Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km race in 1972

Chevron B21; John Hine and John Bridges drove a B21 to third place overall

Reported but not started due to handling problems; Mercedes-Benz 300SEL

The seventh 1000 km race of Spa-Francorchamps , also Grand Prix de Spa, Circuit National de Francorchamps , took place on May 7, 1972 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and was the sixth round of the sports car world championship of that year.

The race

For the seventh time, the 1000 km race at Spa-Francorchamps took place in May 1972. 1966 , the race was extended for the first time and established itself alongside the 1924 inaugural 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps as the second event for GT and sports cars on the Belgian circuit. In the previous year , the two delivered by John Wyer used Porsche 917 by Pedro Rodríguez / Jackie Oliver and Jo Siffert / Derek Bell a four-hour-long fierce battle for victory, the Rodriguez / Oliver with the minimal advantage of 1.2 seconds to decided. The third-placed Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 was four laps behind at the finish. Spa 1971 was one of the fastest races in motorsport history. The average speed of the winning team was 249.069 km / h. In the race, Joseph Siffert drove one lap in 3.14.600, which corresponded to an average of 260.843 km / h. In 1972 Jacky Ickx was close to this record with an average speed of 253.293 km / h in training. These numbers overshadow the previous best values ​​in Formula 1 . At the 2003 Italian Grand Prix , the winner Michael Schumacher drove a racing average of 247.586 km / h in a Ferrari F2003-GA . A year later Rubens Barrichello , again in Monza , in the Ferrari F2004 the fastest lap with 260.395 km / h.

In 1972, the factory Alfa Romeo were registered, but like the previous World Championship race, they did not start the 1000 km race in Monza . The 312PB from Scuderia Ferrari were once again the big favorites for the overall victory. The races of the 1972 Sports Car World Championship held so far have all been won by the Ferrari works cars. After the success of Ronnie Peterson and Tim Schenken in the opening race in Argentina , Jacky Ickx won four times in a row. In Daytona , Sebring and Brands Hatch was Mario Andretti teammate; in Monza he shared the cockpit with Clay Regazzoni .

The Ferraris couldn't be beaten in Spa either. This time Brian Redman and Arturo Merzario remained victorious and ended the winning streak of Jacky Ickx, who finished second with partner Regazzoni in Belgium of all places. In third place was a 2-liter sports car; a Chevron B21 driven by John Hine and John Bridges .

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	S 3.0	3	Spa Ferrari SEFAC	Brian Redman Arturo Merzario	Ferrari 312PB	71
2	S 3.0	1	Spa Ferrari SEFAC	Jacky Ickx Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari 312PB	70
3	S 2.0	11	Red Rose Racing	John Hine John Bridges	Chevron B21	65
4th	S 3.0	7th	Gulf Racing Research	Derek Bell Gijs van Lennep	Mirage M6	64
5	S 3.0	8th	Belgian Racing Team	Gérard Larrousse Hughes de Fierlant	Lola T280	64
6th	S 2.0	17th	Peter Humble	Peter Humble Nick May	Chevron B19 / 21	60
7th	GT	42	Claude Dubois	Jean-Marie Jacquemin Yves Deprez	De Tomaso Pantera	59
8th	GT	55	Kremer Porsche Racing	Erwin Kremer John Fitzpatrick	Porsche 911S	59
9	S 2.0	16	Intertech Steering Wheels	Trevor Twaites Brendan McInerney	Chevron B21	59
10	GT	52	Werner Christmann	Hans Heyer Werner Christmann	Porsche 911S	58
11	GT	53	Clemens Schickentanz	Klaus Rang Eberhard Sindel	Porsche 911S	55
12	S 2.0	25th	Martin Ridehalgh	Martin Ridehalgh Hervé LeGuellec	Dulon LD11P	55
13	S 2.0	27	Michel Dupont	Michel Dupont Jean-Pierre Bodin	Chevron B19	53
14th	S 2.0	15th	Roger Heavens Racing	Roger Heavens Mike Garton	Chevron B19	48
15th	S 2.0	23	Martin Raymond	Martin Raymond Arthur Collier	Daren Mk.3	46
Failed
16	GT	43	Claude Dubois	Herbert Müller Guy Chasseuil	De Tomaso Pantera	58
17th	S 3.0	2	Spa Ferrari SEFAC	Tim Schenken Ronnie Peterson	Ferrari 312PB	56
18th	GT	45	Charles Pozzi	Claude Ballot-Léna Daniël Rouveyran	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	44
19th	S 3.0	9	Reinhold Joest	Reinhold Joest Willi Kauhsen	Porsche 908/0
20th	S 2.0	10	John Gray	John Lepp John Gray	Chevron B19
21st	S 2.0	12	Red Rose Racing	Paco Josa Niki Bosch	Chevron B21
22nd	S 2.0	18th	Peter Smith	Peter Smith David Welpton	Chevron B19 / 21
23	S 2.0	30th	Brian Robinson	François Migault Brian Robinson	Chevron B21
24	GT	40	Euroil Racing	Chris Tuerlinx Etienne Stalpaert	Chevrolet Corvette
25th	GT	47	Porsche Club Romand	Claude Haldi Bernard Chenevière	Porsche 911S
26th	GT	54	Clemens Schickentanz	Clemens Schickentanz Günter Steckkönig	Porsche 911S
27	GT	56	Gulf Racing	Peter Hoffmann Ivo Grauls	Chevrolet Corvette
28	T	62	BMW Alpina	Gerold Pankl Harald Ertl	BMW 2800CS
Not started
29	T	60	AMG	Hans Heyer Thomas Betzler	Mercedes-Benz 300SEL	1
30th	S 2.0	22nd	Dorset Racing Associates	Tony Birchenhough Brian Joscelyne	Lola T212	2
31	GT	55T	Kremer Porsche Racing	John Fitzpatrick	Porsche 911S	3
Not qualified
32	S 2.0	21st	Keith Grant	Keith Grant Chris Appleby	Chevron B8	4th
33	S 2.0	26th	Tony Goodwin	Tony Goodwin Alistair Cowin	Dulon LD11	5

