S Club Euro Tour 2012...
Discussion
Hi all 
As some of you may know for the last 2 years an intrepid band of S owners from this forum have enjoyed (well, hopefully enjoyed!) a long weekend RoadTrip. The first one in 2010 saw us above the snow line in the Alps and this year the group headed to a less snowy Scotland.
Next years plan is a bit different from the previous "fully scenic" tours:
Thursday 24th May & Friday 25th May - Scenic tour through France, Luxembourg & Germany finishing at the Spa Francorchamps circuit.
Saturday 26th May & Sunday 27th May - At the Spa Francorchamps Classic race meeting
Monday 28th May - Home
Assuming it is open that weekend, there will also be the chance to pop over to the Nurburgring (just over an hour from Spa on some fabulous roads) for a lap or 2 there, or to simply spectate and soak up the special atmosphere there if you'd rather not venture onto the Norcschleife.
If you've not been to Spa I share the widely held opinion that it's the best ever circuit to spectate at - you can walk round the whole lap and the views from the hilly terrain around the track are fantastic. The Spa Classic was held for the first time in 2011 and is organised by the same team that run the Le Mans Classic. 2011 featured a wide variety of historic race cars including Touring Cars, GT's, ex F1 and the awesome Group C prototypes.
I have already been able to secure us private parking in the clubs & groups area and there will be the chance to do some laps of the circuit. The 2011 price for the track time was a reasonable £80 for 30 minutes.
Some rooms have provisionally been reserved at a good hotel a few minutes drive from the circuit. I have not bothered looking for a hotel for the Thursday night yet, simply because I have not finalised the route at the moment! This can be done later, it's the hotel nearest the circuit which must be booked asap. They have, rather unreasonably I feel, asked for a 50% deposit to be paid to them by 15th October to secure the first batch of rooms, which doesn't give us long. They have said that once the initial deposit is paid we will have the option to add some more rooms by 1/12/11 if anyone else wants to join us.
The hotel, unlike many in the area, is in a town so will provide an alternative within walking distance for those not wishing to spend 2 full days at the circuit.
Total cost for Fri, Sat & Sun nights B&B plus 1 dinner in the hotel, race tickets and exclusive parking at the circuit is, to the nearest £ allowing for the current exchange rate, £220 per person in a twin or double room. I'm waiting for the hotel to confirm the price for a single.
To guarantee your place I will need a 50% deposit per person i.e. £110 each by 14th October so I can pay the hotel by 15th. Sorry for the short notice, I only found this out today. As mentioned above, you will still be able to sign up to the trip by paying your deposit before 1/12/11 but I'd rather get as many rooms as possible booked sooner rather than later.
I do not expect the Thurs hotel to cost more than £50, I'll confirm this asap when I've worked out the route, the important thing is to get the hotel near the circuit booked first.
Emails have already been flying around between those that went on the Scottish trip and the names below are coming or seriously interested. If you would like to join us for the whole trip or perhaps just the Spa bit please add your name to the list and email me through my profile so I can send you details of how to pay your deposit.
Please do not worry if you do not know anyone else on the list - we are a relaxed friendly bunch of all ages and none of us knew each other when we went on the first trip. Several new people joined for the Scottish trip and everyone got on well
(name / how many people / room type)
Longers / 2 / twin
v8s4me / 1 / single but happy to share twin
phillpot / 1 / single
AndrewS2 & DocBob / 2 / twin (in 1 car)
Mr Plow & Scoobimax / 2 / twin (in 2 cars)
Barry S1 / 1 / single
PompyTim & Buzzlt / 2 / twin (in 1 car, or maybe 2...
)
Stew Mc / 2 / double
Deadspider / 2 /double
Barclayboy / 2 / twin
HvdWeerden / 2 / double
Glen Robinson / 1 / single
Jaye R & Rev Limiter / 2 / double (car will still be in pieces so possibly attending as co-pilots)
Dave M - tbc
Cheers,
L'rs
As some of you may know for the last 2 years an intrepid band of S owners from this forum have enjoyed (well, hopefully enjoyed!) a long weekend RoadTrip. The first one in 2010 saw us above the snow line in the Alps and this year the group headed to a less snowy Scotland.
