DHG Racing performed excellently during the Spa Classic. On the Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, no fewer than three podium finishes and one victory were achieved across five races, as David Hart’s team continued its strong start to the season.
The Courage C60 LMP1 had already proven to be a potent weapon earlier this season, and David Hart once again showed at Spa-Francorchamps that he and the French prototype are a formidable combination. After qualifying second, David survived a very chaotic first race characterised by multiple crashes and safety car periods, and seemed destined for second place behind the Panoz GTR-1 of Olivier Galant. However, the Frenchman received a penalty after the race, allowing DHG Racing to celebrate the victory.
In the second race, David dealt with the Panoz, after which the black Courage took the lead of the race following the mandatory pit stops. The pace improved with every lap, but David could not prevent the experienced Christian Glasel from passing in his MG to take the win. Nevertheless, with a class victory and second place overall in the enormous field, David could still be very satisfied.
In the Group C class, David qualified only sixteenth due to gearbox problems, just behind McLaren F1 team principal Zak Brown. It soon became clear in the first race that this did not reflect the true speed of the Lola T92-10. Within a few laps, David was on course for a podium and also set the fastest lap. However, with just a few minutes remaining, things went wrong at the “Bus Stop” chicane and David retired.
He made up for that missed opportunity in the second race, where David again started outside the top ten but quickly dived into the top three once more. This time he was able to capitalise on the speed, and the Lola finished second behind Kriton Lendoudis in a Mercedes C11.
David and Olivier Hart shared the Lola T70 MK3B in the Classic Endurance Racing 1 class. In the 62-car field, the duo qualified strongly in second, an excellent starting position for the one-hour race held on Sunday. A strong start for Olivier ensured that second position remained in the hands of the DHG Lola, but after a few laps, it became clear that the green British sports car was not completely healthy. A gearbox problem manifested itself and hampered progress to such an extent that the race was over for the team after just three laps.
That disappointment, however, did not detract from the fact that the Spa Classic, one of the most enjoyable events of the season, was a great success for DHG Racing and has only further strengthened the foundation for the rest of the season.