Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km race in 1973

First overall victory for the Mirage M6 in the World Sports Car Championship

Alfa Romeo 33 / TT / 12

The eighth 1000 km race of Spa-Francorchamps , also Grand Prix de Spa, Circuit National de Francorchamps , took place on May 6, 1973 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and was the fifth round of the sports car world championship of that year.

The race

Despite the criticism that racers in particular expressed because of safety deficiencies at the high-speed circuit at Spa, a long-distance race was also held on the racetrack in 1973 . Two Ferrari 312PB were prepared for the race in the Scuderia Ferrari factory in Maranello . Chassis 0888 and 0896 received an extended wheelbase and a long-tail body. Jacky Ickx , Brian Redman , Carlos Pace and Arturo Merzario were registered as drivers . As with the race in Dijon , the Matra mechanics equipped the two MS670B with different gearboxes. The car with the number 4 had a ZF transmission, the vehicle with the number 3 one from Hewland . Two of the four regular drivers were unable to attend the race weekend. François Cevert and Jean-Pierre Beltoise went the Pau Grand Prix , a race of two European Formula this year , at the start. Cevert won the race in Elf F2 , Beltoise set the fastest lap. Chris Amon and Graham Hill joined the team for the two French . Amon had driven Formula 1 races as well as sports car races for Matra for the past two years and quickly accepted the offer to drive for Matra again, as he had a frustrating time in the Formula 1 World Championship with the defeated Tecno PA123B . Graham Hill won the Le Mans 24-hour race with Matra in 1972 and set up his own racing team with Embassy Hill in 1973. It was his first sports car race since the success at Le Mans the year before. Amon and Hill drove the number 3 MS670B. Henri Pescarolo and Gérard Larrousse entered the race in the number 4 car .

Gulf Research reported two Mirage M6s for Derek Bell / Mike Hailwood and Howden Ganley / Vern Schuppan . After a long absence there was another message from Alfa Romeo . Autodelta brought a new Alfa Romeo T33 / TT / 12 with improved aerodynamics and a new 3-liter V12 engine to the track. The gearbox was now installed between the engine and the differential . The drivers were Rolf Stommelen and Andrea de Adamich .

In 1971 , Jo Siffert set the fastest lap in the race in a Porsche 917K in a time of 3: 14.600 minutes. That corresponded to an average of 260.843 km / h. In specialist circles, this time was considered to be a benchmark that could hardly be undercut in sports car races . Many experts were taught better in training. A time hunt began between the four top teams, which ended with a best time of 3: 12.700 minutes for Jacky Ickx in the Ferrari - average speed 263.414 km / h. Henri Pescarolo drove 3: 13.800 minutes in the Matra and Pace in the second Ferrari 3: 15.400 minutes. The two Mirages achieved times between 3: 16,000 and 3: 17,000 minutes. This driving style also claimed its victims. The Matra and Mirage each had an engine failure. Alfa Romeo was hit worse when Andrea de Adamich damaged the T33 / TT / 12 so badly in an accident that it could not be repaired before the start of the race.

In the race, Jacky Ickx took the lead from pole position in the Ferrari , but lost it on the first lap to Henri Pescarolo in Matra. On lap four, Mike Hailwood's Mirage had a flat tire at full speed. Hailwood was able to prevent an accident and bring the Mirage to the boxes safely. On the eleventh lap, the pit stops for the 3-liter vehicles began to refuel. Jacky Ickx was the last to head for the pits in the 14th lap. After the stops, the duel continued at the front. On the 20th lap, Pescarolo's Matra also had a puncture and forced the driver to drive slowly around the course for almost one lap. As a result, the team lost two laps. Amon and Hill's second Matra could not keep up with the pace at the front and retired after 48 laps with engine failure. Both Ferraris lost the possible victory due to defective oil coolers. While the leak in the radiator of the Pace / Merzario car could be closed and the car could continue to drive after the repair, the superior leading Ickx / Redman-312PB was eliminated because all of the oil had leaked and the transmission blocked.

Derek Bell and Mike Hailwood switched to the number 5 Mirage after the flat tire on lap four and achieved the first victory for a Mirage racing car since Jacky Ickx and Dick Thompson's success in the Mirage M1 at Spa in 1967 .

