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15ème Coupes de Spa

Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

Date: 3/5/1975
Track length: 14.100 m
Attendance: unknown
Entries accepted: unknown
Starters: 60
Finishers: 39?

Pole position: Walkinshaw/Fitzpatrick in 4.26,3
Fastest lap: Tricot in 4.26,8 = 190,524 kmh

Distance: 500 km
Average speed: 177,436 kmh
Weather: Rain at the start, later dry
Ruleset: Group 1 "Francorchamps"
Car info: 1975 Cars

Pictures

Walkinshaw was unbeatable during practice - driving not his Spa 24 Hours car from last year but the sister car driven then by Claude Bourgoignie. He was fastest on both Thursday and Friday, winning pole with a time of 4m26.3s, a speed of 119 mph. This was almost three seconds less than the next car, the Luigi Racing Team BMW 3.0 CSi of Jean Xhenceval and Hughes de Fierlant, which was rebuilt and resprayed during Thursday night after the most enormous accident during the first practice. Chasing Pierre Rubens up the hill between Les Carrieres and Blanchimont, Xhenceval was unable to see an oil slick left by another car. The BMW left the road on a flat-out left-hander at a point where the ground drops sharply away on the outside of the bend. Hammering into the armco at around 140 mph. it flattened the barrier and launched itself into space, crashing down amongst the pine trees a moment later. Xhenceval stepped out unhurt and the car was ready, somewhat incredibly, to set second-fastest time the following day. Rubens' Mustang suffered major bodywork alterations on Friday when its engine blew near the same spot and spun the car into the armco on its own oil. This time, however, the beast could not be healed in time to race.

Marc Demol and Pierre Dieudonné were third fastest in a second Luigi BMW CSi, followed by René Tricot, whose Opel Commodore GSE missed much of practice with a variety of clutch and electrical gremlins. After a gap on the grid where the Mustang should have been came Blackburn in his usual Gp1 Capri.

By the time the saloons had assembled on the grid, the sky was covered in very dirty cloud, the greenwood turned to grey and with five minutes to go the heavens opened in the best (or worst?) traditions of Spa. The track, already wet from morning rain, became a river, the start was delayed five minutes - and soon after the cars set off, the road was glistening in bright sunshine again!

The start was a terrific spectacle, as 60 cars splashed their way into the dip across the stream of l'Eau Rouge. Walkinshaw pulled in front of Xhenceval up the hill, nobody banged into each other, and five minutes later they reappeared at La Source with Walkinshaw leading the BMW by 5s and Blackburn, Feider, Joosens and Dieudonné well strung out behind them. On the second lap Blackburn moved up onto Xhenceval's tail, and next time round he was second.

At the end of the first lap three potentially fast cars had already pitted - Roothaert's Commodore with a blown head gasket, Vermeulen's with a stone through the radiator (that ensured frequent visits ever after) and Tricot's with drowned plugs. After a long stop Tricot rejoined only to call in again after another lap with similar trouble. After that, virtually everyone dropped him from their overcrowded lap charts and ignored him - which proved to be a fatal mistake, for once properly going, he went like the wind.

Walkinshaw was stretching his lead all the time, having 20s in hand after five laps, and Blackburn was equally securely second as the BMWs dropped back. Feider's car dropped right down the order on lap four when its gearbox mountings broke and prevented its drivers from selecting second gear for the race. It worked its way back into the top six before half distance, but then another long stop delayed it further. Peltier had passed Joosen on lap two, and as quarter distance approached he moved in to attack Xhenceval, getting past after many miles of nose-to-tail racing on lap 10. On the same lap Dieudonné’s BMW made a very long scheduled stop while the Luigi men changed it onto slicks, for by now the road was bone dry -a later stop to change a battery cost this car more time.

Two tours later Walkinshaw was in briefly for petrol, electing to stay on his dry-weather biased Dunlop intermediates for the whole race. Xhenceval pitted two minutes later. Blackburn was promoted to the lead for one circuit before he too stopped, handing over to Crabtree. Peltier pitted next time around, losing a lot of time to change tyres, putting Walkinshaw back into the lead from Crabtree, with Joosen taking over third place until a very late stop at exactly half way.

Walkinshaw had lost the use of third gear, but it made little difference to his lead. The 2-litre Alfa Romeo of Jean-Claude Andruet and Spartaco Dini was up to third place after all the stops had been completed, although de Fierlant was hauling him in and roared past on lap 23. What few people realised was that Tricot was screaming back up the order after his early delays, taking 10s a lap out of the BMW, and, according to the organisers at least, he was suddenly up to fourth after 24 laps, two-thirds distance.

Another bout of refuelling failed to alter the leading positions at all, but now everyone was watching to see if Tricot could catch Xhenceval, who was back in the BMW. On lap 30 he came past the pits right on Xhenceval's tail, and next time round was in front. But at the same time, British hopes took a tumble, for the Blackburn/Crabtree Capri had come to a halt at Stavelot with a broken gearbox.

