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24 h Spa-Francorchamps

Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

Date: 22/7/1972 to: 23/7/1972
Track length: 14.100 m
Attendance: 80.000
Entries accepted: unknown
Starters: 60
Finishers: unknown

Pole position: Stuck in 4.04,2 = 207,607 kmh
Fastest lap: Grauls in 4.06,00 = 205,090 kmh

Distance: 24 hours
Average speed: 187,431 kmh
Weather: cloudy
Ruleset: Group 2/70
Car info: 1972 Cars

Pictures

Even after the Nürburgring shock, the Capri remained favourite for the Spa classic. No opposition of Mercedes this year (the over-5 litre ban in the ETCC was only lifted after the Spa entry had closed), and Alfa Romeo relied on group 1. Though the fastest BMW (the Schnitzer car of Fitzpatrick/Heyer) was second in practice, the Ford trio was in no real danger at all. More BMWs were entered by Schnitzer (Peltier/Ethuin) and two Alpina cars (Hezemans/Furtmayr and Kelleners/Pankl).
The Hezemans/Furtmayr car was brand new, had the strongest engine (but was very heavy at 1300 kg) and reached a cool 260 km/h on the straights. A further Capri was entered for Franck/Fritzinger, in the Frami car of Franck. In division 2, no tuner BMWs were there to keep up with the Ford Escorts, only 14 private BMWs could hope for mayhem for Ford. Autodelta only entered Group 1 Alfa Romeo GTVs, so they would not form any danger - it was thought.

Division 1 saw the well known Autodelta Alfa GTAJs, the Fiats as usual victim of all kinds of problems, though they were pretty fast.

After the start the fastest BMW lost half a lap per hour to the Ford trio. After three hours, the Kelleners car broke, so he teamed up with Hezemans, to no great avail since the car retired in the night, an hour after the Schnitzer car of Fitzpatrick/Heyer gave up the ghost. The Ford trio kept the lead easily, in division 2, Ford was leading too, both works Escorts having lapped the Autodelta Alfa Romeo trio a number of times. These were followed by the Brun/Kretschi Mazda. But the Escorts got into trouble. First, Menzel had hit the armco and his car was never the same again, falling back steadily. The other car retired early in the morning with ignition problems. Brun crashed at Masta at 5.13 in the morning, killing a marshal who was standing in front of the armco, with his back to the track.

Early in the afternoon, the last BMW had to replace its front suspension, but could keep its fourth place - the Ford trio could drop the tempo even more, the victory was theirs. In division 1, the Alfa Romeos were reliable as ever, a double victory for Autodelta here.
In group 1 we had a fight, a battle raging between Alfa Romeo, Opel and BMW. In the end, Alfa Romeo held the upper hand, claiming division 2 and another King’s cup in the process.


