Triumph and Tragedy

1st September 1985, Spa Francorchamps, Belgium

The scenario for a superb motor race was near to perfect. Against the backdrop of probably the most exciting race circuit currently in use by World Endurance and Fl cars, the top Lancia drivers had again shown a devastating turn of speed to their Rothmans Porsche rivals during qualifying. The view from the in-car camera in one of the Porsches confirmed the quality of action out on the track, whilst the presence of the new Jaguar XJR6 cars added an extra degree of interest for WSC fans of all nationalities.

As the race gets underway with the 650 bhp supercars thundering down the start-finish straight and through the famous dip at Eau Rouge our in-car camera puts you the viewer in the cockpit with top German driver Jochen Mass in the No.1 works Porsche. And what a view you get during the first half of this race as Mass dices with championship leader Derek Bell, Italian flyer Ricardo Patrese and Thierry Boutsen trying harder than ever in front of the home crowd. But alas destruction and human tragedy are never far away in motorsport. Well into the race Jacky lckx and Stefan Belloff both leave the track at 140mph at Eau Rouge. As this film shows there is no apparent link between the two incidents. Ickx, with in-car camera still, climbs out unscathed but sadly Belloff received fatal injuries.