Wednesday 22nd September 2004

Classic TVRs in podium finish at Spa

'Grannies' mix it with 911s in marathon race

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Three excellently prepared classic TVRs -- dubbed 'The Grannies' by their drivers -- made their way into the historic six-hour GT race at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend to finish in a fabulous third and fifth place overall.

Roy Stephenson and Pete Foster (car 56) came third in their Grantura Mk. III while Joe Ward and Chris Conoley (car 57) made it to fifth place, also in a Grantura Mk. III. The German TVR Griffith driven by Erwin Derichs, Manfred Kubik and Hans Georg Dornhege (car  153) finished in 27th place. The winners overall were J Shipman and M Hales in a Crossle Sports, who managed a best lap of 2' 53.458", compared to the third-placed TVR's best of 3' 10.890".

Run from 6pm until midnight, the end of the race to saw the two Blackpool-built cars at the very top. Against a opposition such as 911s, GT40s, Corvettes and  Mustangs they managed an early class lead which they carried over the finish line despite the rain which dampened proceedings from around 23:00.

Porsches do well too

Meanwhile, three drivers from the Porsche Club GB, Steve Winter, Mark Campbell and Rob Williams teamed up to finish ninth overall and fourth in class in their Porsche 911.
 
The trio, regular competitors in the Michelin Porsche Club Championship, battled hard in the endurance race that ran through until midnight on Saturday. Had the race not finished early with a red flag, they could have moved up to third in class.
 
Winter, Williams and Campbell started 53rd and 11th in class on the massive grid. "The race was quite eventful with the typical changing weather at Spa, but our car was absolutely flying," reported Winter.
 
The race ended after a yellow flag period and that prevented them attacking the third-placed MGB, which was only four seconds ahead. "We were still the highest place Porsche, beating several really professional German and Belgium teams, so it was a good result for us," said Winter.

The race was organised by the Historic Sports Car Club, a group founded in 1966 by a group of enthusiasts who felt that classic sports and racing cars of the 1940s and 1950s deserved better acclaim and recognition than they were getting at the time.

[thegamekeeper]

Go Granny Go Granny Go Granny Go. Good weekend in Europe for Grantura Mk3's Phil Hooper in another one came 8th in a strong grid at Angouleme in the GT race at the Circuit des Remparts on sunday. Phil also finished well earlier in the year at Classic Le Mans. well done lads!!

[pentoman]

Saw this race, the sight (and sound) of all those cars in the hills of Spa at midnight was wonderful.

Prizes for sound go to the Porsches - some of the 911s were incredible and also the 904 - and to a dark and incredibly fast Corvette.

Russ
'86 190E, '62 Elan

[Ballistic Banana]

Good on em, well done with the 3rd and 5th, I guess the Germans struggled in 27th with the British rare power only joking

BB

[hansgerd]

BB, you're right there. I saw the car sliding a few times.