Next years plan is a bit different from the previous "fully scenic" tours:
Thursday 24th May & Friday 25th May - Scenic tour through France, Luxembourg & Germany finishing at the Spa Francorchamps circuit.
Saturday 26th May & Sunday 27th May - At the Spa Francorchamps Classic race meeting
Monday 28th May - Home
Assuming it is open that weekend, there will also be the chance to pop over to the Nurburgring (just over an hour from Spa on some fabulous roads) for a lap or 2 there, or to simply spectate and soak up the special atmosphere there if you'd rather not venture onto the Norcschleife.
If you've not been to Spa I share the widely held opinion that it's the best ever circuit to spectate at - you can walk round the whole lap and the views from the hilly terrain around the track are fantastic. The Spa Classic was held for the first time in 2011 and is organised by the same team that run the Le Mans Classic. 2011 featured a wide variety of historic race cars including Touring Cars, GT's, ex F1 and the awesome Group C prototypes.
I have already been able to secure us private parking in the clubs & groups area and there will be the chance to do some laps of the circuit. The 2011 price for the track time was a reasonable £80 for 30 minutes.
Some rooms have provisionally been reserved at a good hotel a few minutes drive from the circuit. I have not bothered looking for a hotel for the Thursday night yet, simply because I have not finalised the route at the moment! This can be done later, it's the hotel nearest the circuit which must be booked asap. They have, rather unreasonably I feel, asked for a 50% deposit to be paid to them by 15th October to secure the first batch of rooms, which doesn't give us long. They have said that once the initial deposit is paid we will have the option to add some more rooms by 1/12/11 if anyone else wants to join us.
The hotel, unlike many in the area, is in a town so will provide an alternative within walking distance for those not wishing to spend 2 full days at the circuit.
Total cost for Fri, Sat & Sun nights B&B plus 1 dinner in the hotel, race tickets and exclusive parking at the circuit is, to the nearest £ allowing for the current exchange rate, £220 per person in a twin or double room. I'm waiting for the hotel to confirm the price for a single.
To guarantee your place I will need a 50% deposit per person i.e. £110 each by 14th October so I can pay the hotel by 15th. Sorry for the short notice, I only found this out today. As mentioned above, you will still be able to sign up to the trip by paying your deposit before 1/12/11 but I'd rather get as many rooms as possible booked sooner rather than later.
I do not expect the Thurs hotel to cost more than £50, I'll confirm this asap when I've worked out the route, the important thing is to get the hotel near the circuit booked first.
Emails have already been flying around between those that went on the Scottish trip and the names below are coming or seriously interested. If you would like to join us for the whole trip or perhaps just the Spa bit please add your name to the list and email me through my profile so I can send you details of how to pay your deposit.
Please do not worry if you do not know anyone else on the list - we are a relaxed friendly bunch of all ages and none of us knew each other when we went on the first trip. Several new people joined for the Scottish trip and everyone got on well
(name / how many people / room type)
Longers / 2 / twin
v8s4me / 1 / single but happy to share twin
phillpot / 1 / single
AndrewS2 & DocBob / 2 / twin (in 1 car)
Mr Plow & Scoobimax / 2 / twin (in 2 cars)
Barry S1 / 1 / single
PompyTim & Buzzlt / 2 / twin (in 1 car, or maybe 2...
)Stew Mc / 2 / double
Deadspider / 2 /double
Barclayboy / 2 / twin
HvdWeerden / 2 / double
Glen Robinson / 1 / single
Jaye R & Rev Limiter / 2 / double (car will still be in pieces so possibly attending as co-pilots)
Dave M - tbc
Cheers,
L'rs
Edited by Longers on Thursday 29th September 21:34
Longers said:
Please do not worry if you do not know anyone else on the list - we are a relaxed friendly bunch of all ages and none of us knew each other when we went on the first trip. Several new people joined for the Scottish trip and everyone got on well
I can vouch for this statement as one of the new boys on the Scotland trip, and signed up for this Spa trip
Thanks to those of you who have already been in touch to tell me your deposits are on the way. Han wins the prize for being the first to pay this time
I thought it worth answering a couple of questions I've been asked here rather than by email....