Division 1, 2 and 3
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 2 Ford Köln
Ford Capri RS 2600
Jochen Mass, D
Hans-Joachim Stuck, D
2940 V6 Div. 3 318 laps 1 4.04,2    
2 2 3 Ford BP Belgium
Ford Capri RS 2600
Gerry Birrell, GB
Claude Bourgoignie, B
2940 V6 Div. 3 313 5 4.11,8    
3 3 1 Ford Köln
Ford Capri RS 2600
Dieter Glemser, D
Alex Soler-Roig, E
2940 V6 Div. 3 313 3 4.09,3    
4 4 10 Team Schnitzer Motul
BMW 2800 CS
John Fitzpatrick, GB
Alain Peltier, B
Christian Ethuin, F
2996 L6 Div. 3 304 7 4.15,1    
5 5 15 Luigi/Racing Team Marabout
BMW 2800 CS
Vincent Gaye, B
Willy Braillard, B
2996 L6 Div. 3 293 13 4.30,7    
6 1 43 Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Gr. 1
Claude Ballot-Léna, F
Jean-Claude Lagniez, F
1962 L4 Div. 2 288 30 4.50,8   1st Group 1
7 6 27 Cronk Garages
BMW 3.0 CS Gr. 1
Peter Hanson, GB
Jeremy Walton, GB
2985 L6 Div. 3 287 61 5.03,7   1st Reserve
8 7 18  
BMW 3.0 CS Gr. 1
Noël Van Assche ("Pedro"), B
Nicolas Koob, L
2985 L6 Div. 3 286 29 4.50,3    
9 2 41 Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Gr. 1
Hans Hessel, D
Dieter Gleich, D
1962 L4 Div. 2 286 39 4.58,3    
10 3 42 Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Gr. 1
Jean-Claude Andruet, F
Jean Ragnotti, F
1962 L4 Div. 2 286 21 4.45,4    
11 8 4 Kent Frami Racing Team
Ford Capri RS 2600
Jean-Claude Franck, B
Klaus Fritzinger, D
2940 V6 Div. 3 280 9 4.23,5    
12 4 40 Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Gr. 1
Pierre-Yves Bertinchamps, B
Jacques Berger, B
1962 L4 Div. 2 280 28 4.50,0    
13 9 12 Précision Liègeoise
BMW 2800 CS Gr. 1
Bernard De St. Hubert, B
Gérald Simonis, B
2788 L6 Div. 3 280 41 4.59,7    
14   57  
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Gr. 1
Roland Imbert, F
Alain Serpaggi, F
1962 L4 Div. 2 280 34      
15   50 Euro Oil Racing Team
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Gr. 1
Christine Beckers ("Christine"), B
Jean-Claude Sola, F
1962 L4 Div. 2 277 33 4.53,1    
16   66  
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV
Helmut Hinse, D
Mayer
1962 L4 Div. 2 275 44 5.02,8    
17   51 Euro Oil Racing Team
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Gr. 1
Etienne Stalpaert, B
Roger Dubos, F
1962 L4 Div. 2 274 26 4.48,8    
18   30 Gulf Opel Transeurope
Opel Commodore GS Gr. 1
Dany Wauters, B
Rick Coemans, B
2784 L6 Div. 3 273 32 4.52,2   Reserve
19   53 Euro Oil Racing Team
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Gr. 1
André Lierneux, B
Daniel Dezy, B
1962 L4 Div. 2 272 42 5.00,9    
20   60 Van Stolle
Nissan 2000 GT
Henry Miroux, B
Rob Janssen, NL
1998 L6 Div. 3 272 57 5.19,2    
21 1 80 Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior
Spartaco Dini ("Paco"), I
Vincenzo Cazzago ("Pooky"), I
1290 L4 Div. 1 270 22 4.46,9    
22   63  
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTAm
Dino Pizzinato, L
Jean Welchenbach, L
1985 L4 Div. 2 270 43 5.02,8    
23 2 83 Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior
Carlo Facetti, I
Carlo Truci, I
1290 L4 Div. 1 263 18 4.41,6    
24   59  
Audi 100 coupé S Gr. 1
M. Sourd, F
Yves Evrard, F
1871 L4 Div. 2 260 50 5.10,8    
25 7 65 Mazda Swiss Racing
Mazda Savanna RX-3
Florian Vetsch, CH
Peter Mattli, CH
2 x 491 R2 Div. 2 260 24 4.47,5    
26   46 Ford Köln
Ford Escort RS 1600
Harald Menzel, D
Dave Matthews, GB
1840 L4 Div. 2 260 8 4.19,8    
27   49  
Ford Escort TC
Ken Coffey, GB
Ted Worswick, GB
1594 L4 Div. 2 254 52 5.12,3    
28   62 Van Stolle
Nissan 2000 GT
Henri Sonveau, B
Serge Laurent, B
1998 L6 Div. 3 253 60 5.26,1    
29 3 84  
Ford Escort 1300 GT
Robin Searle, GB
Vernon Saunders, GB
1298 L4 Div. 1 248 48 5.09,9    
30   95  
NSU 1200 TT
Peter Wisskirchen, D
Hermann Cordes, D
1296 L4 Div. 1 239 58 5.20,7    
DNF   74  
BMW 2002
Jean-Paul Rieu, B
1990 L4 Div. 2   46 5.05,6    
DNF   82 Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior
Luigi Colzani, I
Vittorio Venturi, I
1290 L4 Div. 1   40 4.59,4    
DNF   47 BP Belgium
Ford Escort RS 1600
Yvette Fontaine, B
Gill Fortescue-Thomas, GB
ca. 1800 L4 Div. 2   11 4.27,5   Head gasket
DNF   54 Cronk Garages
BMW 2002 TI Gr. 1
John Bloomfield, GB
