 | |
 | |
| FIA World Endurance Championship | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps |
| First race | 1953 |
| First FIA WEC race | 2012 |
| Duration | 6 hours |
| Most wins (driver) | Jacky Ickx Sébastien Buemi (5) |
| Most wins (team) | Toyota Gazoo Racing (7) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Ferrari Porsche (10) |
The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps) is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races followed. As on the Nürburgring, both a 24-hour race for touring cars and GTs is held, and an endurance race for sports cars and GTs. The 24 hour race counted towards the inaugural World Sports Car championship in 1953, the last time that race would be held until 1964, and the last time it was for sports cars for several decades. Earlier in 1953 a minor sports car race, the Coupe de Spa was the first race held in the lineage of the 1000 km (now 6 hour) race. [1] The first Spa Grand Prix was held in 1954, [2] and in 1963 joined the World Sportscar Championship and was extended to 500 km. Starting in 1966 the name Spa Grand Prix was no-longer used, [2] and the race was run for 1000 km, following the 1000 km Nürburgring and 1000 km Monza. Due to safety problems on the traditional long and very fast 14 km track over public roads, the race was discontinued after 1975.
The 1000 km race was resumed in 1982 after the track was made safer by shortening it to 7 km. In 1989 and 1990, the race distance was lowered to 480 km. Due to the decline of the WSC, the "1000km" was discontinued after 1990 even before the WSC closed.
The race was revived in 1999, as a part of the SportsRacing World Cup (the predecessor to the FIA Sportscar Championship), running to a 2-hour, 30 minute time limit. In 2003, the 1000 km race was resumed as a joint event of the FIA SCC with the British GT Championship. In 2004, it was part of the Le Mans Series (LMS), and in 2011 was also part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. From 2012 onwards the race has been part of the FIA World Endurance Championship, albeit in the format of a six-hour race.
Jacky Ickx currently holds record of most wins, having won the race 5 times, in 1967, 1968, 1974, 1982, and 1983. He is also one of two drivers to win the 1000 km on both the original and current circuits, the other being Derek Bell.
RecordsWins by constructor
Wins by engine manufacturer
Drivers with multiple wins
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The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, informally referred to as Spa, is a 7.004 km (4.352 mi) motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about 8 km (5.0 mi) southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has held a Grand Prix every year since 1985 except 2003 and 2006.  Stefan Bellof was a German racing driver. Bellof was the winner of the Drivers' Championship in the 1984 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving for the factory Rothmans Porsche team. His lap record on the Nordschleife configuration at the Nürburgring, set while qualifying for the 1000 km race in 1983, stood for 35 years, when it was beaten by Timo Bernhard in 2018. He also competed in Formula One with Tyrrell Racing during 1984 and 1985. Bellof was killed in an accident during the 1985 1000 km of Spa, a round of the 1985 World Sportscar Championship.  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He is a Mercedes-AMG factory driver since 2008 & brand ambassador since 2017. The 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series season was the third season of the Blancpain Endurance Series. The season commenced on 14 April at Monza and ended on 22 September at the Nürburgring. The season featured five rounds, with each race lasting for a duration of three hours besides the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 1000 km Nürburgring events.  The Debora LMP296 was a Le Mans Prototype, built by Debora Automobiles in 1996 for use in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car was originally entered with a 2-litre turbocharged Cosworth straight-four engine, but several other engines were used in the car's three-year career. Two cars are known to have been built. In conjunction with the LMP297, the car helped Waterair Sport to the International Sports Racing Series SR2 Team's Championship in 1998. The LMP296 was updated into the LMP299 for 2000.  The Ascari A410 was a Le Mans Prototype built by Ascari Cars in 2000. The car, which was based on the Lola T92/10 Group C racing car, featured a 4-litre Judd GV4 V10 engine, and was used in European and international sports car racing events. In 2002, it was renamed as the Ascari KZR-1. The Rapier 6 was a sports prototype racing car built by LM3000 in 1999. It used a 3-litre Nissan V6 engine, and Team Sovereign ran the car in the FIA Sportscar Championship. The car achieved moderate success, and Team Sovereign retired it at the end of the 2003 season, after the series folded. In 2011, it reappeared in the Britcar series, being driven by Mike Millard. References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1000km Spa .
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