The price of the trip will not include your channel crossing, that's up to each person to arrange. For info I'll be travelling by channel tunnel for a couple of reasons; I can use Tescos points, it's quick, it's convenient, sea sickness is not an issue and if you miss your train you can easily get the next one. The only time I've been by ferry since the tunnel opened was for the 2010 Alps trip - the check in time was ages before the scheduled departure time, the ferry was late then cancelled and it seemed to take ages to get to Calais. I appreciate some do not like the tunnel which isn't a problem, we can easily meet in Calais
Before we depart I'll send everyone a set of maps and sat nav files. Previously these have enabled people to do their own thing each and still find the hotel at the end of the day, which leads me to the next point...
No, you do not have to stay as part of a group if you'd rather venture off on your own for a bit. In 2010 we split into 2 groups one day; part of the group wanted a more relaxed day with a nice lunch and the rest, well they (perhaps I should say "we"!) took a "45 minute" optional detour up an extra scenic pass which meant our lunch was a sandwich stood in a supermarket carpark and we eventually arrived at the intended lunch stop at 5pm. No worries, we still made it to dinner at the hotel for 8pm... just!!
Finally you are free to drive at your own pace, there is no pressure to go faster than you want. Alternatively if you want to shoot off like you've just robbed a bank that's fine, as long as you know where you are going...
Cheers
L'rs
I thought it worth answering a couple of questions I've been asked here rather than by email....
The price of the trip will not include your channel crossing, that's up to each person to arrange. For info I'll be travelling by channel tunnel for a couple of reasons; I can use Tescos points, it's quick, it's convenient, sea sickness is not an issue and if you miss your train you can easily get the next one. The only time I've been by ferry since the tunnel opened was for the 2010 Alps trip - the check in time was ages before the scheduled departure time, the ferry was late then cancelled and it seemed to take ages to get to Calais. I appreciate some do not like the tunnel which isn't a problem, we can easily meet in Calais
Before we depart I'll send everyone a set of maps and sat nav files. Previously these have enabled people to do their own thing each and still find the hotel at the end of the day, which leads me to the next point...
No, you do not have to stay as part of a group if you'd rather venture off on your own for a bit. In 2010 we split into 2 groups one day; part of the group wanted a more relaxed day with a nice lunch and the rest, well they (perhaps I should say "we"!) took a "45 minute" optional detour up an extra scenic pass which meant our lunch was a sandwich stood in a supermarket carpark and we eventually arrived at the intended lunch stop at 5pm. No worries, we still made it to dinner at the hotel for 8pm... just!!
Finally you are free to drive at your own pace, there is no pressure to go faster than you want. Alternatively if you want to shoot off like you've just robbed a bank that's fine, as long as you know where you are going...
Cheers
L'rs
[quote=Longers]Please do not worry if you do not know anyone else on the list - we are a relaxed friendly bunch of all ages and none of us knew each other when we went on the first trip. Several new people joined for the Scottish trip and everyone got on well quote]
I'm not - I abuse anyone who does not have their roof off at all times
quote]I'm not - I abuse anyone who does not have their roof off at all times
I have been economising recently as cost of living has been going up and my kids keep demanding food!
... So when I read the announcement yesterday I thought I was going to have to say no. However things changed that afternoon and it looks like I will be able to go, and feed my 3 kids, and feed the two dogs my daughter obtained today!
So Longers put me down for 2 people, twin rooms and I will now have a focus to work to, to improve the embarrassment that is my engine bay.
Plus, advice to anyone planning some high speed action - get rid of those front brake dust covers!
... So when I read the announcement yesterday I thought I was going to have to say no. However things changed that afternoon and it looks like I will be able to go, and feed my 3 kids, and feed the two dogs my daughter obtained today!
