ELMS 4 hours of Spa 2025
The end of August arrived again, and once again it was time for a weekend at Spa. The European Le Mans Series was back for its annual 4 Hours of Spa Francorchamps. And this time, I was there again. On Saturday, the ELMS was allowed to start early for free practice at 9:00 AM, so I got to go a little earlier ;-) Saturday was rather gloomy, and during practice, it started to drizzle. Here and there, a car shot off the track. Arriving at Speed Corner, I was met with a free shower of gravel from the United Autosports LMP2, which shot off the track and skimmed through the gravel trap, narrowly missing the tire barrier I was standing behind. Unfortunately, the photos weren't great, so I thought it wise to protect my camera...
Later that morning, it was time for the qualifying sessions. First up was the Michelin Le Mans Cup. And during this session, the drizzle turned into downpour. The track became quite wet.
The track was still wet shortly afterward for the ELMS qualifying sessions. This made qualifying challenging for the drivers. Ultimately, Ferdinand Habsburg took pole position in the #24 Nielsen Racing car.
The Michelin Le Mans Cup race was held late in the afternoon. The track had dried, and there were occasional glimpses of sunshine. And, true to tradition, chaos was inevitable. This time, things went wrong in the GT field even before the starting line, as you can see in the background of my starting photo below. You could literally be waiting for it.
Shortly after the restart, one of the LMP3s left a trail of oil and came to a burning halt at Eau Rouge. This is probably one of the teething problems of the LMP3 cars with the Toyota V6 introduced this year. Unfortunately, I do miss the sound of the old V8 models a bit. The race was eventually won from pole by Hugo Schwarze and Hadrien David in the #85 R-ace GP Duqueine D09 Toyota. The team thus took their first victory of the year.
The next day naturally began with the pit walk, which was very well attended. As soon as the pit walk gate opened, the most ardent fans immediately rushed to their favorite team to be on time for the autographs. There were also quite a few fans of the Iron Dames team. I took one of the nicest spontaneous photos of these little ladies:
And so, a little while later, everyone was able to join the tables. All in all, another successful morning in the pit lane.
And the sun shone brightly on race day. I made my way to Les Combes early enough to start my race. That way, I could immediately enjoy the sunshine when the race finally got underway.
In the first half of the race, the safety car and full-course yellow interruptions came in quick succession. It felt like a Le Mans Cup race at times. For example, the #22 United Autosports and #27 Nielsen cars retired in quick succession. But this did give me the chance to explore the circuit, both on foot and by van, and visit various corners.
After all the chaos, the #48 VDS Panis Racing LMP2 took the lead in the second half of the race and held on to it. In LMP2 Pro/Am, the #20 Algarve Pro Racing car won. In LMP3, a Dutch car won with Rik Koen and the #8 Team Virage Ligier. Finally, GT3 was won by the #59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin.
All in all, a great weekend in the Ardennes, with varying conditions and plenty of action. On to the next race! The album is below. Looking for photos, prints, or a photographer for a race event? Feel free to contact us!
