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1949 24 Hours of Spa

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1953

The layout of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (1947–1956), where the race was held

The 1949 24 Hours of Spa was the 14th running of the 24 Hours of Spa. The race took place from 9 to 10 July 1949 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium.

Report

Schedule

From 6 to 8 July, there were five practice sessions held in the lead up to the race, one on Wednesday (6 July) and two on Thursday and Friday (7 and 8 July). The race began on 9 July at 16:00 CET.

Entry

A grand total of 39 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 30 started the race. Headlining the entries were Luigi Chinetti and Jean Lucas in a Ferrari 166 MM, two factory-entered Aston Martin DB2s and two Delage D6-3Ls from Louis Gérard and Henri Louveau. Gordini arrived with a trio of cars, two Simca-Gordini T15Ss and one Simca-Gordini TMM. H.R.G. brought four S 1.5 class vehicles, one H.R.G. Airline Coupe and three H.R.G. 1500 LWs for Ecurie Lapin Blanc. Although initially reported to be competing in the Spa 24 Hours, the Italian duo of Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi never appeared in any session aboard the Ferrari 166 MM.

Race

The race began at 16:00 CET, where Maurice Trintignant took the lead in his Simca-Gordini T15S. However, the Frenchman ran into electrical problems and handed the lead over to fellow Gordini stablemate, Robert Manzon. After running in second-place for three hours, Luigi Chinetti took the lead from Manzon in his Ferrari 166 MM. Eventually Trintignant's electrical issues led to ignition failure and retirement, while the Capelli brothers (Diego and Ovidio) of Scuderia Ambrosiana failed to repair the axle of their Fiat 1100S within an hour, ending their race. Just 30 minutes from the finish, Henri Louveau was running in second in his Delage D6-3L, when he had oil steam from the six-cylinder engine, dropping it along the 14.12 kilometres (8.77 mi) circuit. Chinetti came upon an oil patch at the Hollowell corner, sliding off the road and collided with a woman spectator and a house. The American rendered aid to the affected before climbing aboard his damaged Ferrari to return to the pits for repairs. The team sent him back out to complete the final two laps and limp home with the victory. Chinetti became the first driver to win at Le Mans and Spa in the same year and, he and teammate Jean Lucas, had a combined age of 79, a record for the oldest two-man crew to win the Spa 24.

Race result

Class winners denoted in bold

Pos.	Class	No.	Team	Drivers	Car	Laps
1	S 2.0	20	Luigi Chinetti Motors	Luigi Chinetti Jean Lucas	Ferrari 166 MM	210
2	S 4.0	8	Henri Louveau	Henri Louveau Edmond Mouche	Delage D6-3L	200
3	S 4.0	14	Aston Martin Cars Ltd.	Charles Brackenbury Leslie Johnson	Aston Martin DB2	204
4	S 2.0	28	Jock Horsfall	Paul Frère Jock Horsfall	Aston Martin Speed Model	202
5	S 2.0	30	Aston Martin Cars Ltd.	Nick Haines Lance Macklin	Aston Martin DB2	197
6	S 1.1	68	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Aldo Bassi Mario Brambilla	Fiat 1100S
7	S 2.0	38	Honoré Wagner	François Sigrand Honoré Wagner	BMW 328
8	S 2.0	40	Herman Roosdorp	Adolf de Ridder Herman Roosdorp	Ferrari 166 MM
9	T 2.0	86	Jowett Cars Ltd.	Anthony Hume Tommy Wisdom	Jowett Javelin
10	S 1.5	44	Ecurie Lapin Blanc	Jack Fairman Eric Thompson	H.R.G. 1500 LW
11	T 4.0	96	Yvonne Simon	Germaine Rouault Yvonne Simon	Delahaye 135CS
12	S 2.0	42		Dickie Stoop Peter Wilson	Frazer Nash
13	S 1.1	70	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Émile Cornet Geremia Merati	Fiat 1100S
14	T 4.0	102	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Charles de Beaufort Carel Godin de Beaufort	Ford V8
15	T 2.0			Nerinckx Van Malder	MG Touring
16	S 1.5	52	Ecurie Lapin Blanc	Ray Brock Bob Freeman Wright	H.R.G. Airline Coupe
17	S 2.0	26	Louis Eggen	François-Joseph Escalle Louis Eggen	Peugeot
18	S 750	80	Healers	Georges Andre L. Delhaes	Aero Minor
19	S 1.5	46	Ecurie Lapin Blanc	André Pilette Jack Scott	H.R.G. 1500 LW
20	S 1.5	48	Ecurie Lapin Blanc	Peter Clark Mortimer Morris-Goodall	H.R.G. 1500 LW
Ret	T 2.0		Jacques Swaters	Jacques Swaters Charles de Tornaco	BMW 328	Did not finish
Ret	S 4.0	4	Franz Breyre	Franz Breyre Trassenster	Delage D6-3L	Did not finish
Ret	S 4.0	6	W. S. Watney	Louis Gérard Pierre Levegh	Delage D6-3L	Did not finish
Ret	S 2.0	22	Roger Laurent	Roger Laurent Unzel	Veritas	Did not finish
Ret	S 2.0	32	Dudley Folland	Dudley Folland Anthony Heal	Aston Martin Speed Model	Did not finish
Ret	S 2.0	34	Marcel Masuy	Marcel Masuy	BMW 328	Did not finish
Ret	S 1.5	58	Amédée Gordini	Yves Giraud-Cabantous Robert Manzon	Simca-Gordini T15S	Did not finish
Ret	S 1.5	60	Amédée Gordini	Maurice Trintignant Pierre Veyron	Simca-Gordini T15S	Ignition
Ret	S 1.1	64	Amédée Gordini	Aldo Gordini José Scaron	Simca-Gordini TMM	Did not finish
Ret	S 1.1	72	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Diego Capelli Ovidio Capelli	Fiat 1100S	Axle
Source:

Statistics

• Fastest Lap - #60 Simca-Gordini T15S

Bibliography

• Blumlein, David (December 2014). The Spa 24 Hours, A History. Transport Bookman Publications. ISBN 9780851840772.