ELMS 4 hours of Spa 2024
After a short summer break and some recovery from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it was time to get back in action. Back to Spa for the European Le Mans Series; the 4 Hours of Spa. The shorts were on, as the weather was thankfully beautiful over the weekend, much better than back home in the Netherlands. Saturday saw the ELMS qualifying rounds, where AO by TF Sport took pole position.
There was also the Michelin Le Mans Cup that day, also known as the Road to Le Mans program. But after last year's chaos and two red flags in the short qualifying sessions, I'll be calling it Code Red to Le Mans from now on... The rookies and amateurs in this class are sometimes a little too enthusiastic...
Their race that Saturday got off to a chaotic start. As they pulled away for the warm-up lap, they immediately laid down a trail of oil. After a few additional warm-up laps through the pits, the field was dropped. But right at the first corner, La Source, where I was standing, they went four or five cars wide, resulting in debris, gravel, clouds of smoke, and a safety car situation.
But to be fair, the green light stayed on for a long time after that, and the racing was in full swing. The results were a while off; various penalties shifted the standings considerably. Bretton Racing ultimately won in LMP3, and the Dutch team More Motorsport finished a respectable 3rd. The GT3 class was won by AF Corse #88, which initially was supposed to be 2nd behind the #51 of the same team, but that changed later.
Sunday was all about the main program, the ELMS. Despite the fact that almost every circuit in the Benelux was hosting major races at the same time (F1 Zandvoort, 24 Hours of Zolder, European Karting Championship Genk), there were still plenty of spectators at the pit walk and autograph sessions. I decided to photograph the start from the back of the circuit at Les Combes. It was a beautiful sight, the field flying at full speed down the long straight toward the chicane, billowing clouds of dust above.
Just as I left Les Combes, the first safety car of the race was deployed for an incident elsewhere on the track. But it wouldn't be the last. Just as I was approaching the tire barriers at Eau Rouge to take photos, I suddenly saw marshals running, and the Iron Lynx Lamborghini went off. It had been off after contact with the Iron Dames Proton Porsche.
Once this was cleared away, it happened again almost immediately. I was standing there taking photos through the photo hole when I suddenly saw the image below through my viewfinder: the TDS Racing Oreca and the Formula Racing Ferrari sliding off, towards me!
What followed were a few failed photos; I decided to jump away from the tire stacks, but the camera kept rattling, of course ;-). And then it was back to cleanup, a safety car, and a lively discussion among the crashed drivers.
The race was marred by a few incidents. But in the end, the pole-sitter AO Racing by TF Sport, with drivers Louis Deletraz, Robert Kubica, and Jonny Edgar, won by just 1.1 seconds behind the #43 Inter Europol Competition. LMP2-AM was won by #83 AF Corse, and LMP3 by the #11 Eurointernational Ligier.
GT3 was won by the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari. It was a fantastic weekend, with plenty of action. See you next time!
