1985 1000 km of Spa

Layout of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (1981-1993, 1995-2003)

The 1985 1000 km Spa was the seventh round of the 1985 World Endurance Championship. It took place at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium on September 1, 1985. In the first half of the race the two leading drivers collided, which resulted in the death of defending Drivers Champion Stefan Bellof. The race organisers ended the race early, thus allowing the Martini Racing Lancia of drivers Mauro Baldi, Bob Wollek, and Riccardo Patrese to win their only victory of the year. It was also the last victory scored by the Lancia LC2.

Bellof accident[]

The 1000 km of Spa was held only three weeks after Manfred Winkelhock was killed in an accident at the series' previous round, the 1000 km of Mosport. Halfway through the race, defending Drivers Champion Stefan Bellof in the Brun Motorsport Porsche 956 was battling for the race lead with 1982 and 1983 Drivers Champion Jacky Ickx in the Rothmans Porsche 962C. Ickx led Bellof out of the La Source hairpin and down the front stretch into the Eau Rouge corner, starting the 78th lap of the race. Both drivers had only just been handed their cars from their teammates during a pit stop five laps earlier.^[1]

Entering the left kink at the bottom of the hill, Bellof moved to the left of Ickx in an attempt to set up a pass for the immediate right-hander up the hill. Bellof's right front came into contact with Ickx's left rear, and both drivers spun up to the left up the hill, impacting the barriers. Ickx's car hit the wall on the right rear side, while Bellof went straight into the barriers, breaking through and hitting a secondary wall.^[1]^[2] Bellof's Porsche caught fire moments after the wreck.^[3] Ickx, able to climb from his car, attempted to aid safety workers in helping Bellof. During the caution period, members of the Brun team also arrived to aid in the rescue.

Although the fire was extinguished and the driver extracted from the wreckage within forty minutes, Stefan Bellof was pronounced dead only ten minutes later after he had reached the track hospital,^[3] although it was believed that he had actually died on impact.^[2] Out of respect for Bellof, the race organisers chose to end the event earlier than planned. The entire incident was recorded on an in-car camera that Ickx's 962C was carrying. Even after the accident, the camera continued to work, and was pointed in the direction of Bellof's wreckage.^[3]

Official results[]

Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 90% of the winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tyre	Laps
Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Engine	Tyre	Laps
1	C1	5	Martini Racing	Mauro Baldi Bob Wollek Riccardo Patrese	Lancia LC2	M	122
1	C1	5	Martini Racing	Mauro Baldi Bob Wollek Riccardo Patrese	Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8	M	122
2	C1	2	Rothmans Porsche	Hans-Joachim Stuck Derek Bell	Porsche 956	D	122
2	C1	2	Rothmans Porsche	Hans-Joachim Stuck Derek Bell	Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	122
3	C1	7	Joest Racing	Klaus Ludwig Paolo Barilla	Porsche 956B	D	121
3	C1	7	Joest Racing	Klaus Ludwig Paolo Barilla	Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	121
4	C1	4	Martini Racing	Riccardo Patrese Alessandro Nannini	Lancia LC2	M	121
4	C1	4	Martini Racing	Riccardo Patrese Alessandro Nannini	Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8	M	121
5	C1	51	TWR Jaguar	Martin Brundle Mike Thackwell	Jaguar XJR-6	D	120
5	C1	51	TWR Jaguar	Martin Brundle Mike Thackwell	Jaguar 6.0 L V12	D	120
6	C1	8	Joest Racing	Volker Weidler "John Winter" Marc Duez	Porsche 956	D	120
6	C1	8	Joest Racing	Volker Weidler "John Winter" Marc Duez	Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	120
7	C1	34	Cosmik Racing	Christian Danner Costas Los	March 84G	Y	114
7	C1	34	Cosmik Racing	Christian Danner Costas Los	Porsche Type-956 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6	Y	114
8	C1	26	Obermaier Racing Team	Jürgen Lässig Jesús Pareja Hervé Regout	Porsche 956	G	113
8	C1	26	Obermaier Racing Team	Jürgen Lässig Jesús Pareja Hervé Regout	Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6	G	113
9	C2	70	Spice Engineering	Gordon Spice Ray Bellm	Spice-Tiga GC85	A	112
9	C2	70	Spice Engineering	Gordon Spice Ray Bellm	Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	A	112
10	C1	24	Cheetah Automobiles Switzerland	Bernard de Dryver Pierre Dieudonné	Cheetah G604	D	110
10	C1	24	Cheetah Automobiles Switzerland	Bernard de Dryver Pierre Dieudonné	Aston Martin-Tickford 5.3 L V8	D	110
11	C1	10	Porsche Kremer Racing	Marc Surer	Porsche 956	G	108
11	C1	10	Porsche Kremer Racing	Marc Surer	Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6	G	108
12	C2	74	Gebhardt Motorsport	Stanley Dickens Frank Jelinski John Graham	Gebhardt JC853	A	108
12	C2	74	Gebhardt Motorsport	Stanley Dickens Frank Jelinski John Graham	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8	A	108
13	C2	90	Jens Winther Denmark	Jens Winther David Mercer	URD C83	A	108
13	C2	90	Jens Winther Denmark	Jens Winther David Mercer	BMW M88 3.5 L I6	A	108
14	C2	79	Ecurie Ecosse	Mike Wilds David Leslie	Ecosse C285	A	99
14	C2	79	Ecurie Ecosse	Mike Wilds David Leslie	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8	A	99
15	C2	82	Grifo Autoracing		Alba AR3	D	98
15	C2	82	Grifo Autoracing		Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	D	98
16	C2	88	Ark Racing	David Andrews Max Payne Chris Ashmore	Ceekar 83J	A	94
16	C2	88	Ark Racing	David Andrews Max Payne Chris Ashmore	Ford Cosworth BDX 2.0 L I4	A	94
17	C2	95	Roland Bassaler	Dominique Lacaud Gérard Tremblay	Sauber SHS C6	A	94
17	C2	95	Roland Bassaler	Dominique Lacaud Gérard Tremblay	BMW M88 3.5 L I6	A	94
18	C2	105	Jens Nakjaer		Nakjaer	A	91
18	C2	105	Jens Nakjaer		BMW 3.2 L I6	A	91
19	C2	98	Roy Baker Promotions	Paul Smith	Tiga GC285	A	88
19	C2	98	Roy Baker Promotions	Paul Smith	Ford Cosworth BDT 1.8 L Turbo I4	A	88
20	GTX	160	Victor Racing Team	"Victor"	Porsche 935	?	87
20	GTX	160	Victor Racing Team	"Victor"	Porsche Type-930 3.1 L Turbo Flat-6	?	87
21	C1	13	Primagaz Team Cougar	Henri Pescarolo Yves Courage	Cougar C12S	M	87
21	C1	13	Primagaz Team Cougar	Henri Pescarolo Yves Courage	Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Flat-6	M	87
22 NC	B	158	Dieter Oster		BMW M1	D	71
22 NC	B	158	Dieter Oster		BMW M88 3.5 L I6	D	71
23 NC	C2	93	Automobiles Louis Descartes		ALD 01	A	63
23 NC	C2	93	Automobiles Louis Descartes		BMW M88 3.5 L I6	A	63
24 DNF	C2	80	Carma F.F.	Carlo Facetti Martino Finotto Almo Coppelli	Alba AR6	A	95
24 DNF	C2	80	Carma F.F.	Carlo Facetti Martino Finotto Almo Coppelli	Carma FF 1.9 L Turbo I4	A	95
25 DNF	C1	1	Rothmans Porsche	Jochen Mass Jacky Ickx	Porsche 962C	D	77
25 DNF	C1	1	Rothmans Porsche	Jochen Mass Jacky Ickx	Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	77
26 DNF	C1	19	Brun Motorsport	Stefan Bellof Thierry Boutsen	Porsche 956B	D	77
26 DNF	C1	19	Brun Motorsport	Stefan Bellof Thierry Boutsen	Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	77
27 DNF	C1	18	Brun Motorsport	Oscar Larrauri Massimo Sigala	Porsche 956	D	70
27 DNF	C1	18	Brun Motorsport	Oscar Larrauri Massimo Sigala	Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	70
28 DNF	C2	99	Roy Baker Promotions	Jeremy Rossiter Thorkild Thyrring	Tiga GC284	A	53
28 DNF	C2	99	Roy Baker Promotions	Jeremy Rossiter Thorkild Thyrring	Ford Cosworth BDT 1.8 L Turbo I4	A	53
29 DNF	C2	97	Strandell Motors	Anders Olofsson	Strandell 85	A	38
29 DNF	C2	97	Strandell Motors	Anders Olofsson	Porsche Type-934 3.3 L Turbo Flat-6	A	38
30 DNF	C2	100	John Barlett Racing	Richard Jones Max Cohen-Olivar	Chevron B62	A	33
30 DNF	C2	100	John Barlett Racing	Richard Jones Max Cohen-Olivar	Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	A	33
31 DNF	C1	66	EMKA Productions Ltd.	Tiff Needell Steve O'Rourke James Weaver	EMKA C83	D	19
31 DNF	C1	66	EMKA Productions Ltd.	Tiff Needell Steve O'Rourke James Weaver	Aston Martin-Tickford 5.3 L V8	D	19
32 DNF	C1	52	TWR Jaguar	Hans Heyer Jean-Louis Schlesser	Jaguar XJR-6	D	14
32 DNF	C1	52	TWR Jaguar	Hans Heyer Jean-Louis Schlesser	Jaguar 6.0 L V12	D	14
33 DNF	C2	107	Jean-Claude Ferrarin		Isolia 001	A	1
33 DNF	C2	107	Jean-Claude Ferrarin		BMW M12 2.0 L I4	A	1
DNS	C1	14	Richard Lloyd Racing	Jonathan Palmer David Hobbs	Porsche 956 GTi	G	-
DNS	C1	14	Richard Lloyd Racing	Jonathan Palmer David Hobbs	Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6	G	-
DNQ	B	156	Raymond Touroul	Thierry Perrier	Porsche 911SC	P	-
DNQ	B	156	Raymond Touroul	Thierry Perrier	Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6	P	-

Statistics[]

Pole Position - #4 Martini Racing - 2:05.91
Fastest Lap - #1 Rothmans Porsche - 2:10.73
Average Speed - 169.335 km/h

References[]

^ ^a ^b "Motorsport Memorial - Stefan Bellof". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
^ ^a ^b "Drivers: Stefan Bellof". GrandPrix.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
^ ^a ^b ^c "1985 Spa crash Bellof - Ickx". Retrieved 2008-07-01.

"FIA World Endurance Championship 1985 - 1000 km Spa". World Sports Racing Prototypes. 2005-10-02. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
"Spa 1000 Kilometres 1985". Racing Sports Cars. 2006-04-25. Retrieved 2008-07-01.

World Sportscar Championship
Previous race: 1985 1000 km of Mosport	1985 season	Next race: 1985 1000 km of Brands Hatch

[Memorial-1] "Motorsport Memorial - Stefan Bellof". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 2008-07-01.

[GrandPrix.com-2] "Drivers: Stefan Bellof". GrandPrix.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-01.

[Video-3] "1985 Spa crash Bellof - Ickx". Retrieved 2008-07-01.

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v t 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
1970 1976–1981: not held 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991–1998: not held 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
The event would run on a distance of 1,000 km before 2011.