Espíritu de Montjuïc 2018

Words by Keith Bluemel

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya played host to the seventh running of the Espíritu de Montjuïc classic race meeting, this year in conjunction with Peter Auto. This brought a large influx of different cars to the event, with seven of their eight classic grids represented. Normally the weather in this part of Spain is comfortably warm at this time of year, but this year it seemed to be suffering from the poor weather malaise that has affected most of Northern Europe, with a mixture of occasional weak sunshine, mainly overcast skies and showers.

Despite the variable weather, there were plenty of attendees enjoying not only some exciting racing, but also all the attractions that the paddock apron and classic parking area had to offer. These peripheral activities provided something for all ages (similar to last year’s ambience in the above video), ranging from pedal cars and face painting for the very young, through dodgem cars, a vendor area, dance routines to live music, the regular “Arte en Movimiento” (Art in Movement) concours, and an impressive Renault presence, featuring a variety of activities and test drives.

On the Saturday, the main feature of the classic parking area was a large classic Volkswagen, predominantly Beetle, display by the “Amics de Volkswagen de Catalunya”, whilst on the Sunday a group of Alpines, mainly A110 models, descended on the event with a central display in the paddock.

On track there was a twelve race programme, together with practice and qualifying sessions over the course of the three days, thus there was almost constant activity on the circuit. Ten of the races were for classic cars, featuring over 200 cars spread across the different grids, with a further two races for the current Renault Clio Cup Spain series. Apart from a small F2 grid, of only seven cars, all the other grids were well subscribed, including a very healthy 21 car entry in the Group C races, with the likes of Jaguar XJR 8 &13, Porsche 962s, Mercedes-Benz C11 and Peugeot 905.

There was also a pair of new Peter Auto innovation races, “The Greatest’s Trophy”, which featured fifties and sixties cars that competed in the great endurance races of the period, including Alfa Romeo SZ and TZ models, an Aston Martin DB2, a number of 250 GT SWB and 275 GTB Ferraris, Bizzarrinis, a Porsche 718 RSK and a 904 GTS, together with a Maserati 300S.

Apart from some great cars, there were also a number of well known names amongst the competitors, including Porsche legend Jurgen Barth, another Porsche stalwart in GT racing Raymond Narac, Ralf Kelleners and five times Le Mans 24 Hour Race winner Emanuele Pirro, who shared an Alfa Romeo T33/3 and a Lola T290 with the owner of the cars, Gianluca Rattazzi.

After some light rain on the Friday morning, the sun appeared for the rest of the day, and it was a similar situation on Saturday, albeit only being overcast in the morning, but on the Sunday there was quite heavy rain on and off during the morning. This made for “interesting” conditions for the competitors in the qualifying session for the Classic Endurance Racing 2 race, the second races of the weekend for The Greatest’s Trophy and Clio Cup, together with the Heritage Touring Cup and the first race of the afternoon, Classic Endurance racing 1.

As might be expected given the sometimes torrid conditions, there were a number of full course yellows with visitors to the “kitty litter”, which, for the most part, did a good job of slowing the wayward projectiles before they hit anything solid.

All Photos by Keith Bluemel

Race Podiums

The Greatest’s Trophy Race 1

1^st – # 2, V. Gaye, Ferrari 275 GTB/C

2^nd – # 16, M. & L. Halusa, Ferrari 250 GT SWB “Breadvan”

3^rd – # 161, G. Fierro, Maserati 300 S

The Greatest’s Trophy Race 2

1^st – # 2, V. Gaye, Ferrari 275 GTB/C

2^nd – # 52, F. Muelder/C. Traber, Bizzarrini 5300 GT

3^rd – # 161, G. Fierro, Maserati 300 S

Euro F2 Classic Race 1

1^st – # 1, C. Veillard, Ralt RT1

2^nd – # 23, N. Pink, Lola T360 NCRs

Euro F2 Classic Race 2

1^st – # 75, P. Scemama, March 752

2^nd – # 27, M. Stretton, March 742

3^rd – # 1, C. Veillard, Ralt RT1

Group C Racing Race 1

1^st – # 82, M. Lecourt/R. Narac, Porsche 962C

2^nd – # 5, S. Tandy, Spice SE90C

3^rd – # 25, M. Lyons, Gebhardt C91

Group C Racing Race 2

1^st – # 31, K. Lendoudis, Mercedes-Benz C11

2^nd – # 104, P. Scemama, Spice SE89C

3^rd – # 25, M. Lyons, Gebhardt C91

Classic Endurance Racing 1

1^st – #185, G. Lopez/R. Meaden, Lola T70 MkIII B

2^nd – # 70, P. France/E. France, Lola T70 MkIII B

3^rd – # 10, F. Meiners, Chevron B16-BMW

Classic Endurance Racing 2

1^st – #16, P. Lafargue, Lola T298-BMW

2^nd – # 14, M. Devis, TOJ SC 303

3^rd – # 1, B. Eggimann, Cheetah G601-BDG

Clio Cup Spain Race 1

1^st – # 15, D. Pouget

2^nd – # 2, N. Milan

3^rd – # 3, J. Palomeras

Clio Cup Spain Race 2

1^st – # 2, N. Milan

2^nd – # 15, D. Pouget

3^rd – # 85, T. Bossy

Sixties’ Endurance

1^st – # 120, C. Van Riet, Shelby Cobra 289

2^nd – # 50, B. Gill, Shelby Cobra 289

3^rd – # 70, P. & E. France, Shelby Cobra 289

Heritage Touring Cup

1^st – # 63, G. Lopez/R. Meaden, Ford Capri 3100 RS

2^nd – # 6, S. Dance, Ford Capri 2600 RS

3^rd – # 2, C. Van Riet/C. Grifnee, Ford Escort MkI