True to it’s namesake ‘The Spa’ brought another evening of unpredictable outside weather. Last month a snowstorm in November, this month rain in December?? :unsure: Who knows what to expect at Spa?? Regardless, a full field of 6 brave folks and a lone spectator ventured outside to enjoy the R32 hospitality of ‘Spa Lyons’ inside.
After practice and a round of the towns finest pizza the evenings entertainment began.
The Big bore thunder machines were up first.
Under the Dunlop Bridge they charged. Dick Brooks led the field of big names in his 1970 #32 Black & Decker Plymouth Roadrunner,
running away from the rest of the field with 63 laps, followed not so closely by the fire breathing #29 1967 Ford Fairlane driven by Dick Hutcherson with 59 laps.
Rather closer was Dan Gurney in his 1970 Plymouth Superbird with 58 laps closely followed by the 1969 Ford Torino Talladega of Donnie Allison with 57 laps, and then the Robins Electric sponsored 1969 Dodge Charger 500 of Al Unser with 55 laps. The field was rounded out only one second later by the 1967 Holman Moody sponsored 1967 Ford Fairlane of Mario Andretti, also with with 55 laps. As always only the names have been changed to protect the innocent!!
After a brief pause to draw a breath the Sports Cars took to the track.
The #47 Jaguar XK-120 fresh from the Alpen Rally came 1st with 62 laps,
followed closely by the #136 1965 Ferrari 250LM -that had been driven driven by Antonio Nicodemi and Francesco Lessona in the 1965 Targa Florio – with 61 laps.
Rounding out the podium with 60 laps was the #50 Shelby AC Cobra in Comstock Racing livery driven by Shelby’s ace pilot Ken Miles that had been driven to a 7th overall and 2nd in the GT class at the 1963 Pepsi-Cola Canadian Grand Prix held at Mosport Park as part of the Canadian Sports Car Championship and which was still missing a headlight lost in that event.
The rest of the field consisted of the #35 Austin Healey driven by John Chatam with 58 laps, the #15 Ford Mustang fastback flogged by non other than Lee Iacocca himself with 57 laps and the #56 1954 Porsche 550 Spyder driven by Jaroslav Juhan. This was to be its inaugural shakedown event prior to going to Mexico for the Carrera Panamericana. It dragged home last, 20 seconds later with 57 laps as well. The little Porsche 550 we saw in last months spy shot was thoroughly outclassed by the rest of the field!! Back to the caves at Stuttgart for it!!
Bonus Spy shots:
Fortunately no such mishaps were encountered by our 250LM!! 😥
Trans Am
Due to some timing issues and ties in the scoring system, accurate finish results were difficult to determine.
The #52 1972 Chevrolet Camaro and the #98 Mercury Cougar of Dan Gurney covered 66 laps, the #35 Ford Mustang completed 65 laps, the #20 Ford Notch back and the #1 Camaro and the #18 Ford Mustang Mach 1 from down under each completed 59 laps.
Then the gloves were off for the last event of the evening, Group 5. An eclectic field took the green flag.
Leading the pack, the #23 Ford Zakspeed Capri as it ran in the German DRM in 1978 driven by Hans Heyer finished with 75 laps running 7.2 sec laps.
Adding colour to the field was, the #23 Porsche 935/78 “Moby Dick” piloted by Joest and Kausen and with a livery inspired by the no.23 Porsche 917/20 that raced at the 1971 Le Mans 24 Hours. 
The Group 5 ‘Pink Pig’ finished one lap later with 73 laps.
Another car making it’s R32 debut at Spa was the #576 Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo. This Alitalia backed car was liveried aa driven in the Giro de Italia in 1979 by Gilles Villeneuve, Walter Rohrl & Christian Geistdorfe. It was very was comfortable on the twists and turns of Spa and proved its metal with 69 laps.
The #16 Roush prepared Zakspeed Mustang Turbo that was driven by Indy car ace Kevin Cogan at the Road Atlanta round of the 1982 IMSA GTX Series finished next with 68 laps edging out the #55 Ford Zakspeed Capri Turbo in Liqui Moly Equipe livery as raced in the German DRM (Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft) in 1981 by Manfred Winkelhock finished with 66 laps. A new rainbow warrior in the guise of the #51 Sauber BMW M1 liveried as raced at Le Mans in 1981 by Bernard Darniche, Johnny Cecotto & Philippe Alliot made it’s debut as well. At Spa it was rather tail happy and finished with 61 laps. :unsure:
Thanks to Drew and Nancy for their hospitality in offering the use of their home and track. :good:
To all the hosts, racers, spectators and others who made this another great event and an excellent year, a very Merry Christmas from R32.
