There’s a degree of unhappiness in the Pro-Am category over a driver grading for Villorba Corse driver Andrea Rizzoli, the quick Italian was downgraded from a Silver to a Bronze at the start of the season which allowed the team to enter in the Pro-Am category.
Paddock sources suggest that a formal protest, signed by the other teams in the top six of the category, has been rejected but that the grading decision has now been reversed, but not before the Spa 24 Hours! That means that the title could be all but won if the cards fall well for the Italian entered car, the reason given for the delay in regrading given being that it came after a three week deadline before this weekend’s race.
Rizzoli was the fastest driver in the car at Monza, the team losing to ROAL Motorsport by 20 seconds after losing a full minute in the pits.
Bob Neville, chef du camp at RJN Motorsport celebrates his 25th 24 Hour race with Nissan this weekend – we’ll be catching up with Bob for something in-depth next week but as a taster here’s brief catch-up with RJN himself from NISMO TV
We’ve heard a couple of slightly different weather reports for the race –
Intermittent heavy and thundery showers throughout – or
A dry start seems assured but rain is due here around 6pm and may last for an hour or so – after that though the weather looks set to remain dry for the remainder of the race*
*all weather forecasts for Spa come with a hefty dose of suspicion!!
Since the first edition of the Spa 24 Hours back in 1924, 28 Belgian drivers have won the race, making up 46 total wins. Of the 28 drivers, 17 will be present at this year’s event, including the only driver to win the race five times: Eric Van de Poele, who won most recently in 2008 with Vitaphone Racing in a Maserati MC12 GT1.
5 wins
Eric Van de Poele: 1987, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2008
4 wins
Jean-Michel Martin (father of BMW factory man Maxime): 1979, 1980, 1987, 1992
Thierry Tassin: 1983, 1986, 1994, 1996
3 wins
Marc Duez: 1997, 1998, 2001
2 wins
Eddy Joosen: 1977, 1982
Philippe Martin: 1979, 1980
Jean Xhenceval: 1974, 1975
Frédéric Bouvy: 1999, 2000
Kurt Mollekens: 2000, 2009
1 win
Pascal Ickx: 1965
Gérald Langlois: 1965
Jean-Pierre Gaban: 1967
Teddy Pilette : 1978
Pierre Dieudonné: 1981
Didier de Radiguès: 1997
Vincent Vosse: 2002
Anthony Kumpen: 2009
Other news comes in the form of a penalty ahead of the race. The #49 AF Corse Ferrari in the Gentlemen Trophy has been forced to start at the back of the grid as the stewards have penalised the car for not conforming with homologation regulations after the Qualifying sessions.
ART confirm that the #98 McLaren is now in good fettle after its practice shunt, the remaining problem is a lack of seat time here for anyone other than Alvaro Parente.
The #18 Black Falcon Mercedes will now start from the back of the grid after an engine change post qualifying.
We’re ready to go with full coverage on DSC from Stephen Errity, Stephen Kilbey and Paul Truswell – here seen in preparation for his very first Spa 24 Hours (we expect him to go the full 24 Hours from here!) –
The DSC Ed will be on Twitter duty @dscracelive as well as contributing to full flag to flag coverage on Radio Le Mans www.radiolemans.com and NISMO TV via youtube.
