The inaugural race in 1924, known as the 'Grand Prix de Belgique', ran over a 15-kilometer (9.3 mi) circuit on public roads between Francorchamps, Malmedy, and Stavelot. It was held under the auspices of the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium (RACB). Two hundred acetylene lamps were posted around the track, and fireworks were part of the Saturday evening festivities. Henri Springuel and Maurice Becquet won the first edition, averaging 78 km/h in their Bignan 2.0 l, despite rain and fog. The 1927 edition saw Excelsior become the only Belgian manufacturer to win the race, achieving an impressive 1-2 finish in adverse weather conditions.
Several car manufacturers were affected by the world recession, leading to the cancellation of the Spa 24 Hours in 1934, 1935, and 1937. The event was not organized in 1939 due to the gathering dark clouds over Europe. The circuit and facilities were left in disrepair after World War II and the 'Battle of the Bulge'. The race returned in 1948, nine years after its last running, with Aston Martin entering a new DB1, which St John Horsfall and Leslie Johnson drove to victory. In 1949, Luigi Chinetti became the first driver to win both the Spa and Le Mans 24-hour races in the same year. The 1953 race was part of the World Sports Car Championship, with Ferrari and Alfa Romeo sending renowned factory drivers like Ascari, Villoresi, and Fangio. Nino Farina and Mike Hawthorn secured another win for Ferrari.
The Spa 24 Hours was part of the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) from 1966 to 1973, in 1976, and from 1982 to 1988. In 1987, it was part of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship. It also counted towards the World Sports Car Championship in 1953 and the World Endurance Championship in 1981. The 1000 km Spa race for sports cars was introduced in 1966. Cars entered have varied significantly, from the Russian Moskvitch and sub-1 liter models like the NSU Prinz TT to the V8-powered Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3. A Mercedes-AMG tuned 6834 cc, 420 hp (313 kW) “Red pig” finished second in 1971. The current race features cars under the FIA GT3 and GT3 Cup classifications, having previously featured FIA GT Championship GT1 and GT2 machinery.
During the 1929 race, a marshal was killed when a car went off the road, and Freddy Charlier died instantly after his Bugatti Type 43 crashed at Masta. The 1975 race saw two fatalities: Dutch driver Wim Boshuis died in a collision, and a track marshal was killed 30 minutes later after being hit by Belgian driver Alain Peltier. In 2004, Swiss driver Lilian Bryner became the first woman to be part of the winning team of a 24-hour endurance race in a Gran Turismo car with over 500 hp (370 kW), driving a Ferrari 550 for the BMS Scuderia Italia team. The 2020 race was held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2023 race date was rescheduled to early July due to a clash with the Belgian Grand Prix Formula One race.
The Coupe du Roi (King's Cup) is awarded to the manufacturer with the most points accrued by cars of the same make, not necessarily the race winners. For example, Australian car manufacturer Holden won the Coupe du Roi in 1986 despite their cars finishing 18th, 22nd, and 23rd overall.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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