For a decade, Spa-Francorchamps has been the scene of the final dress rehearsal for Le Mans. In its long history of endurance racing, the circuit of the Ardennes has seen victories by former and future winners of the 24 Hours.

From 1963 to 1975 competitors raced over a 14 km course. After seven years of absence, endurance racing returned to the Belgian Ardennes in 1982 on a new 7 km circuit with the advent of Group C prototypes. After another gap from 1991 to 2003, Spa-Francorchamps has become like Sebring and Petit Le Mans, one of the unmissable events of the revival of endurance racing.

Throughout this saga, this great event has been run in different formats (500 km, 1000 km, 480 km, 6 hours). The eighteen drivers in the list below have managed to win both in the Belgian Ardennes and Le Mans. Four of them will be at the start of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps WEC on the 4th of May or the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship 2013: Tom Kristensen (Audi R18 e-tron quattro No.2) Marc Gené (Audi R18 e-tron quattro No.3), Alexander Wurz (Toyota TS030 Hybrid No.7) and Romain Dumas (Porsche 911 RSR No.2).

Tom Kristensen (Denmark) : Eight victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1997-2000-2001-2002-2003-2004-2005-2008) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (2003)
Jacky Ickx (Belgium) : Six victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1969-75-76-77-81-82) and five at Spa-Francorchamps (1967-68-74-82-83)
Derek Bell (UK) : Five victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1975-81-82-86-87) and three at Spa-Francorchamps (1973-75-87)
Henri Pescarolo (France) : Four victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1972-73-74-84) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (1975)
Alexander Wurz (Austria) : Two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1996-2009) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (2011)
Ludovico Scarfiotti (Italy) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1963) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (1966)
Pedro Rodriguez (Mexico) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1968) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (1971)
Jackie Oliver (UK) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1969) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (1971)
Johnny Dumfries (UK) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1988) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (1987)
Jochen Mass (Germany) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1989) and three at Spa-Francorchamps (1982-83-90)
Martin Brundle (UK) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1990) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (1987)
John Nielsen (Denmark) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1990) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (2005)
Johnny Herbert (UK) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1991) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (2004)
Mauro Baldi (Italy) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1994) and three at Spa-Francorchamps (1985-88-89)
Stefan Johansson (Sweden) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1997) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (1990)
Seiji Ara (Japan) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2004) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (2003)
Marc Gené (Spain) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2009) and three at Spa-Francorchamps (2008-2011-2012)
Romain Dumas (France) : One victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2010) and one at Spa-Francorchamps (2012)

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO

Photo : SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS (BELGIUM), 6 HOURS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS WEC, FINISH 5th MAY 2012. Winner in La Sarthe in 2010, Romain Dumas won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps WEC 2012 with Marc Gené, another former winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. French driver Loïc Duval was their team mate.