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The 2011 Boucles de Spa was won by the Mk 1 Escort of Stefan Stouf, with Bjorn Waldegard finishing second, also in an Escort. Eight-times winner Patrick Snijers came home third in a Porsche 911 SC RS, built on a 1982 chassis.
The organisers’ assertion that dry weather had hardened the ground to machine breaking stiffness seems a touch far fetched. Tarmac is about as stiff as it gets, but a competitive Tarmac event rarely takes a field of 185 starters down to 103 finishers over two days, as happened in the 53rd running of the Boucles de Spa.
It was also disappointing to see Snijers – previously a winner in a Tuthill Porsche – lose time as the victim of an alternator belt failure early on. Reliability is the basic premise of any rally entry, so what a let down to hear of Porsche retirements for Droogmans, Dumas, Van de Poele and Kelders.
The 300+ bhp Escorts are always formidable rivals, but a reliable 911 with a decent driver should still give an Escort a seriously hard time on a Tarmac/gravel event like the Boucles. Maybe we should look at another entry there in 2012 if everyone else is going to go home early!
Here’s some video for you to watch – features crazy spectators in the middle of the road, as ever. One of the days they’ll come unstuck and that’ll be the end of the Boucles de Spa.
