29.05.15 Close finish for Wolfgang Kaufmann at the Spa Classic

Race stoppage prevents a podium result in the CER Series.

The Spa Classic is one of the fixtures on the European historic racing calendar. Fascinating cars and exciting race action all around the 7 kilometer track in Spa-Francorchamps provide a colourful spectacle throughout the weekend. Wolfgang Kaufmann, himself an active racer since 1980, was among the many professional drivers who took part, 2015 he drove in two series.

In the „Sixties Classic“, Kaufmann again had the privilege to get behind the wheel of Siamak Sassi's Jaguar E-Type. In qualifying, he put the 1963 vintage coupé on the excellent 5th grid position, in among the AC Cobras with their significantly more powerful V8 engines. In his class, the man from Molsberg was the fastest driver by a long way. Sadly, Kaufmann/Siassi were unable to turn this good starting position into a creditable result. Only five laps into the race, Siassi had to stop the E-Type at the side of the track with a technical problem.

His second car for the weekend brought Kaufmann more track time, but also more work, in the CER (Classic Endurance Series). Afschin Fatemi's 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR proved a difficult car to set up for the Ardennes rollercoaster. „Between free practice, qualifying, and the race, we kept trying to optimise the car in a number of areas“, Kaufmann explained the work process, „we also worked with different tyre constructions, diagonal and radial tyres, to get the most out of the car.“

In spite of a persistant oversteer that made the Porsche's rear end particularly light, Kaufmann/Fatemi managed to improve their times by roughly five seconds over the course of the weekend which in qualifying amounted to 4th place in class on the starting grid.

Kaufmann took the start of the 60 minute race with a mandatory pitstop. A podium position was within the teams reach until a less than perfect stop set the car back to 4th place. Good lap times brought Kaufmann/Fatemi back in contention for a Top 3 finish; with only two laps to go, however, their progress was halted. Race control brought out the red flag and ended the race early which also put an end to the team's final attack. „Even though we had the least powerful car in our class, we were able to keep up rather well. It is a pity that the race was stopped early, we definitely would have made the podium“, Kaufmann sums up the weekend.

Over the next weeks, he will continue in a classical vein, beginning with the next round of the CER Series at Dijon in France. The professional driver will also take part in the classic support race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving the Jaguar E-Type.