¹ handling problems ² engine damage during training ³ training vehicle ⁴ not qualified ⁵ not qualified

Only in the entry list

Here you will find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race but did not take part for a variety of reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis
34	S 3.0		Otto Stuppacher	Otto Stuppacher Lambert Hofer	Porsche 908/02
35	S 3.0		Eris Tondelli	Eris Tondelli Peter Gethin	Tondelli BT
36	S 3.0	4th	Autodelta	Andrea de Adamich Nanni Galli	Alfa Romeo T33 / TT / 3
37	S 3.0	5	Autodelta	Vic Elford Helmut Marko	Alfa Romeo T33 / TT / 3
38	S 3.0	6th	Autodelta	Rolf Stommelen Peter Revson	Alfa Romeo T33 / 3
39	S 2.0	14th	Roger Hire	Peter Hanson Peter Gaydon Willie Green	Chevron B21
40	S 2.0	19th	Squadra Tartaruga	Peter Ettmüller Walter Frey	Chevron B19 / 21
41	S 2.0	20th	Richard Knight	Richard Knight Max Cohen-Olivar Daniel Jakubowski	Chevron B16
42	S 2.0	24	Karl-Heinz Tibor	Bernd Becker Elmar Clever	Porsche 910
43	S 2.0	28	Brian Martin	Brian Martin Bob Howlings	Martin BM9
44	S 2.0	29	Scuderia Brescia Corse	Franco Berruto Mario Ilotte	Abarth 2000
45	S 2.0	31	Jacky Dechaumel	Jacky Dechaumel Pierre Mauroy	BBM
46	GT	41	Louis Meznarie	Sylvain guarantor Jürgen Barth	Porsche 911S
47	GT	44	Kurt Simonsen	Kurt Simonsen Roland Larsson	Porsche 911T
48	GT	46	Porsche Club Romand	Bernard Chenevière	Porsche 911S
49	GT	48	Porsche Club Romand	Pierre Greub	Porsche 911S
50	S 2.0	49	Porsche Club Romand	Hans-Dieter Brusseler Walter Kelsch	Abarth
51	GT	50	Gelo Racing Team	Georg Loos Franz Pesch	Porsche 911S
52	GT	51	Werner Christmann	Werner Christmann Willi Nolte	Porsche 911S
53	T	61	Joël Bonnemaison	Joël Bonnemaison Marcel Grue	Ford Capri RS

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
S 3.0	Brian Redman	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari 312PB	Overall victory
S 2.0	John Hine	John Bridges	Chevron B21	Rank 3
GT	Jean-Marie Jacquemin	Yves Deprez	De Tomaso Pantera	Rank 7
T	no participant in the finish

Racing data

• Registered: 53
• Started: 28
• Valued: 18
• Race classes: 4
• Spectators: 60,000
• Race day weather: light rain in the middle of the race
• Route length: 14.100 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 4: 17: 19.100 hours
• Overall laps of the winning team: 71
• Total distance of the winning team: 1001.100 km
• Winner's average: 233.43 km / h
• Pole position: Jacky Ickx - Ferrari 312PB (# 1) - 3.20.400 - 253.293 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Jacky Ickx - Ferrari 312PB (# 1) - 3.20.700 - 252.915 km / h
• Racing series: Round 6 of the 1972 World Sports Car Championship

literature

• Peter Higham: The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing. A complete Reference from Formula 1 to Touring Car. Guinness Publishing Ltd., London 1995, ISBN 0-85112-642-1 .

Web links

• Race results at wsrp Racing

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 1000 km race from Spa-Francorchamps 1971 on wsrp.cz

Previous race at Monza 1000 km race in 1972

Sports car world championship

Successor race Targa Florio 1972