Lamy: 27 years of skill and flair at Spa

The one man on the current WEC 6 Hours of Spa grid who has the longest relationship with the Ardennes rollercoaster is Aston Martin Racing driver Pedro Lamy.

The benchmark performer in the LMGTE Am class is chasing a first FIA WEC title after coming so close in the last four seasons. Although he finished top of the points standings for Larbre Competition in WEC’s first season of 2012 an LMGTE Am crown was not officially recognised then.

For Lamy, Spa is a theatre of speed and determination, and one that he relishes performing on, year in and year out.

“My first race here was in 1990 in Formula Lotus Euroseries against guys like Rubens Barrichello, Gil de Ferran and David Coulthard,” recalls Lamy. “It was a tough competition then and a hard but great circuit to race on. The track was pretty much the same but with less run-off area. Eau Rouge was a great thrill, I remember the first time I took it flat and thinking ‘wow this place is fantastic!’

After racing at Spa in the junior single-seaters series, Lamy’s first Grand Prix at the fabled circuit came in 1995, but he says his best memory was hustling the 1996 Minardi around the track on his way to 10^th place.

“That year we had a nice chassis but the engine was not so good,” says the Portuguese Aston Martin driver. “Of course now that would have been a point but then we got nothing. Still it was a good memory to out-perform several other drivers in better cars that day.”

Lamy’s most notable success at Spa came in 2007 when he and Stephane Sarrazin won the Le Mans Series race for Peugeot.

“That car was special, a real challenge around here but magic to drive,” says Lamy. “We won the race that year on the way to the title so it was very nice as we also won two other races.”

Lamy, who is chasing a hat-trick of LMGTE Am wins with teammates Mathias Lauda and Paul Dalla Lana this weekend, ranks his recent performances and results as high as any in his 27 year career and over 20 visits to Spa.

“What we have achieved in the #98 Aston Martin has been special too,” he says. “We all love racing here at Spa. So far we have pole but the race will be very tough. You never take a good result at Spa and not deserve to.”