We returned to Spa Francorchamps in 2019 hoping for a more relaxing & rewarding Spa experience than we had in 2018. We arrived in Belgium with the same driver lineup as the previous year, Philip Walker, Gordon Shedden & our own Miles Griffiths, confident of improving on our third place last year.

Learning from our experience in 2018 & our hugely improved grid position it helped us to devise a much for attacking strategy. Starting from sixth position after a steady if not spectacular pace shown in qualifying, we were sure we could be a huge factor in the race.

Saturday afternoon & cars were beginning to make their way to the grid. A total of 14 GT40’s were starting the race & held the top 10 spots on the grid. Underlining just how competitive this historic enduro was going to be.

The start of the 2019 “6” hour race began in damp conditions and in a very rare occurrence started at 3.55pm, the scheduled start time. This had teams up & down the pit lane scrambling and reevaluating fuel calculations & strategy calls to suit what this year would actually be a 6 hour race. In the recent past it has very rarely been above 5 & a half hours.

Gordon Sheddon was in charge of the opening stint of the race and as the lights went green he managed to go from sixth to second by the completion of lap 1. During lap 2 he managed to pass last years winner Nico Verdonck and managed to gap the field with some very consistent & quick lap times.

Gordon brought the car in to hand over to Philip Walker, who was ready to take on a strategic short stint. Unfortunately for Philip his short stint was marred by a relatively lengthy safety car period. Philip stuck to task and showed some decent pace when we were back under racing conditions which were still tricky due to the weather.

Stint 3 was in the hands of Miles. A long stint of 140 minutes lay ahead, and it again consisted of consistently quick lap times over the lengthy stint while ensuring the car remained in near perfect condition heading in to the last 2 hours of the race, looking after brakes, gearbox & engine. Fuel calculations were frantically taking place as to when the critical lap was that we could fuel & make it home.

Gordon reentered the car & fuelled the car to get to the finish……. we hoped. This is where the full length race would really test the strategy we used. As cars fell by the wayside with various drama’s and a final safety car period of the race came to an end, Gordon maintained & then extended our lead & as the chequered flag greeted us at 9.55pm following 6 hours, 107 laps, 466 Miles, 300+ litres of fuel, 3 drivers, 2 fuel stops, 1 winner…….. we had done it. We had lead the race from lap 2 to the chequered flag, from the daylight into the pure darkness & won in the end by a margin of 3 laps. 

Hi-Tech were winners of the biggest & most competitive historic endurance race in the world, something we are very proud of. 

To get any car to the end of a six hour race is a huge achievement. To get a Ford GT40 to the end of a six hour race is an even bigger feat (proven by the fact that only 4 of the 14 finished in 2019) To get a Ford GT40 to the chequered flag in two consecutive years with two podiums is testament to the hard work & dedication of everyone at Hi-Tech Motorsport and the level of preparation we strive for.