Tony Lanfranchi, GB
Roger Bell, GB
1990 L4 Div. 2   51 5.12,0   Blown engine
DNF   99  
NSU 1200 TT
Daniel Dupré, F
Gilles Doncheux, F
1296 L4 Div. 1   59 5.20,8    
DNF   64 Mazda Swiss Racing
Mazda Savanna RX-3
Walter Brun, CH
Joe Kretschi, CH
2 x 491 R2 Div. 2 ca. 160 31 4.51,0   Accident
DNF   16 Précision Liègeoise
BMW 2800 CS
Jean Xhenceval, B
Hughes de Fierlant, B
2996 L6 Div. 3   6 4.13,7   Broken rear hub
DNF   56 BMW-Alpina
BMW 2800 CS
Toine Hezemans, NL
Ernst Furtmayr, D
Helmut Kelleners, D
2996 L6 Div. 3 ca. 150 12 4.27,9   Head gasket
DNF   11 Team Schnitzer Motul
BMW 2800 CS
John Fitzpatrick, GB
Hans Heyer, D
2996 L6 Div. 3 ca. 160 2 4.07,8   Engine bearings
DNF   73  
BMW 2002
André Bouckenaere, B
Michel De Deyne, B
1990 L4 Div. 2 8 36 4.55,6   Reserve / Drivers sick of fumes
DNF   92 Trivellato-Mineif Racing
Fiat 128 coupé 1300
Jacopo "Pino" Trivellato, I
Manfred Mineif, D
1290 L4 Div. 1   20 4.45,2   Engine
DNF   55  
BMW 2002
Robert Derom, B
Jean-Marie Detrin, B
1990 L4 Div. 2   25 4.48,4    
DNF   52 Euro Oil Racing Team
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Gr. 1
Michel Noé, B
Pierre Poisse, B
1962 L4 Div. 2   38 4.57,8    
DNF   22  
Volvo 164
Joost Byttebier, B
Claude Crespin, B
2978 L6 Div. 3   47 5.06,7    
DNF   19  
Citroën SM
Roger Vanderschrick, B
Jacques Hendrickx, B
2670 V6 Div. 3   54 5.14,0    
DNF   45 Sony Racing Team
Ford Escort RS 1600
Han Akersloot, NL
Dave Brodie, GB
1840 L4 Div. 2   15 4.34,1   Out of fuel
DNF   5 Holman Blackburn
Ford Capri 3000 Gr. 2
Holman “Les” Blackburn, GB
John Moss, GB
3000? V6 Div. 3   35 4.54,0   Differential oil loss
DNF   81 Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior
Teodoro Zeccoli, I
Massimo Larini, I
1290 L4 Div. 1   23 4.47,2   Engine
DNF   29 Dutch National Racing Team
Opel Commodore GS/E
Huub Vermeulen, NL
Fred Frankenhout, NL
2490 L6 Div. 3   37 4.65,4   Reserve/Accident
DNF   9 BMW-Alpina
BMW 2800 CS
Helmut Kelleners, D
Gerold Pankl, A
2996 L6 Div. 3 ca. 25 4 4.09,7   Con rod
DNF   67  
BMW 2002
Rudy Host ("MacIntosh"), B
Claude De Wael, B
1990 L4 Div. 2   17 4.41,2   Reserve/Head gasket
DNF   14 Camel Yellow Racing Team
BMW 2800 CS
Philippe Toussaint, B
Jean-Louis Haxhe, B
2996 L6 Div. 3   16 4.34,2   Head gasket
DNF   31 Research Consultants Ltd.
Chevrolet Camaro Mk 1
Terry Sanger, GB
Mike Crabtree, GB
5000 V8 Div. 3   27 4.49,4   Alternator belt
DNF   90 Fernand Neri
Fiat 128 coupé 1300
Fernand Néri, B
Maurice Damseaux, B
1290 L4 Div. 1   45 5.04,8   Head gasket
DNF   91 Fernand Neri
Fiat 128 Rallye
William Scheeren, B
Francis Polak, B
1290 L4 Div. 1   56 5.18,6   Head gasket
DNF   61 Van Stolle
Nissan 2000 GT
Charles Van Stalle ("Chavan"), B
Jean Degey, B
1998 L6 Div. 3   55 5.16,0   Head gasket
DNF   44 Welcker Performance/Levi’s
Ford Escort TC
Yves Deprez, B
Gustaaf "Taf" Witvrouw, B
1594 L4 Div. 2   19 4.45,1   Damage after hitting barrier
DNF   8 Gulf Opel Transeurope
Opel Commodore GS
Chris Tuerlinx, B
Teddy Pilette, B
2998 L6 Div. 3 ca. 140 10 4.27,4   Rocker
DNF   7 Gulf Opel Transeurope
Opel Commodore GS/E
Gerry Marshall, GB
Paul Joossens, B
2998 L6 Div. 3   14 4.32,2   Flywheel
DNF   85  
NSU 1200 TT
Jean-Claude Boucher, F
Lucien Guitteny, F
1296 L4 Div. 1   53 5.13,4   Holed piston
WDN   98  
Simca Rallye 1
J.M. Heilman, B
John Vanderheyden, B
1294 L4 Div. 1   49 5.10,7   Too slow (?!)
DNQ   68 MLG Motors
BMW 2002 TI Gr. 1
Roger Bell, GB
Tony Dron, GB
1990 L4 Div. 2         2nd Reserve
DNQ   72  
Ford Escort TC
Dennis Thorne, GB
Jenny Dell, GB
1594 L4 Div. 2         Reserve
DNQ   93  
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior
Edgar Gillessen, B
Emmanuel Remion, B
1290 L4 Div. 1         Reserve
DNQ   28  
Mazda RX-2
Jules Gillotay, B
Roland De Jamblinne, B
2 x 491 R2 Div. 3         Reserve
DNQ   21  
Chevrolet Camaro
Robert Eberhard, D
Kurt Auer, D
5000 V8 Div. 3         Reserve
DNQ   94  
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior
Pierre Rubens, B
Bernard Carlier, B
1290 L4 Div. 1          
DNQ   25  
Ford Capri RS 2600
Jean-Pierre Morise, F
? D. Pecqueur, F
2900 V6 Div. 3          

Remarks: King’s cup: Alfa Romeo Spanish TCC coefficient: 12,0