So Longers put me down for 2 people, twin rooms and I will now have a focus to work to, to improve the embarrassment that is my engine bay.
Plus, advice to anyone planning some high speed action - get rid of those front brake dust covers!
Edited by AutoAndy on Saturday 1st October 18:43
Andy & Tom, Great that you can make it guys 
Andy, don't worry about smoking brakes this time, I'm pretty certain the hills around Spa are not quite as steep as those in the Alps! I've sent you an email with details of where to send your deposit.
Tom, I'm looking forward to receiving your email
A couple of others have also contacted me by email asking for more info so it's shaping up to be another superb trip. And there was me wondering if a trip centred around a race meeting would appeal as much as a full on scenic tour...
Andy, don't worry about smoking brakes this time, I'm pretty certain the hills around Spa are not quite as steep as those in the Alps! I've sent you an email with details of where to send your deposit.
Tom, I'm looking forward to receiving your email
A couple of others have also contacted me by email asking for more info so it's shaping up to be another superb trip. And there was me wondering if a trip centred around a race meeting would appeal as much as a full on scenic tour...
Some more info coming from questions received by email...
The night before the Alps trip in 2010 we all stayed in Calais. This meant we lost the hour due to the time difference during the evening and we could get an early(ish!) start the next day which was important with the large amount of miles we had to cover on day 1.
The mileages are not so big this time but I've not worked out our 2 day route to Spa yet! Staying in Calais again might be a good idea, especially for those with long journies in the UK. It was only approx £30 B&B per person in 2010, we can decide nearer the time.
If you want to go on track at Spa and/or the Nurburgring, helmets are not compulsory at either venue. However you may want to wear one, some people do but the majority don't, it's entirely up to you.
The laps the 2011 Spa Classic took place during a lunchtime break in the qualifying / racing. Seeing as it's a race day there is no noise limit. However there is a noise limit of 95db at The Ring. I've not seen this enforced but it's always possible they may check. If you are in doubt, don't draw attention to yourself by over revving in the car park or at the entrance barrier
The night before the Alps trip in 2010 we all stayed in Calais. This meant we lost the hour due to the time difference during the evening and we could get an early(ish!) start the next day which was important with the large amount of miles we had to cover on day 1.
The mileages are not so big this time but I've not worked out our 2 day route to Spa yet! Staying in Calais again might be a good idea, especially for those with long journies in the UK. It was only approx £30 B&B per person in 2010, we can decide nearer the time.
If you want to go on track at Spa and/or the Nurburgring, helmets are not compulsory at either venue. However you may want to wear one, some people do but the majority don't, it's entirely up to you.
The laps the 2011 Spa Classic took place during a lunchtime break in the qualifying / racing. Seeing as it's a race day there is no noise limit. However there is a noise limit of 95db at The Ring. I've not seen this enforced but it's always possible they may check. If you are in doubt, don't draw attention to yourself by over revving in the car park or at the entrance barrier
Was at Spa today to watch Gt cup race and Dutch Supercar challenge. Great racing and good results for the cerbera !
Han
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hvdweerden/sets/72157...
Han
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hvdweerden/sets/72157...
Edited by HvdWeerden on Sunday 2nd October 12:03
orange_dodo said:
Don't think I'm brave enough for Nurburg but would probably need baffles if i was!
Answers;1. Bravery issue - Just don't let Josh drive the Ring!
2. Baffles required - I am sure someone could bring some bolt-on ones that would help - Or perhaps the team could cunningly fashion something from two baked bean tins, a packet of brillo pads, and a roll of gaffer tape - you know it makes sense...
orange_dodo said:
Don't think I'm brave enough for Nurburg but would probably need baffles if i was!
It's worth driving it once at a steady pace, not flat out, just to see what it's really like. Take your time and enjoy it, most accidents (but not all) are caused by people trying to set a time Bolt on baffles are not allowed, if they were you could borrow mine. You might be ok if you tippy toe to the entrance barrier very carefully. On 2nd thoughts, maybe push it to the barrier...?!
Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff