Racspa.be - Boucles de Bastogne, Spa Euro Race, Racing Festival

SPA EURO RACE / 04-05-06 June 2021

A skilful blend of sprint, endurance… and show!

No point in beating about the bush, for the Royal Automobile Club de Spa nothing had been easy or enjoyable throughout last year. And even though some normality is now announced, as confirmed thanks to the major success of the recently held the 1st Balade des Legend Boucles Bastogne, each organisation is faced with its share of obstacles to circumvent or overcome. But within the ranks of the structure based at Ensival, it is unlikely that they throw in the towel. Outcome: on Friday 4th, Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th June the Spa Euro Race will be in full swing! And although the 2020 edition had been cancelled for the reasons we all know, the cocktail that makes up the success of this meeting, generally under sunny conditions, remains the order of the day…..by popular demand from the various promoters!

“It’s with a certain relief that we can once again head off for the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, Pierre Delettre, in the name of the R.A.C. Spa commented. Even though nothing is easy, the year 2021 appears to be the one showing signs of an ongoing return of activities on the motorsport front. Unfortunately, due to the positioning of the Spa Euro Race on the calendar we are still prevented from welcoming the fans! As such the event will be held behind closed doors, but we truly hope that this will be the very last time without the general public. Make no mistake, we left no stone unturned to try to open the gates of the circuit, but the evolution of the various health protocols has not been as fast as the racing machines that are about to tackle the circuit! On the other hand, bar upheaval which nobody wishes, we will come across the out-and-out devotees of our organisation at the end of July for the 1st Legend Boucles Rallyshow & Rallycross of Mettet, as also for the Racing Festival at the end of October, on this very same Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps. Finally, we will need to redouble our efforts in order to prepare for the major return of the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne at the beginning of 2022. As you can see, despite the circumstances, we have our hands full at R.A.C. Spa!

The best of Benelux motorsport … but not only!

Once again Sprint and Endurance will share being the stars of the Spa Euro Race this coming weekend. Loyal among the faithful, the Supercar Challenge, backed up by the GT & Prototype Challenge, will once again be on hand with its pack of spectacular muscle cars, ranging from the Ligier LMP3 through to the Peugeot RCZ Cup, not forgetting the various Norma, Wolf, Radical, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 and Super Trofeo, Porsche GT3 Cup, BMW M4 GT4, Hyundai i30 N TCR, Audi RS 3 LMS TCR, etc. Worth noting the presence of a certain Tom Boonen at the wheel of a Norma M20 FC Deldiche Racing, teamed up with Sam Dejonghe, Tim Joosen and Steve Vanbellingen. True to tradition, the Supercar Challenge and the GT & Prototype Challenge will go head-to-head over two races of 60 minutes plus one lap, sharing the track with the brand new Dutch VRM BMW M2 Cup, where we will come across several Belgian drivers, such as Tom and Guido Werckx, Jamie Vandenbalck and Gregory Eyckmans.

When it comes to a longer distance race, we will have the Belcar Endurance Championship, henceforth divided into Proto, GT and Touring categories. Even though the Norma M20 machines will undoubtedly claim the top spots, it is worth keeping a close eye on the horde of new Porsche 992 GT3 Cup cars chasing after them over 180 minutes!

Some show up front!

Then we come across sprint racing, even super-sprint! The renowned Lotus Cup Europe will once again be on hand with its Evora GT4, Exige V6 Cup R, 2-Eleven, 340R, Elise Cup R, S3 and S2, with Thierry Verhielst to defend the Belgian bastion up against the specialists of the discipline, namely Bence Balogh, Tamas Vizin, David and Jason McInulty, Nikolaj Ipsen and cohorts. Two races of 30 minutes are on the programme.

Evolving together, but with two clearly defined starting grids, the Belgian and Dutch Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup on the one hand, and the Mazda MX-5 Cup on the other, will undoubtedly offer up the most spirited races. When it comes to the make bearing the blue oval will Kenny Herremans, Nathan Vanspringel, Thomas De Backer, Philippe Huart and Polle Geusens get the better of their Dutch rivals? In the compact Japanese pack it will be Werner Van Herck who will try to excel up against competitors who know the score by heart. Two races of 35 minutes will be on Sunday’s programme.

Last but not least the Legends Cars Cup, which is likely to create some panic on the Spa asphalt with those small American inspired rockets. Even though it is a competition of French origin, the Belgians have a habit of putting in some excellent choice results, with David De Saeger, Mathieu Detry, Claude Watteyne and Maxime Lieutenant hoping to produce the goods. The Belgian national anthem on the horizon? The Legends Cars will tackle two super-sprints of 20 minutes, prior to a mini endurance of 40 minutes.

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