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Report on the Boucles de Spa
HERTSBERGE – February 20th, 2011. From February 18th till 19th the surroundings of Spa were invaded by tens of thousands of spectators to follow the historic rally event of the year: the Boucles de Spa. With 185 entries in the Legend class and 150 Classic class the 2011 edition promised again to provide lots of spectacle.
Just like last year, the organizers had invited a number of foreign star drivers amongst others Björn Waldegard and Stig Blomqvist but also local top drivers such as Freddy Loix, François Duval, Patrick Snijers, Bruno Thiry and Robert Droogmans were registered for this event which is reserved for historic rally cars.
Silver Arrows was represented in both categories by driver Bart Vanhaverbeke with co-driver brother Frits Vanhaverbeke in the Legend class and Luc Beke with Alex de Ruiter in the Classic class. For the latter this would be their maiden race as they had never driven a rally.
After the recce and technical scrutineering on Friday the first two stages in the Legend category took place in the evening at the circuit of Francorchamps. The team finished without any mechanical problems but co-driver Frits Vanhaverbeke was not feeling very well.
On Saturday morning both classes were expected at the start and the real work could begin for the Silver Arrows mechanics. In order to provide an optimal service for the cars in both classes, the service team was split into two. Cars and were individually monitored and awaited at the finish of their stages. The team Vanhaverbeke quickly came into the rhythmin the first stages. This motivated them to target a good result and also to provide a good spectacle for the spectators. Their enthusiasm, however, quickly turned into disappointment when co-driver Frits started to become ill after the second stage and when his condition deteriorated by the minute.
Bart Vanhaverbeke explains: “On Friday evening Frits was already not feeling very well but he thought it would pass. With lots of courage we started on Saturday but soon it became obvious that he wasn’t yet cured. As we didn’t want to give up like that we tried to finish the other stages. I couldn’t go flat out anymore as Frits was too sick to read the pace notes. The situation became worse in the 6th stage of Wanne where he almost lost consciousness and driving on wasn’t justifiable anymore.” At the end of the stage the unfortunate co-driver was taken to hospital for check-up. Luckily he could leave it the same day.
Both team members were obviously very disappointed by their forced retirement. Bart Vanhaverbeke explains: “We had put much time in the preparation of this event and it is naturally disappointing having to retire when you have a perfect car and no mechanical problems or accidents.”
The second team with Luc Beke and Alex de Ruiter fared much better. Despite the fact that they previously had never driven the Mercedes 500 SLC and that they were driving their first rally, the stress of the event made place for fun and excitement. Luc Beke explains: “For us this was a first introduction to the rally sport and immediately this was also a unique experience. In the beginning we started very cautiously but the cheers of the numerous spectators became infectious. In each special stage we managed to shift our borders.”
Co-driver Alex de Ruiter also took the wheel for a number of stages and also looks back with satisfaction: “Our first objective was to finish the event without accidents and have fun. We miraculously met our goal but also finished 93rd out of more than 150 participants!”
Luc Beke was particularly pleased with the quality of the services of Silver Arrows:”I would particularly like to thank the Silver Arrows Racing team for their perfect service. When we arrived here, everything was prepared to perfection and the whole team was waiting for us. We could concentrate on nothing else but the rally and have fun. We therefore felt like true professionals. We can highly recommend everybody who has never participated in a rally to make the step and race with a team that offers a good support framework.”
The dry weather and thus the higher pace in the rally resulted in extra load on engines and gearboxes. This meant that only 103 of the 185 teams in the Legend class arrived at the finish. Several top favorites dropped out with mechanical problems or other misfortune. François Duval, Robert Droogmans, Bruno Thiry and Freddy Loix did not make it to the finish.
Björn Waldegard lead most of the time during the rally but problems with his intercom made him loose a lot of time in the evening. As such, Stefaan Stouf with co-driver Joris Erard was able to take victory in the Legend Class.
The top 5 of the Legend class:
1.Stouf-Erard (Ford Escort Mk11975) 173,10
2.Waldegaard-Prévot (Zwe-Bel/Ford Escort Mk II 1976) op 6,38
3.Snijers-Gistels (Porsche 911 SCRS Gr. B 1982) op 23,82
4.Duez-Wauters (Mazda RX7 Gr. B 1984) op 62,18
5.Van de Wauwer-Marnette (Lancia Beta Monte Carlo 1976) op 70,14
Bart Vanhaverbeke concludes: “I am delighted that our team was able to offer Luc and Alex a perfect race which they will remember with lots of joy. This proves Silver Arrows offers real solutions for Gentleman Racers. I look forward to our next event in Le Touquet, France, where we hope to get a good result.”
About Silver Arrows Racing
Silver Arrows Racing is an organization specialized in full service renting of Mercedes-Benz 500 SLC historic rally cars for participation to historic rally and regularity events. Aside from the rally cars the company has a complete infrastructure for the maintenance, transport and storage of the cars before, during and after an event. Silver Arrows Racing focuses on Belgian events but offers its clients also the possibility to take part in international events.
For more information on Silver Arrows visit www.silver-arrows.com
About the Mercedes-Benz 500 SLC Rally car
The Mercedes-Benz 500 SLC rally car participated in its first official rally during the Vuelta America del Sud in 1978 and immediately won 1st, 2nd and 4th places in this 30.000 km long endurance race. Famous pilots such as Bjorn Waldegard, Hanu Mikkola en Andrew Cowan offered Mercedes in the following years many victories and top scores in WRC rally and other events. The car has a 5L V8 aluminum engine with close to 300 HP and has been completely adapted for the rally circuit. Apart from an automatic/semi-manual gearbox with 4 gears the car also has a hydraulic hand brake, Reiger dampers, BBS monobloc rims and a FIA certified roll cage.
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For more information and high resolution images contact:
Filip Lecomte
Press Relations
Silver Arrows Racing
pressinfo@silver-arrows.com
Tel.: +32 475 42 93 65