We’re off to the Total 24 Hours of Spa with Swedish lion Stefan Johansson
By Straight-Six, published on 23 July 2011
We’ve been here recently, haven’t we? Indeed, the Guide was racing its little Michelins off at Spa-Francorchamps only months ago at a glorious track day organised by BookaTrack. But that was for fun, folks. Kids play – literally. A little time in the sandbox and all that.
We’ve now been invited to savour Spa through the equivalent of drinks at the bar with the big boys, courtesy of the lion of Sweden, Stefan Johansson. He’s joined United Autosports (an Anglo-American team) which is having another crack at the historic 24-hour race at one of the world’s finest tracks by fielding no less than three Audi R8 LMS.
Having started racing in F2 back in 1981 (when your editors were a mere 8 years old…), Johansson went on to podium finishes in F1 before moving into long-distance racing culminating in his winning Le Mans in 1997. He also finished 4th in Daytona in 2005. And what is he deciding to do at the ripe old age of 54? Yet another 24-hour race. Respect.
And who, might you ask, is driving United Autosports’ metal steeds in this year’s 24H race? Well, here’s the car/driver breakdown:
Car #11: Matt Bell (GB) / Mark Blundell (GB) / Eddie Cheever (USA) / Mark Patterson (USA)
Car #12: Alain Li (F) / Arie Luyendyk (NL) / Richard Meins (GB) / Henri Richard (F)
Car #23: Zak Brown (USA) / Richard Dean (GB) / Johnny Herbert (GB) / Stefan Johansson (SE)
Now, we’re a bit divided over the looks of the Audi R8 here at Prodigal Towers, with Straight-Six unconvinced while the Fool loves it. But there’s no denying that the cars that drive in the FIA GT3 class are brutes. With iron bars. Just look at those rear wings, fer chrissakes! And while the R8 LMS sports the now familiar 493 horsepower V10 engine, it’s rear-wheel drive only given GT3 regulations prohibit the use of four-wheel drive. We like that regulation. A lot.
So, after having had two cars nab 9th and 10th place overall in the 2010 Total 24 Hours of Spa, it’s clear United Autosports and Johansson believe they’ve got a serious chance of a podium finish or two this year.
And there’s more. Johansson is planning on outfitting himself and members of his team with Stefan Johansson timepieces, racing inspired watches that the Swede designs himself and manufactures in Switzerland. “Until you actually drive a modern racing car it is hard to comprehend how violent the environment inside the car is,” according to Johansson. He should know.
We’’ll be watching and whooping for you, Stefan. We really will.
NOTE: the Total 24 Hours of Spa 24H will begin at 1600 CET on Saturday July 30.
For more information on the race: www.total24hours.com
For more information on Johansson’s timepieces: www.stefanjohansson.com
We’re off to the Total 24 Hours of Spa with Swedish lion Stefan Johansson
We’ve been invited to savour the Spa race track through the equivalent of drinks at the bar with the big boys, courtesy of the lion of Sweden, Stefan Johansson. He’s joined United Autosports (an Anglo-American team) which is having another crack at the historic 24-hour race at one of the world’s finest tracks by fielding no less than three Audi R8 LMS.
