Spa 24: Sarah Bovy preview

The youngest driver in the history of the 24 Hours of Spa is a girl!

Eighteen years and one month ! This is the age of the youngest driver in the history of the 24 Hours of Spa, the highlight of the FIA-GT Championship. And this young wolf . is in fact a girl, Sarah Bovy from the Liege region of Belgium, getting ready to make a dream come true: competing in the 24 Hours. All this made possible thanks to the Gillet Vertigo team of Tony Gillet, who decided to bet on this young lady to back-up Bas Leinders and Renaud Kuppens.

Sarah may have only been born in 1989 at Rocourt, near Liege but it was well before that date, back in 1975 that Tony Gillet first met the Bovy family. At that time, Quirin, Sarah's father, was driving a Formula 5000 in hill climbs, and his main adversary was none other than Tony Gillet, also at the wheel of a F5000 single-seater. More then thirty years later it is Sarah's turn to become involved with Tony . this time driving the latter's muscle car, the mythical Vertigo. A car known worldwide, which will be taking full advantage of the 24 Hours of Spa to reveal its latest version. "As compared to the previous Vertigo, in which I recently competed in the Belcar at Spa, everything is different ", Sarah explains."Not only have the front and back been modified, but the shell has been strengthened, with important weight reductions through the use of a fair amount of carbon parts and the aero was entirely revised. Blend all this with a 4 litres Alfa engine and the official Pirelli tyres, and you obtain the perfect cocktail with which to compete in the 24 Hours of Spa. Especially with such reputable drivers as Bas and Renaud."

It must be clearly stated that the only reason that Sarah Bovy will be at the wheel of the Vertigo is because Tony Gillet decided as such, wanting to do something special for her. Fast, attractive, Sarah will undoubtedly be the Belgian team's eye-catching asset. "By way of practice we competed in two two-hour races as also a practice session on the Luxembourg circuit of Colmar-Berg", Sarah continued. "I backed-up Bas during the first heat and Renaud in the second, and we were stopping every twenty minutes in order to multiply the pitstops with a view to the 24 Hours. The car didn't experience the slightest mechanical problem and notwithstanding this strategy worthy of a major practice session, the Vertigo clinched both heats. On top of that the atmosphere with Bas and Renaud was really great. Not only do they pamper me, but offer up advice and help me to feel entirely at ease at the wheel of this beast."

A mere few days after having obtained her humanities certificate as also her..driving licence, Sarah is getting prepared to make a childhood dream come true by competing in the 24 Hours of Spa. "Last week I was watching a summary of the FIA-GT at Oschersleben on the television. And it suddenly flashed through my mind that in a few days time I would be racing against all these drivers, on top of that at Spa and at the wheel of the sole Belgian car. Quite an adventure !" However, no way does this imply that Sarah Bovy is scared stiff of taking on this major challenge. This is not a family trait. "I prefer to purely concentrate on what is expected of me. Tony Gillet's team, made up of passionate individuals who work highly correctly has been preparing these 24 Hours as never before. They want to go as far as possible in this race and reach the chequered flag. No way may I disappoint them. I can't wait to get behind the wheel of this new Gillet Vertigo and to prove to one and all that the youngest driver in the history of the 24 Hours is going to be talked about and in this case a girl."

-credit: sb