SPA - Maserati 250F Round 4 - Spa-Francorchamps

A road course made for commitment

Spa-Francorchamps, in its long public-road form through the Ardennes, provided a severe setting for the fourth round of the Maserati 250F Championship. Its long fast stretches, changing levels and scant margin for error asked much of the twenty starters over 15 laps and 211.8 kilometres. All were armed with Maserati 250Fs, and the early order gave little indication that any one of the principal men would be allowed an easy afternoon.

Knechtel, Masse and FMG were soon drawn into the front-running argument, with Adam Celárek never far removed. The race was not settled by one decisive break but by a succession of changes among the leaders. Indeed, the first seven laps alone brought six alterations at the head of the field, as each of the principal contenders found his turn in front and then had to defend it.

Knechtel and Masse exchange the advantage

The central contest was between Knechtel and Masse. From the second lap until the twelfth they were repeatedly within two seconds of one another, and neither could establish a permanent claim to command. Masse held the advantage early, but Knechtel moved ahead by the end of lap four. The Frenchman reclaimed it a lap later, only for Knechtel to return to the front before half-distance.

The order continued to swing. Masse again led at the end of lap eight and once more after lap 11, but Knechtel's final successful move came by lap 13. Thereafter he retained the position to the flag, completing all 15 laps and taking the race by 4.721 seconds.

It was a useful victory in more than the immediate sense. Masse had arrived at Spa-Francorchamps leading Knechtel by eight points. The Frenchman remains at the head of the Championship, but Knechtel's success has brought him to 109 points against Masse's 114, reducing the margin to five with two rounds remaining.

Celárek wins the last podium place

Behind the first two, Celárek and FMG conducted a separate but closely related struggle for the final place on the rostrum. Their positions changed repeatedly: Celárek was ahead at the end of lap seven, FMG answered on the next lap, and the Czech driver recovered the advantage again by the end of lap nine. The pair remained in contention with Masse and Knechtel as a compact leading group through the latter part of the race.

FMG got ahead once more before the last lap, but Celárek won back third place when it mattered and reached the flag third. Masse, secure in second after his long contest with Knechtel, had only 0.058 seconds in hand over Celárek. The latter's fastest lap, a 4:11.222, was further evidence of the pace available in the fight for the podium. FMG followed in fourth, having been a conspicuous part of the race for much of its distance.

Stevenson restores his afternoon

Nat Stevenson supplied the most effective recovery among the leading finishers. He was as low as 11th after the second lap, but worked steadily back through the order and came home fifth. Jordi Sumoy, Mika Hakala, Marc Orós, Max Solmyr and Marko Ristic followed him among the full-distance runners, but the principal story lay at the front, where the changing order had kept the issue unsettled deep into the race.

For Masse, second place was a sound defensive result after being engaged in the lead fight from the outset. Yet Knechtel had been the driver who made the final gain, converting persistence in a crowded and fluctuating contest into a victory of real Championship value.