“If you no longer go for a gap…”

Jan Lammers squeezed his Jaguar XJR-9 in between Mauro Baldi’s Sauber C9/88-Mercedes and the pit wall, in the smallest of a gap, at the start of the 1989 1000 km of Spa (picture-above).

The brave Dutchman, adrenaline pumping, certainly forgot it was a 70 lap race, took a huge risk and forcefully took the lead in the Jaguar he was sharing with Patrick Tambay. Sadly for them, they retired after 16 laps with mechanical problems, but what a joy for the ones present that day to see a driver “go for the gap”.

The great Ayrton Senna used to say: “Being a racing driver means you are racing with other people and if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver, because we are competing.”

The race was won by the #61 Sauber C9-Mercedes – yes exactly the one that was squeezed at the start – of Kenny Acheson and Mauro Baldi who finished ahead of the Joest Racing Porsche 962C driven by Frank Jelinski and Bob Wollek.