Spa Six Hours 2022:
Just WOW!
Together with the Goodwood Revival, the Spa Six Hours IMO shares equal top place for the best historic motorsport event in the World.
A six hour marathon of a race that featured 87 cars on the grid this year, ranging from GT40's, Jaguar E-Type's, Porsche 911's and MGB's.
Having spent many years photographing from trackside, it was a real privilege this year to be invited to pedal an epic little MGB with Simon Alexander and Chris Greenwood.
It was a case of 'third time lucky' as the event was cancelled in 2020, and my British residency permit wasn't issued in time for me to make it to the race in 2021.
However it was all worth the wait as the mighty B got to the end of the race and my parents were able to make a special trip over to watch (brilliant, as I hadn't seen them in 3.5 years and they had never seen me drive anything on track ever!)
We couldn't be happier that the little B got through the full six hours, finally passing the chequered flag in P53 of 87.
Huge thanks to Simon for the opportunity to take part in the MGB, Competition Classics and Mass Racing for preparing the car wonderfully and to everyone for the support in pitlane!
Being able to share such a special occassion with friends and family both on and off the track made it a truly unforgettable weekend of racing!
Notes:
- Very thankful to Simon for pushing for me to have the 'full Spa experience' by letting me start and finish the race in 1hr stints!
- This weekend was my first time racing at Spa and my first time out in the car since it's major rebuild, which made it a completely different driving experience. Suspension, Brakes, engine and gearbox all completely reconditioned and set up - now performing more like a race car than road car.
- 1st hour was absolutely thrilling! Bogging down at the start and starting from dead last on the grid didn't bother me too much as it meant there was a fun opportunity to make up some places and put some MX-5 racing experience into practice.
- Had a mega battle with another MGB and 911 lasting for about 2 or 3 laps, was awesome to see the strengths and weaknesses of each car and driver combination.
- "It's like nothing you've ever experienced before!" Simon shouted before I got in the car and headed off for the final stint. Rain, a greasy track, almost zero vision, minimal grip...Looking back at it, that was absolutely insane.
- Final hour didn't feel like racing, more of a case of survival in those conditions! Felt completely disoriented as I had no idea who was on the track around me.
- All in all, an incredible experience, with plenty of learning done from this race! I made many mistakes, but they were super important to make moving forward!
5 окт 2022
