The start of the season at Sebring has left a huge ‘void’ in the WEC as cars and material returned to Europe. Nevertheless, The Endurance World Championship is active again with the dispute of the 6 Hours of Spa. The traditional appointment prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans is drawing more interesting than ever after Alpine’s victory in the opening appointment. Toyota is thirsty for ‘revenge’ and will seek a soothing victory. The fight in LMP2, LMGTE-Pro and LMGTE-Am promises to be as intense as ever.
At this point, few new things can be said about Spa. The Belgian track, 7,004 meters long, is a huge challenge for drivers and teams due to the great difference between the curves of the intermediate sector and the high-speed areas that define the rest of the circuit. To its 20 angles, among which are ‘Eau Rouge’, ‘Pouhon’ or the ‘Bus Stop’, we must add the enormous variability of the climatecapable of passing in minutes from the deepest heat to the strongest rain. Different track conditions they complicate everything, even if the test is held in May.
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The first event of the year in Sebring left a surprising result. The fact of not seeing Toyota win already is, but just seeing one of its crews on the podium draws a strange scenario. André Negrao, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Nicolás Lapierre achieved victory in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring with the Alpine #36, while the Glickenhaus #708 slipped into the podium due to the accident of ‘Pechito’ López with the Toyota #7. The duel to four is served in the Ardennes with the new ‘BoP’ applied by ACO.
Although United Autosports scored the LMP2 victory at Sebring, lThe equality that exists in the second World Cup category leaves a long list of prototypes capable of winning in Spa. At least seven Oreca 07-Gibson start with real options to win. The two prototypes from United Autosports, the two from WRT or the two from JOTA are perhaps the strongest, without forgetting the Oreca of the Prema team or the prototype of Team Penskeeven if both teams are still adjusting to the category.
No surprises in LMGTE-Procategory in which the duel between Ferrari, Porsche and Corvette, with two cars per brand except in the case of the American firm, the other point of interest is LMGTE-Am. The chaotic amateur category left an interesting race at Sebring two months ago, with NorthWest AMR’s Aston Martin winning with Paul Dalla Lana, Nicki Thiim and David Pittard. Following Aston Martin ‘customer-teams’ GTE double, Ferrari and Porsche teams are expected to respond at Spa.
Schedules of the 6 Hours of Spa of the WEC 2022
Photos: Alpine Endurance Team