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Sunny Prologue
Bikers' Classics 2008, Day 1.
At last! The event long awaited by fans of classic motor bikes has gotten under way. And with what style!
Ever since last evening, the nearly 800 drivers participating in the events – the 4 Hours of Spa Classics and GP Parade – have taken over the stalls of Spa-Francorchamps. This year the high power entries of the GP Parade were shown off in the Endurance stalls in the straightaway preceding the mythical Raidillon. For their part, the endurance bikes participating in the 4 Hours of Spa Classic were located in the F1 stalls. Another modification compared to previous years: a new stall area for demonstration bikes was opened behind the grandstand of the straightaway of the F1 parking positions: there were so many drivers that additional space was needed!
All day long, the production run bikes that so many generations dreamed about brought sparkle to the eyes of spectators and participants. The 7 demonstration series took Francorchamps by storm under conditions of radiant sunshine! Yamaha, Norton, Ducati, Laverda, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, BMW, Seeley, Harris, Martin and so many other great names all came together on the Spa asphalt.
The 4 Hours of Spa Classic qualifying sessions were held among these series, a test that allowed us to experience once again the golden age of endurance races. According to the competitors themselves, the track is exceptional. The bikes are superb and the times were excellent: 9 teams were qualified with a time under 3 minutes! All of this took place in a relaxed atmosphere which put the accent on mutual assistance and fraternity between the teams.
Despite an engine which locked during the first qualifying session, it was Richard Hubin and Patrick Chavanne’s Good Old Bikes team which took the lead position. Second place in the ranking went to Rob North’s Triumph team which encountered a number of technical problems during the night session and which nearly failed to make the mandatory three circuits per driver. The podium of winners was rounded out by the team P+M F1 Kawasaki, with a bike driven by Lea Gourlay and Clark James.
The public was already very numerous on Friday and thoroughly enjoyed itself during this first day. The quality of the show reached a crescendo by Sunday: so many arrived! As is customary, the Bikers' Classics was seen as the biking event of the year that you just cannot miss!
