max Werner’s Hesketh 308, both also retiring with damage. Werner managed to reach the pits despite a broken wheel, but with three cars in the kitty litter, the red flag soon waved.

Fortunately, the restart following two laps behind the safety car came just ten minutes after, leaving 12 more minutes of racing action. Again, the leading car proved a sitting duck on the Kemmel straight, as Hart flew past Padmore to take the lead on his debut weekend in the category. Behind them, Higson stayed third for the moment, but Wrigley, Ferrer and Boutsen found a way past Briggs, before the former two also moved ahead of Higson. Then, a rejuvenated Ferrer with the bit between his teeth took third from Wrigley going into lap 5.

Hart low led Padmore by a margin that soon increased to six seconds, with Ferrer two seconds adrift from Padmore. Wrigley and Boutsen were next, following by the equally emerging Toriba, who also passed Higson to be sixth. In eighth, James Hagan’s Hesketh had pipped Peter Williams for third in the pre-78 class, only to be repassed corners later, while d’Ansembourg (C.) rounded out the top ten. Soon, though, the safety car was out yet again… This time, Stéphane De Groodt’s March 741 had stopped out on track.

When the green flag was waved, there was time for just two more laps – would Hart be able to hang on for a dream debut win? Yes, as this time the leading car managed ward off the following car’s assault on the Kemmel straight, after which Hart did enough to break free. In fact, both Ferrer and Wrigley flew past Padmore for second and third, with the Lotus 77 now under direct threat from Boutsen for the pre-78 class win. Toriba and Higson were next, followed by Williams, who now had a cushion to fourth in class thanks to Simon Fish and Patrick d’Aubréby in the two Arrows A4s getting in between.

And so young Hart proved victorious on his first weekend in historic Formula One, leading home Ferrer and Wrigley, while in fourth Padmore held off Boutsen for the pre-78 class win. Because of a 5-second time penalty for forcing his rival off-track at the restart, though, Ferrer was dropped to fourth behind Wrigley and Padmore. Behind Toriba and a strong Higson, Williams claimed third in the pre-78 class, with d’Aubréby and Fish completing the top ten ahead of Martin Bullock’s Williams FW06 and a troubled Christophe d’Ansembourg in the Williams FW07C. In 13th overall, Valerio Leone snatched post-82 class honours in the Arrows A6.

Then, half an hour after the race, evidence showed that Hart had in fact been the cause of the exit of both Hartley and Werner d’Ansembourg. As a result, he was handed a 25-second time penalty that demoted him to sixth. This meant that Wrigley went away from the Spa weekend with double wins, with Padmore finishing second overall ahead of Ferrer, Boutsen, Toriba and Hart.