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	S 3.0	5	Gulf Research	Derek Bell Mike Hailwood	Mirage M6	71
2	S 3.0	6th	Gulf Research	Mike Hailwood Howden Ganley Vern Schuppan	Mirage M6	69
3	S 3.0	4th	Matra	Henri Pescarolo Gérard Larrousse Chris Amon	Matra-Simca MS670B	68
4th	S 3.0	2	SEFAC	Carlos Pace Arturo Merzario	Ferrari 312PB	67
5	S 3.0	41	Porsche Stuttgart	Gijs van Lennep Herbert Müller	Porsche Carrera RSR	63
6th	S 2.0	66	Ecurie Bonnier Team GDP	Carlos Santos Carlos Mendoza	Lola T292	62
7th	T	60	BMW Alpina	Hans-Joachim Stuck Niki Lauda	BMW 3.0 CSL	62
8th	T	64	BMW Alpina	Brian Muir Hans-Joachim Stuck	BMW 3.0 CSL	61
9	S 2.0	38	Dinitrol Total	Christine Beckers Roger Dubos	Chevron B21	61
10	GT	40	Porsche Stuttgart	George Follmer Reinhold Joest	Porsche Carrera RSR	60
11	GT	53	Porsche Club Romand	Claude Haldi Bernard Chenevière	Porsche Carrera RSR	57
12	GT	42	Ecurie Francorchamps	Teddy Pilette Richard Bond	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	57
13	S 2.0	21st	Dorset Racing	Tony Birchenhough Lee Kaye	Lola T290	56
14th	GT	46	Oldenkott Tobacco	Clemens Schickentanz John Fitzpatrick	Porsche Carrera RSR	55
15th	S 2.0	23	Ember Racing	John Hine Bob Howlings	Chevron B23	55
16	S 2.0	65	Ecurie Bonnier Team GDP	Carlos Gaspar Jorge Pinhol	Lola T292	52
Failed
17th	S 3.0	3	Matra	Chris Amon Graham Hill Henri Pescarolo	Matra-Simca MS670B	48
18th	S 3.0	1	SEFAC	Jacky Ickx Brian Redman	Ferrari 312PB	37
19th	S 2.0	27	Peter Smith	Peter Smith David Welpton	Chevron B23	28
20th	GT	47	Auto Kremer	John Fitzpatrick Paul Keller	Porsche Carrera RSR	1
21st	S 2.0	26th	Roger Heavens	Roger Heavens Hervé LeGuellec	Chevron B23
22nd	S 2.0	30th	Ian Harrower	Ian Harrower James Bell	Chevron B23
23	S 2.0	31	Ember Racing	Bill de Selincourt John Quick	Chevron B21
24	S 2.0	37	Tony Goodwin	Tony Goodwin Ed McDonough	Dulon LD10
25th	GT	52	Rally Ulm	Eberhard Sindel Wilhelm Siegle	Porsche Carrera RS
26th	S 2.0	62	Promoto	Rafael Barrios José Uriarte	Chevron B21 / 23
27	T	63		Hartmut Kautz Werner Christmann Albrecht Krebs	Ford Capri RS
Not started
28	S 3.0	7th	Auto Delta	Rolf Stommelen Andrea de Adamich	Alfa Romeo T33 / TT / 12	1
29	S 3.0	8th	Equipe Gitanes	Jean-Louis Lafosse Hughes de Fierlant	Lola T282	2
30th	S 2.0	25th	Peter Humble	Peter Humble Martin Raymond	Chevron B23	3
31	S 2.0	35	Abarth Osella	Eusebio Bonjoch Christian Melville	Abarth-Osella PA1	4th
Not qualified
32	S 3.0	9	Automobiles Ligier	Guy Ligier	Ligier JS2	5
33	S 2.0	33	Robert Grant	Robert Grant	Datsun 240Z	6th
34	GT	43	VDS	Teddy Pilette Nino Vaccarella	De Tomaso Pantera	7th
35	GT	44	Dino pizzinato	Dino Pizzinato Nicolas Koob	Alfa Romeo Montreal	8th
36	GT	51	Mille Miglia	Maurice Dantinne	Alpine A110	9
37	T	61	Racing marabout	Jean Xhenceval Willy Braillard	BMW 3.0 CSL	10

¹ Accident during training ² Accident during training ³ Defective flywheel on the introductory lap ⁴ did not start ⁵ not qualified ⁶ not qualified ⁷ not qualified ⁸ not qualified ⁹ not qualified ¹⁰ 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
38	S 3.0	10	Porsche Club Romand	Claude Haldi Juan Fernández	Porsche 908/03
39	S 2.0	20th	Barclays International	Guy Edwards Jim Busby	Lola T292
40	S 2.0	22nd	Hire International Racing	José Juncadella Jorge de Bagration	Chevron B23
41	S 2.0	24	Intertech Steering	Trevor Twaites Brendan McInerney	Chevron B23
42	S 2.0	28	Squadra Tartaruga	Walter Frey Peter Ettmüller	Chevron B19 / 23
43	S 2.0	29	Peter Richardson	Peter Richardson Jeremy Richardson	Chevron B23
44	S 2.0	32	KVG Racing	Bob Wollek Peter Gaydon	Chevron B21
45	S 2.0	34	Hans Baumhardt	Hans Baumhardt Tom Pryce	Royale RP17
46	S 2.0	36	Ecurie Vic Elford	Alain Peltier	March 73S
47	S 2.0	39	M. van Hool	Fredy Grainal	Lola T290
48	GT	45	Gelo Racing	Georg Loos	Porsche Carrera RSR
49	GT	48	Tuerlinx Racing	Chris Tuerlinx Etienne Stalpaert	Chevrolet Corvette
50	GT	49	Grandet ORECA	Cyril Grandet	Porsche 911
51	GT	50	Jean-Louis Haxhe	Jean-Louis Haxhe	De Tomaso Pantera

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
S 3.0	Derek Bell	Mike Hailwood	Mirage M6	Overall victory
S 2.0	Carlos Santos	Carlos Mendoza	Lola T292	Rank 6
GT	George Follmer	Reinhold Joest	Porsche Carrera RSR	Rank 19
T	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Niki Lauda	BMW 3.0 CSL	Rank 7

Racing data

• Registered: 50
• Started: 27
• Valued: 16
• Race classes: 4
• Spectators: 60,000
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 14.100 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 4:05: 43,500 hours
• Overall laps of the winning team: 71
• Total distance of the winning team: 1001.100 km
• Winner's average: 244.444 km / h
• Pole position: Jacky Ickx - Ferrari 312PB (# 1) - 3: 12.700 = 263.415 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Henri Pescarolo - Matra-Simca MS670B (# 3) and (# 4) - 3: 13.400 = 262.461 km / h
• Racing series: 5th round of the 1973 sports car world 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 report at Motorsport Magazine
• Race results at WSPR Racing

Previous race Monza 1000 km race in 1973

Sports car world championship

Succession race Targa Florio 1973