For the remaining few laps, Tricot latched himself onto Walkinshaw, but of course he was at least one lap behind, and many said two. Tom's Capri took the chequered flag a full lap up on everyone else, amidst another cloudburst of sleet that struck La Source in the last five minutes. Tricot was placed second, having taken a full lap back from Xhenceval and de Fierlant, with the BMW crew third. The Luigi team immediately protested, claiming that Tricot must have lost two laps in the pits in the early stages, not one, but the organisers stuck by their decision.

Fourth, and winners of the 2-litre class, were Andruet and Dini in their Alfa 2000 GTV, with Joosen/ "Marco" fifth and Peltier/Wauters sixth, all one lap behind the winner. The l600 cc class fell to the Alfa Junior of "Noe" and De Deyne, while the 1300 winner was the Datsun 120A of Miroux and "Arsène". Thirne's Firenza fared none too well. After having to run in a new engine through practice, Thorne was progressing well when he found himself without a clutch, stuck in gear at the Malmedy chicane, and hemmed in by the well-placed Remion/Gillesen Toyota Celica. He had no choice but to hit the Celica after a trip across the grass, and lost more time with a blocked fuel pump. Willy Braillard's fine run in another 1600 Celica came to an end after several laps with starter motor trouble.
(Based on Motoring news/Autosport)

