Spa Francorchamps (B) home
SpaItalia 2007

2. june 2007

This was the second time ITR attended the annual SpaItalia event at Spa Francorchamps. The last time was in 2003, when the team manager went alone. This time Audi-driver Søren Bærholm (CEO of Enthusiastic Touring) and Renault-driver Simon Nielsen (CEO of Beautiful Design) went along and obviously the trio used the opportunity to taste some belgian beer!

Team entrants:

Per Einarsson - Alfa Romeo 2000 GT Veloce (1972)
Best lap time 3:44

Simon Nielsen - CEOBD - Spectator and photo/video
Søren Bærholm - CEOET - Spectator and photo/video

Simon Nielsen, Per Einarsson and Søren Bærholm ready to set out from Denmark The Bertone GT of Per Einarsson ran perfectly after a serious tune-up at the ITR Workshops
In Aachen at Eidner & Unger Alfa, collecting a new rear axle with a fresh limited-slip differential Driving on the german Autobahn means getting used to traffic piling up all the time
Finally in Belgium with Biere Trappiste en masse - here the trio has found a nice corner in Brussels Simon Nielsens 1.2 litre Renault Clio did a tremendous job and never missed a beat on the long journey
A small belgian rural town in the Ardenne hills is perfect for a photo shoot Taking photos in the setting sun before returning the the city of Spa
The Spa Francorchamps circuit is surrounded by small towns with interesting cars every evening The engine head is re-torqued before the big test at Spa Francorchamps as instructed by the mechanic
Check-in for the SpaItalia event was a bit scary when the car wasn't on the entry list - at first The blue racer is parked in the Alfa Romeo Parque Fermé alongside equal italian beauties
A lot of exciting cars were tried out on the track- among them some serious racing machines A race-prepared ferrari 308 looking extremely mean on black rims and fat tires
A beautiful Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France (TdF) was the forerunner of the famous 250 GT family Also known as 250 GT LWB (long wheelbase) the 250 won the french road race a couple of years
Very stylish Maserati 3200 GT speeding through Pouhon in a somewhat tight race line A pre-war Alfa Romeo 6C2500 excibited at the Belgian Alfa Owner's Club
A replica of the Maserati 5000 GT Le Mans prototype Special display of Maserati racers - the cars were taken on and off the track all through the event
Alfa Romeo galore - the powerful GTAs were very well suited for the fast track as was demonstrated All the special types were there - here a proud owner of an Alfa Romeo SZ explains about his V6 3-litre
UK tuner Autodelta brought with them a couple of their smartest and fastest cars - insane The hills of Spa Francorchamps a awesome - The elevation is extreme for a modern GP circuit
A young Luxembourger had just bought a race-prepared Betone GT in very eyecatching livery The pit exit road went through the old pitlane on the hill towards Eau Rouge - an Alfa Romeo GTA
Simon Nielsen and Søren Bærholm checks out a trio of Bertone GTs ready for the Saturday SPaItalia Rally Alfa Romeo Brera accelerating away from the hairpin at La Source with almost unnatural grace and grunt
A very loud Lamborghini Diablo SV-R driven by test-driver Balboni from Bologna There were some italian motorbikes as well - but not as many as could be expected - they didn't race
Eau Rouge looks easi but is quite tricky - how do you end up out there? Eau Rouge taken fast by a convoy of italian cars - for high speed you have to go more to the right
The "Eau Rouge" is a tiny creeks that runs under the track at the very bottom of the hill Several cars had offs during the long day and officials had a very easy-going attitude towards safety
Ferrari F355 oversteer - any hot-head with a helmet and an entry sticker could just go and have fun A very fast Ferrari F40 made lasting impressions on everybody - such a stunning car
Ferrari racers based on higly tuned 355 engines and build to a special formula Spectators could buy themselves a couple of laps in the passenger seat in the Ferrari Racers
Part of the Ferrari car park A supporting race featured this Gordini among other special non-italian cars
And another supporting race had all kinds of american muscle cars This very noisy GTV6 was one of the fastest cars on the track
Stylish Ferrari 308 GT4 Dino - many beautiful GT and limousine cars were paraded on the circuit The Lancia Delta Integrale car park - lunatic petrol heads
Maserati 250F long-nose in the central display - a true classic and always a stunner Maserati 250S 6-cylinder sportsracer preparing for another sortie on the track
The car ran very nice and sounded awsome A 3-litre Maserati 300S 6-cylinder
Pit-out with helmets meant serious business A Maserati Mexico negotiates the tight La Source hairpin in real GT-man style
A mean an low Maserati Merak always attracts attention Two nice Alfa Romeo Montreals in the Alfa car park
The new chicane that has taken over from the famous Bus-stop section The team manager discusses "goods and greats" of Alfa Bertone with the Luxembourg driver
The Bertone GT lined up for "Scuderia" track-driving The satisfied owner ...
Søren Bærholm takes the passenger seat Simon Nielsen agrees to stay behind and watch the spectacle from the pit wall
Are we ready? Yes we are - bring it on!
Diving down into the Eau Rouge Section with engine noise bouncing off the walls Coming out of La Source
Søren Bærholm enjoys the beautiful aestetics of a Maserati 3500 GT from around 1960 The Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 is still a very good bargain - and a very handsome one as well
Saving an oversteering Maserati Shamal can be quite a handful - this one went well The Testarossa is not just about posing - it has a very potent 5-litre 12-cylinder and a nice sound
The Boss finds evidence of Formula 1 The track is very wonderful to drive but takes a lot of hard braking and has long fast sweepers
After piting in with nearly no brakes left at all - the team boss is very satisfied