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 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 Team Drivers Car Laps 1S2.020 Luigi Chinetti Motors Luigi Chinetti Jean LucasFerrari 166 MM210 2S4.08 Henri Louveau Henri Louveau Edmond MoucheDelage D6-3L200 3S4.014 Aston Martin Cars Ltd. Charles Brackenbury Leslie Johnson Aston Martin DB2204 4S2.028 Jock Horsfall Paul Frère Jock HorsfallAston Martin Speed Model202 5S2.030 Aston Martin Cars Ltd. Nick Haines Lance MacklinAston Martin DB2197 6S1.168 Scuderia Ambrosiana Aldo Bassi Mario BrambillaFiat 1100S 7S2.038 Honoré Wagner François Sigrand Honoré WagnerBMW 328 8S2.040 Herman Roosdorp Adolf de Ridder Herman RoosdorpFerrari 166 MM 9T2.086 Jowett Cars Ltd. Anthony Hume Tommy WisdomJowett Javelin 10S1.544 Ecurie Lapin Blanc Jack Fairman Eric ThompsonH.R.G. 1500 LW 11T4.096 Yvonne Simon Germaine Rouault Yvonne SimonDelahaye 135CS 12S2.042 Dickie Stoop Peter WilsonFrazer Nash 13S1.170 Scuderia Ambrosiana Émile Cornet Geremia MeratiFiat 1100S 14T4.0102 Carel Godin de Beaufort Charles de Beaufort Carel Godin de BeaufortFord V8 15T2.0 Nerinckx Van MalderMG Touring 16S1.552 Ecurie Lapin Blanc Ray Brock Bob Freeman WrightH.R.G. Airline Coupe 17S2.026 Louis Eggen François-Joseph Escalle Louis EggenPeugeot 18S75080 Healers Georges Andre L. DelhaesAero Minor 19S1.546 Ecurie Lapin Blanc André Pilette Jack ScottH.R.G. 1500 LW20S1.548 Ecurie Lapin Blanc Peter Clark Mortimer Morris-GoodallH.R.G. 1500 LW RetT2.0 Jacques Swaters Jacques Swaters Charles de TornacoBMW 328Did not finish RetS4.04 Franz Breyre Franz Breyre TrassensterDelage D6-3LDid not finish RetS4.06 W. S. Watney Louis Gérard Pierre LeveghDelage D6-3LDid not finish RetS2.022 Roger Laurent Roger Laurent UnzelVeritasDid not finish RetS2.032 Dudley Folland Dudley Folland Anthony HealAston Martin Speed ModelDid not finish RetS2.034 Marcel Masuy Marcel MasuyBMW 328Did not finishRetS1.558 Amédée Gordini Yves Giraud-Cabantous Robert ManzonSimca-Gordini T15SDid not finishRetS1.560 Amédée Gordini Maurice Trintignant Pierre VeyronSimca-Gordini T15SIgnitionRetS1.164 Amédée Gordini Aldo Gordini José ScaronSimca-Gordini TMMDid not finishRetS1.172 Scuderia Ambrosiana Diego Capelli Ovidio CapelliFiat 1100SAxleSource:

Statistics

Fastest Lap - #60 Simca-Gordini T15S

References

Bibliography