From afar, the rolling hills of East Belgium look innocuous enough, dense forested undulations which rise and fall as far as the eye can see. With the fleeting glances of Liege and Verviers in the rear-view mirror, it feels that the road ahead takes you far from civilization. But with one deliberate, eagerly anticipated autoroute junction, the road plunges down towards the valley, where the first traces of motorsport history become visible to the keenly-trained eye. A small road cuts through the centrer of the sleepy village of Francorchamps, descending through yet more trees, before the imposing sight of Raidillon, even more striking these days with the disarming red and yellow run-off, appears in the distance. Spa never fails to command a sense of nostalgia, as those who flock here in the current day, have memories etched into their consciousness of the great circuit in years gone by.
Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9 leading a throng of Group C cars through Raidillon.
The Spa Classic, run yearly by the meticulous guys at Peter Auto, celebrates the racing history of this great circuit, forever intertwined with the glory days of endurance racing. From 50s and 60s icons, such as the Aston Martin DB3S, Austin-Healey 3000, Jaguar E-Type, and Shelby Daytona, through the innovative, raw and fascinating days of the late ’60s and ’70s prototypes, to the halcyon days of the Group C sportscars, culminating in the more modern Endurance racing legends. Over three heavily packed days, the sports cars of yesteryear were let loose from morning until nightfall to tackle the seven-kilometer-long strip of tarmac, sharply rising and falling through the forested landscape, machines which thrived under the challenges presented by the notoriously demanding track, driven furiously in period, and no less heroically or emphatically in the modern-day celebrations of times past.
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