EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED AT SPA
The annual away-race tested the British GT Championship teams at the start of SRO Speedweek
Belgium’s famed SpaFrancorchamps grand prix circuit is a favourite among teams and drivers, but hasn’t featured on the calendar since 2022. SRO Speedweek arrived at Spa in June with over 180 cars and 16 races in 6 championships.
Making its second public European appearance, after Le Mans, was the new Mustang GTD. Fast Ford readers will already be familiar with the IMSA racing category derived use of the ‘D’ nomenclature. Effectively, this is a race-to-road version of what Europe knows as a GT3 race car. In readiness for display at the upcoming Spa 24hr the limited-production supercar was left in the custody of Academy Motorsport. Ford are currently accepting order applications from prospective European buyers where pricing is expected to start from £315,000.
The 2024 British GT Championship hit its half-distance where 38 entries were to contest the first two-hour enduro of the season. The 120-minute duration race is a British GT staple. However, this season it has taken until Race 5 for the format, which features one mandatory refuelling and driver change, to appear. After having spent the last two events mastering the championship’s multi-pitstop regulations, a one pitstop format leaves teams with less room for manoeuvre and fewer tactical options available. Weather conditions are also notoriously difficult to judge at Spa. Even with their additional pitstop time, the Silver GT4 teams generally enjoy success at Spa where no Pro-Am combination has won since 2015.
GT4’s qualifying on Saturday was cut short before the end of the first track session when Ravi Ramyead’s Century BMW crashed at Raidillon, causing substantial barrier damage. The grid was therefore set as per the aggregated times from the earlier prequalifying session. That produced a jumbled grid and handed DTO Motorsport’s Ginetta the top spot.
For Academy that meant GT4 grid starting position eleven for car 61 and thirteen for 62. Driver and Team Principal Matt Nicoll-Jones said: “It’s very odd and has been a bit of a nightmare for everyone with interrupted track sessions and no chance to develop a
rhythm. We banked a couple of lap times during pre-qualifying but they were not really representative.” Unbeknown to the team, car 62 was also developing a driveline issue which would not reveal its impact until later.
The start of Sunday’s race was initially promising with dry weather. But a multicar accident on the run from La Source to Eau Rouge on the opening lap resulted in contact between three GT3 cars, sending two cars off. The accident caused significant barrier damage, resulting in the race being red-flagged. Racing eventually resumed for a shortened one hour and sixteen minutes. The GT4 grid order had been scattered by the GT3 accident ahead. On the rolling restart Evans and Moore resumed from 5th and 8th GT4 grid positions respectively, and had both gained double-digit overall places by lap 5.
Will Moore’s determined and ‘exciting’ driving style consumed car 62’s allowance of track-limit transgressions by the end of his stint, and presented Matt Nicoll-Jones an overhanging drive-through penalty. Shortly afterwards, car 61 used up its allowance and was served a black and white warning flag; many of the GT4 field followed suit.
Spa is a circuit that flatters a car’s strengths and amplifies any weaknesses. Both Mustangs demonstrated strong corner exit grip and straight-line speed, if a little tentative under hard braking. Despite both being hampered by a compromised starting grid, with a bit of good fortune, Evans and Signoretti did well, finishing 2nd in GT4 Silver. Moore and Nicoll-Jones nursed their troubled driveline home 8th in Silver class. This was American driver and reigning British GT4 Champion, Erik Evans’ first visit to Spa and he had spent many sim hours preparing for the day. He said: “It was crazy, nothing does justice to the elevation of Eau Rouge! And the whole track is just amazing. I think I have accomplished a true dream having a trophy from this track”.
The Academy team stayed in Belgium for the following week to prepare for the third round of the European GT4 Series. Fiftyseven of Europe’s finest sports car teams and drivers gathered for two sprint races, one held on Friday night and another on Saturday, ahead of the centenary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa for GT3 cars. We will cover the outcome of those races in our next report.
With five races completed, Academy currently stand fifth in the British GT4 Teams table. Signoretti and Evans are third in GT4 Drivers (Silver), while Moore and Nicoll-Jones are ninth.