STORY OF THE DAY: Belgium’s GTO Finishes Second Overall

Jean Blaton, racing as “Beurlys,” and Gérald Langlois van Ophem drove Equipe Nationale Belge Ferrari 250 GTO number 24 to second overall and first in the three-litre GT class at the 1963 Le Mans. Authoritative race records do not support the title’s stated eleventh-place result.

The private GTO completed 323 laps, sixteen fewer than the winning Ferrari 250 P, and finished fractionally ahead of the third-placed works prototype. Its progress demonstrated how reliability and measured pace could lift a production-based GT car above faster but less durable machinery.

The 250 GTO combined a tubular 250 GT chassis with a three-litre Colombo V12, dry-sump lubrication and a wind-tunnel-influenced berlinetta body. Its low drag suited the Mulsanne Straight, while predictable handling, strong braking and mechanical maturity supported continuous running over 24 hours.

Blaton and Langlois van Ophem were Belgian gentleman drivers with substantial endurance experience and strong links to Ferrari privateer teams. Blaton used the Beurlys pseudonym throughout his career; van Ophem was a regular Francorchamps competitor. Their disciplined partnership produced one of the GTO’s greatest Le Mans results.