Hot on the heels of her first LMP2 win in the ALMS a fortnight ago at the Infineon Circuit, California, twenty-six-year-old American Liz Halliday sets her sights on scoring another podium finish at this weekend’s Spa 24 Hours, the sixth round of the 2005 FIA GT Championship.  Spa will be her second 24-hour race of the year after a strong performance in Le Mans with the LMP2 Lola-AER Intersport Racing car.

A confident Liz Halliday is excited to be returning to her favourite European circuit. “I simply love Spa! For me, it’s the best circuit in Europe and I can’t wait to go back there.  This weekend will be my fourth race in the Ardennes and I feel that we could achieve a great result with the Lister works team,” said Halliday.  “This is the sixth round of the championship and the hard work the team has put in since the beginning of the year is starting to pay off.  I get on well with my regular team mate, British driver Justin Keen, and our new team mate for this event, Danish star Jens Moller, is very good.”

The past two weeks has only brought success to the Surrey-based Californian sportswoman:  “After my ALMS win a couple of weeks ago, I flew back to England to compete with my new horse, Red Letter Day, in the Aston Le Walls event.  This was my first advanced level event of the year, the first advanced event for this horse and we finished a strong 10th overall out of 50 competitors!” 

Back to her motorsport career, Liz continued:  “I had a good result in last year’s Spa 24 Hours, driving a GT2 Porsche with Autorlando Sport and despite the incredible heat, we finished sixth in class.  In 2003 I won the Cup class in the British GT/FIA Sports Car 1000km event at Spa and I finished seventh in class last September for the LMES 1000km.”

Adding to her thoughts about Spa, Halliday said:  “I love the atmosphere, the history, the location and the paddock.  For me, Spa is how any race track in the world should be!  All the corners are awesome and challenging, not to mention the famous Eau Rouge.  I will never forget the first time I drove through it; it was a special moment as this corner is totally unique.  Sensations are completely different when you are in the car, it is much steeper than you anticipate, and it is even harder when you get to the top!"

Although the Le Mans 24 Hours is the most famous endurance race in the world, the Spa 24 Hours is even more of a challenge, as Halliday explains:  “Spa is a very difficult circuit, with fast and challenging corners.  Unlike Le Mans, you can’t relax and physically it is harder.  GT cars are also more difficult to drive than prototypes; the car is heavier, the cockpit is always hot, and we do not have a paddle gearshift.  We are planning to drive double stints – two hours at a time – which is quite demanding and where your fitness really shows!”

A successful test earlier in July leaves Liz quietly confident.  “The official test day went very well and we didn’t have any technical problems, which is good news.  If we want to get a good result this weekend, it is important that the car runs like clockwork, spending the least possible time in the pits.  If we do so, we will finish at the front. We can also get unpredictable weather conditions at Spa but to be honest, as long as it’s not as hot as last year, I don’t mind.  If it’s dry then I’ll be able to show my pace but if it rains, our set-up is good and our Dunlop tyres are great in the wet so I’m confident we’ll put up a good fight for the Ferraris, Maseratis and Aston Martins.”

“But I feel relaxed and confident at the moment,” concluded Halliday.  “The team is well prepared and we have a good package so with a bit of luck we could surprise a few people!  I enjoyed being on the podium at Infineon and it would be awesome to repeat it in Spa.”

Programme of events at the Proximus 24 Hours – Spa-Francorchamps

Wednesday 27th July (Time difference:  BST +1 hour)

2.00pm:                                             Parade from the circuit to Spa (town)

3.00pm – 5.00pm:                             Drivers’ autograph session in Spa

5.45pm – 6.15pm:                             Drivers’ briefing in Spa (Casino)

7.00pm:                                             Parade from Spa to the circuit

Thursday 28th July

10.30am – 12.00pm:                         Free Practice 1

2.30pm – 4.00pm:                             Free Practice 2

8.30pm – 9.30pm:                             Qualifying Night 1

10.00pm – 11.30pm:                         Qualifying Night 2

Friday 29th July

12.15pm – 1.00pm:                          Qualifying Practice 3

Saturday 30th July

8.10am – 8.25am:                             Warm-up

4.00pm:                                             Race (24 Hours) Indy Start

Sunday 31st July

4.00pm:                                             Chequered flag

4.10pm:                                             Podium