Nine Times at Spa
While most sports can be tried and experienced firsthand, driving a racing car is reserved for very few. Racing is usually seen from a distance, too far to truly understand what it means to drive a car at the limit.
Spa-Francorchamps is a legendary Belgian circuit with a history stretching back to the 1930s. It hosts major events, including the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix. But once a year, in late September, it becomes something else entirely. The circuit turns into a portal back in time: the Spa Six Hours.
It is the only place where you can stand in a dark, rain-soaked pit lane at nine o’clock in the evening and watch a driver change unfold right in front of you. Where you can see someone climb into a loud, fire-spitting machine like a Ford GT40 and roar away from a narrow, old pit lane—exactly as they did sixty years ago, in a time when motorsport felt closer to its fans and easier to understand.
The photographs are also available on Blurb as Premium Magazine.
from my 9 visits to the Spa Six Hours race, between 2014 and 2024
The Ford GT40, capable of reaching 340 km/h in the 1960s. Driving such a machine on a dark, rain-soaked Spa-Francorchamps still requires extraordinary skill.
Spa Six Hours 2024
There is a lot happening. Communication must be simple and clear.
Spa Six Hours 2014
Racing cars evoke memories. People often contemplate them as something more than just machines.
Spa Six Hours 2024
Even though the race lasts six hours, pit stops must be as quick as possible. Everyone knows what to do to minimise time lost in the pit lane.
Spa Six Hours 2021
Motorsport remains dangerous. Grid rituals are often emotional.
Spa Six Hours 2022
The car must be carefully checked and prepared before every race.
Spa Six Hours 2017
A track as long as Spa can be very wet at
La Source and almost dry at Stavelot.
Spa Six Hours 2014
Racing drivers are friends, competing with each other only on the track.
Spa Six Hours 2024
Mechanics get little rest. Every hour goes into working on the car.
Spa Six Hours 2024
The view of Eau Rouge–Radillon from the old pit lane is stunning, but the teams are too busy to enjoy the sight of one of the most famous corners in motorsport.
Spa Six Hours 2014