Ginetta takes another win in the 3 Hours of Spa

Palle Pedersen and Alexander Weiss, driving a Ginetta G4R, claimed victory in the 10th edition of the 3 Hours of Spa, marking the Danish duo’s second consecutive win in the race that headlined the Spa Summer Classic at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

In Belgium, where a summer weekend welcomed a large and diverse grid, the Nordic duo set the pace from qualifying at the wheel of their agile British machine. At the start, the G4R withstood the early pressure from the Shelby Cobra of the ever-competitive German pairing Vincent Kolb and Alexander Kolb, before pulling clear of the rest of the field as the race unfolded.

With a near-perfect strategy and faultless driving, Palle Pedersen and Alexander Weiss once again proved that a small, lightweight car can outperform far more powerful machinery. They also secured victory in the H-1965 GR1 subclass.

Two laps down on the winning car, but with a comfortable margin over the chasing pack, the British trio of Alex Taylor, David Coyne and Mark Wright, in a Ford Mustang, secured second place overall and also took victory in the H-1965 GR3 subclass. Starting from 10th on the grid, the team had already climbed to third by the end of the first hour and moved into second early in the second half of the race.

The battle for third place proved even more intense, with the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé of British drivers Charles Faber-Castell and Andy Newall edging out the Shelby Cobra of the Kolb family, the two cars fighting all the way to the final metres of the race for the final podium position.

The top six was completed by the British pairing of Michael Gray and Kallum Gray, in a Jaguar E-Type, and the Luxembourg duo Patrick Wilwert and Philippe Vermast, in a Lotus Elan S1, who also claimed victory in the H-1965 GR2 subclass.

The H-1971 class was dominated from qualifying by the Alfa Romeo GTAm, with the charismatic example bearing the livery of the French magazine “Paris Match”, driven by the French duo Grégoire and Guillaume Colinet, securing a commanding victory after taking pole position in Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session.

Eric De Weerdt, Bert Kabergs and Geert Boels, at the wheel of their imposing Ford Mustang Boss 302, finished second despite sustained pressure from the Alfa Romeo GTAm of Björn Ebsen and Volker Hichert, who completed the class podium in third place..

The H-1976 class was only decided in the final hour of the race. Brice Pineau and Oliver Muytjens, in a Porsche 911 3.0 RS, led in the early stages but were eventually forced to retire after around twenty laps.

Wim Kuijl, Tim Kuijl and Dieter Kuijl, driving a Ford Capri 2600 RS, then moved into the lead, but a lengthy stop in the final hour dropped them to third place before they ultimately retired on the last lap of the race.

With a highly consistent drive, Erwin van Lieshout, Armand Adriaans and Emil Adriaans, in a Datsun, took control of the H-1976 class following the Capri’s first setback, ultimately guiding the Japanese car to an unlikely victory.

João Santos, on his debut at the Belgian circuit, alongside José Carvalhosa, kept the H-1976 class winners under pressure all the way to the chequered flag. The Portuguese pairing were the highest-placed national competitors, finishing 11th overall and securing second place in class.

Brazilian driver Eduardo Reis, making his debut in the Race Ready competition, partnered this weekend with Portuguese drivers José Carvalhosa and Guilherme Del Maso in a Porsche 911 2.7 RS, finished third in class.

The opening race of the season once again crowned the winner of the Index of Performance classification, which this year will award the winner a coveted and exclusive timepiece from Swiss brand Cuervo y Sobrinos. Marcus Fellows and Alistair Bowie, in an Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite, claimed the classification that rewards the best overall performance relative to car age, engine capacity and specification, delivering a highly consistent drive throughout the 180-minute race.

Second place went to Palle Pedersen and Alexander Weiss in their Ginetta, while third was secured by the Portuguese debutant duo Rui Garcia and Pedro Oliveira in their FIAT 124 Sport Coupé.

Following the visit to the “Le Toboggan des Ardennes”, the Historic Endurance field now heads to Southern Europe, where another edition of the Jarama Classic will take place from 5 to 7 June, one of the most vibrant historic racing events in the region.