Pole and Class Win for Pursuit at the 2022 Spa Classic weekend

The 2022 Spa Classic weekend was the tenth edition of this exciting event. After two years off due to the pandemic, historic racing drivers from all over Europe descended on Spa Francorchamps and the promise of superb competition attracted over 20,000 spectators.

First raced on in 1922 - exactly one hundred years ago this year - the Spa-Francorchamps circuit held its first 24-hour event two years later, in 1924. Originally designed around local roads, the modern layout was first seen in 1979, when the track was modified and shortened from a 14-kilometre road course to a 7-kilometre permanent circuit, due to safety concerns with the original course.

From May 20th-22nd, the 2022 Spa Classic featured the full complement of Peter Auto series, including 2.0L Cup, Classic Endurance Racing 1 and 2, Endurance Racing Legends, Fifties Legends, Sixties Endurance, Group C Racing, Heritage Touring Cup and The Greatest's Trophy. Pursuit Racing supported four cars over the weekend: the duelling Elans, the Shelby Cobra and the 2002 Riley and Scott Mk III C.

The weekend began on Friday morning, with Sixties Endurance practice for the Elans and the Cobra. Qualifying took place on Friday night. Around a very wet Spa, Patrick Jack took P3 in class in the number 63 Elan with P7 for Ted in the number 170. Richard and Harvey qualified just outside the top ten in the Cobra, but the race would produce opportunities for all.

The two-hour race was held on Saturday evening. The weather was dry, and the cars had a good start, but Ted got tangled up avoiding a crash and wound up towards the back of the field. From there he fought hard and charged through the order to finish with a top ten in class and P38 of 65 classified finishers.

Harvey and Richard were sadly forced to retire when the Cobra lost oil pressure. Meanwhile, amidst the usual Spa chaos, Patrick pushed the Elan to the limit, making up places right through the race and eventually coming home first in class: a fantastic result that showcased his skills and the speed and reliability of the Elan after its winter rebuild.

Marino Franchitti joined us in Spa, sharing the Riley and Scott with Richard in the LMP1B class in Endurance Racing Legends. The pair set a stunning pace in Friday night qualifying, claiming the fastest night lap and the fastest combined time, giving them pole position for the first race.

Race 1 was held on Saturday morning. We lost a couple of positions in the early laps and dropped to ninth overall during the pit stops. After ten laps, we were back up to sixth and the race order finished like that; P6 was a class fourth and we came home pleased with the speed shown in qualifying.

Our next event is Brand Hatch Masters, where Frédéric Laurent will tackle the GP circuit in the E-Type with Equipe Classic Racing. After that, we head to Dijon in early June with the Carreras Colombia Cobra, the Elans and two new cars: a Chevron B8 and B16. Both Chevrons arrive in the workshop two weeks before their first event, so we'll have our work cut out in getting them ready. Follow our Instagram for workshop updates - we're excited to run two new sports cars!

Thanks to Ultimate Car Page for the photos from Spa.

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