Division 1-4
Pos Pos in class # Team / Entrant
Car- Engine		 Drivers, Nationality Engine
vol. (cc)		 Engine
Type		 Group Distance,
time		 Qualifying position Qualifying time Fastest lap Reason out,
remarks
1 1 6 Hermetite Products
Ford Capri II 3.0		 Tom Walkinshaw, GB
Mike Crabtree, GB
(John Fitzpatrick, GB)
 2993 V6 Div. 4 36 laps, 2:51.53,3 1 4.26,3    
2 2 8 BP Super V Racing Team
Opel Commodore GS/E		 René Tricot, B
(Albert Vanierschot, B)
 2784 L6 Div. 4 35 4 4.31,4 4.26,8  
3 3 1 Luigi Racing
BMW 3.0 CS		 Jean Xhenceval, B
Hughes de Fierlant, B
 2985 L6 Div. 4 35 2 4.29,0    
4 1 33 Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV		 Jean-Claude Andruet, F
Spartaco Dini ("Paco"), I
 1962 L4 Div. 3 35 11 4.43,7    
5 4 9 Excelsior
Opel Commodore GS/E		 Eddy Joosen, B
"Marco", B
 2784 L6 Div. 4 35 9 4.40,3    
6 5 11 Bang & Olufsen Team Michel Vaillant
Opel Commodore GS/E		 Dany Wauters, B
Alain Peltier, B
 2784 L6 Div. 4 35 10 4.41,4    
7 6 2 Luigi Racing
BMW 3.0 CS		 Marc Demol, B
Pierre Dieudonné, B
 2985 L6 Div. 4 34 3 4.29,9    
8 2 34 Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV		 Mario Litrico, I
Silvano Pittini, I
 1962 L4 Div. 3 34 17 4.56,4    
9 7 3 Serge Power
BMW 3.0 CSi		 Jean-Paul Rieu, B
Jean-Jacques Feider, B
 2985 L6 Div. 4 34 8 4.36,4    
10 3 31 Écurie Chardon des Dunes-Dragons
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV		 Eric Mandron, B
Claude Crespin, B
 1962 L4 Div. 3 33 19 4.58,4    
11 4 24  
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV		 Gianfranco Riccitelli, I
Piccolomini, I
 1962 L4 Div. 3 33 28 5.05,2    
12 5 23  
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV		 Richard Mattozza, B
Jean Degey, B
 1962 L4 Div. 3 33 25 5.02,0    
13 6 38 Hainaut Motor
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV		 Eddy Roobaert, B
André Lierneux, B
 1962 L4 Div. 3 33 26 5.02,5    
14 1 50 Looza-Teac Team Alain Chevallier
Alfa Romeo 1600 GT Junior		 Michel Noé, B
Michel De Deyne, B
 1570 L4 Div. 2 32 22 5.01,3    
15 2 61  
Alfa Romeo 1600 GT Junior		 Alphonse Boschi, B
Jean Caufriez, B
 1570 L4 Div. 2 32 27 5.03,3    
16 8 14 Bang & Olufsen Team Michel Vaillant
Opel Commodore GS/E		 Marcel Guiot, B
Jean-Louis Dumont, B
 2784 L6 Div. 4 32 15 4.55,5    
17 9 10 Amil Racing Team
Datsun 260Z		 Henry Miroux, B
Serge Zeppelini, B
 ca. 2600 L6 Div. 4 32 14 4.52,5    
18 3 58 Scuderia Lovaniensis
Audi 80 GT		 Jean-Louis Hecq, B
De Wilde, B
 1588 L4 Div. 2 32 29 5.05,7    
19 7 29 Ecurie Pays Noir
BMW 2000 TI		 C. Deward, B
Jeannot Laurent, B
 1990 L4 Div. 3 31        
20 4 52 Arc-en-Ciel Woluwé
Alfa Romeo 1600 GT Junior		 Michel Lauria, B
Nello Brunetti, B
 1570 L4 Div. 2 31 30 5.06,0    
21 5 62 Mille Miglia
Opel Ascona 16 S		 Marcel Tombeur, B
Jean Delvenne, B
 1584 L4 Div. 2 31        
22 8 27 Racing Team Sigma
Ford Escort Mk.I RS 2000		 André Gavage, B
Charles Van Stalle ("Chavan"), B
 1993 L4 Div. 3 31 24 5.01,9    
23 1 76 Amil Racing Team
Datsun Cherry 120A		 Henry Miroux, B
"Arsène", B
 ca. 1300 L4 Div. 1 31        
24 2 84 Ecurie Baudouin Visétoise
Fiat 128 coupé 1300		 Tony di Stefano, B
? Charles Naveau, B
 1290 L4 Div. 1 31        
25 6 59 Abt
Audi 80 GT		 Johann Abt, D
Hans-Joachim Nowak, D
 1588 L4 Div. 2 31        
26 10 5 Hermetite Products
Ford Capri II 3.0 Gr. 1		 Mike Crabtree, GB
Holman “Les” Blackburn, GB
 2993 V6 Div. 4 30 6 4.33,6   Gearbox
27 7 54 East Belgian Racing Team
Toyota Celica GT		 Maurice Lenaif ("Alix"), B
Marc Gerion, B
 1588 L4 Div. 2 30        
28 3 79 Ecurie Ardennes
Fiat 128 coupé 1300		 Georges Cremer, B
 1290 L4 Div. 1 30        
29 8 51  
Alfa Romeo 1600 GT Junior		 Michel Chapel, B
Jean-Claude Speeckaert, B
 1570 L4 Div. 2 30        
30 4 85 Kölner Club für Motorsport
Alfa Romeo 1300 GT Junior		 Hans-Wilhelm Müller, D
Heinz-Jürgen Dahmen, D
 1290 L4 Div. 1 30 44 5.18,4    
31 8 60 Racing Team Tissot
Sunbeam Avenger		 Jean-Marie Jacquemin, B
Freddy Grainal, B
 1594 L4 Div. 2 30 20 5.00,0    
32 9 67 Racing Car Mosan
Sunbeam Avenger		 Maurice Gaspard, B
Robert Laine, B
 1594 L4 Div. 2 30        
33 5 73 Renstal Excelsior
Fiat 128 coupé 1300		 Roger Berndtson, B
Ugo Meloni, B
 1290 L4 Div. 1 30        
34 6 77 Peeters Simca Waterloo
Simca Rallye 2		 Francis Polak, B
Unknown
 1294 L4 Div. 1 30        
35 10 57 Mons Racing Team
Audi 80 GT		 Franz Dubois, B
J.P. Landrieu, B
 1588 L4 Div. 2 29        
36 11 63 Emile Holvoet
Toyota Celica GT		 Emile Holvoet, B
Raymond Van Hove, B
 1588 L4 Div. 2 28 18 4.56,7    
37 12 53 Mille Miglia
Toyota Celica GT		 Emmanuel Remion, B
Edgar Gillessen, B
 1588 L4 Div. 2 28 21 5.00,7    
38 12 64 Ecurie Baudouin Visétoise
Audi 80 GT		 M. Royer, B
Georges Simon, B
 1588 L4 Div. 2 28        
39 7    
Fiat 128 coupé 1300		 ? Marcel Tarres, B
René Laplume, B
 1290 L4 Div. 1 27        
DNF   7 Excelsior
Opel Commodore GS/E		 Flory Roothaert, B
Jean-Marie Detrin, B
 2784 L6 Div. 4   12 4.45,5   Head gasket
    65 Toyota Racing Squad IMC
Toyota Celica GT		 Willy Braillard, B
Unknown
 1588 L4 Div. 2   13 4.51,7    
    22  
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV		 Roland Imbert, F
Etienne Stalpaert, B
 1962 L4 Div. 3   16 4.55,7    
    12  
Vauxhall Firenza Magnum 2300		 Dennis Thorne, GB
Bobby Bell, GB
 2279 L4 Div. 4          
    26 Peter Russek Racing
Mazda Savanna RX-3		 John Markey, GB
David Palmer, GB
 2 x 491 R2? Div. 4         Puncture
    36 P. Sougné
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV		 Philippe Sougné, B
Jo De Gheldere, B
 1962 L4 Div. 3          
DNF   4 Sapporo Team
Ford Capri II 3.0		 Alain Corbisier, B
Roland Platton, B
 2993 V6 Div. 4   23 5.01,7   Accident
DNF   40 Butch Tailor Racing Team
Triumph Dolomite Sprint		 Christine Beckers ("Christine"), B
 1998 L4 Div. 3 1        
DNF   17 Levi’s Team - DNRT
Opel Commodore GS/E		 Fred Frankenhout, NL
Huub Vermeulen, NL
 2784 L6 Div. 4   7 4.34,1    
DNS   15 Claude Dubois
Ford Mustang		 Pierre Rubens, B
Hermès Delbar, B
   V8 Div. 4   5 4.31,4   Accident in practice