Have you been to Spa?

[Renn Sport]

So I am obsessing about attending a track day at Spa Francochamps circuit in good old Belgium.

Have any of you been? Been watching you tube and just want to ride the track so badly. I have been to a F1 event and also the Spa Classic in a early 70's 911, which was quite an experience.

So notes I have taken.

1. Track days there get booked up mega quick.
2. Expensive for the day.
3. Rain seems most likely and its pot luck.
4. No power so need to bring a generator for my tyre warmers.

How do you take Eau Rouge in 4th with caution it appears?


Am I right?

[moto_traxport]

Not been yet. The way some people harp on about it you'd think the experience was almost Religious.

Anyway I've booked for the August 11th & 12th.

Renn Sport said:

So notes I have taken.

1. Track days there get booked up mega quick.
2. Expensive for the day.
3. Rain seems most likely and its pot luck.
4. No power so need to bring a generator for my tyre warmers.

How do you take Eau Rouge in 4th with caution it appears?

Am I right?

My notes similar to yours.

1. I think only BikerDays have got the concession to run bike days there and they sometimes sub let the day to others (EYBIS etc).

2. Expensive - particularly compared to the Spanish events where you get bike transport, hotel accomodation and pit boxes thrown in. Weirdly it currently looks cheaper to book through No Limits (£405 for my 2 days) rather than direct with BikerDays at €518.

3. Rain. I'd quite fancy one day boiling hot melting my tyres, silly lean angles, blue skies, spattered flies and a beer in the sunshine outside the bar and the other day to be utterly biblical with torential rain, rivers across the track, spray hanging in the trees, and wheelspin out the slow stuff followed by beer inside a bar. This is the full experience but I am a bit weird in this respect.

4. It's either gennies or more road type tyres such as Metz M7RR or Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa. These must heat up enough on the Kemmel straight to be there or therabouts from half a lap from cold. Might even ride it there if I can encourage the road boys I know to go as well. At the moment it's a mate with his track only bike so he's driving the van!

[Tall_Paul]

My one visit to spa (not for a track day) and yes, it was raining.

[mckeann]

They can sell out fast, they are very expensive, and it does rain a lot.

But it's totally worth it

https://vimeo.com/178874316

[mckeann]

There's power in the garages, you can chip in and share a garage at extra cost

[mckeann]

[mckeann]

How eau rouge looks from pit wall

https://vimeo.com/178818925

[Renn Sport]

I think for me being a F1 for so many years (until recently, as I don't watch races, I prefer to read about them they are so dull) Spa is a almost pilgrimage of the motorsport kind.

Kind of the same when I went to Le Mans and Silverstone (not Donnington strangely) The only other tracks that makes me feel this way are Suzuka and maybe Mugello.

I think I may join you in August probably on my 750 if the R1 gets sold.

I have generator but would prefer a proper pit.

[Renn Sport]

Tall_Paul said:

My one visit to spa (not for a track day) and yes, it was raining.

I am planning a weekend road trip to Spa with my brother and some pals. I like the roads around there too.

I think the track day needs to take precedent.

[MrJingles705]

I'm a car guy so excuse my ignorance on this but tyre warmers for track days? is this a thing for bike guys?

I'd use them on race days if reg allows but testing etc never bothered at clubman level.

[Renn Sport]

Using tyre warmers enables you to be on pace much sooner on the circuit, reducing the laps needed to bring cold tyres up to optimum temperature for maximum grip. They can also dramatically increase the life of your tyres by reducing the number of heat cycles. Each heat cycle causes a degradation in the tyre compound - by maintaining a constant temperature you can reduce the number of heat cycles and prolong the life of your rubber.

I nicked this from the No Limits site..
https://nolimitstrackdays.com/tyre-warmers/

As I couldn't have explained it better.

[Dakkon]

I have never done Spa on a bike, but many times in cars, it is the best racetrack I have ever driven / ridden by far.

Hope this helps:

1. Track days there get booked up mega quick
Yes, they do, you have to be quick
2. Expensive for the day.
Yes, but I think worth it
3. Rain seems most likely and its pot luck.
Yes, completely, have done it in the wet and dry, enjoyed both
4. No power so need to bring a generator for my tyre warmers.
Not sure about this, certainly the F1 pits have power, not sure about the older pits, best check which pits you will be using when booking

How do you take Eau Rouge in 4th with caution it appears?
Close your eyes and hope

Hotel St. Gereon in Malmedy is very well priced, clean and friendly, but no garages for bikes / kit.

[Renn Sport]

I was wondering if the site had showers and I may take my T5. The rear bench lays back into a bed. I may camp... but to be honest I am not sure how pleasant it would be.

Another thing to consider is noise. My R1 passes everything with the Akra's but the 750 might struggle unless I change the exhaust.

[graeme4130]

I've been there in the car for a track day. It's a great circuit and a nice little trip for a car track day.
I'd love to do it on the bike one day too

[doogalman]

Renn Sport said:

I was wondering if the site had showers and I may take my T5. .

There are showers in the lower paddock.

There is also power in all the paddocks, just take some extension leads and an adaptor.

Never used tyre warmers on any bike track days there, never been a problem as the track is quite grippy and tyres soon get heat in them. Besides I always like a warm-up/sighting lap then go for it.

Wet weather grip is a plenty as long as you stay off the tyre line of cars into the heavy braking zones.

Weather is generally good thruout summer, I was last riding there late september and it was a belter. should it shower the track can dry pretty quick with a couple of places that are slow to dry so again a good reason to warm up on an out lap.

Spa really is a classic track that has to be done at least once. 3 1/2 hours drive from calais it's easy to get to. I'm lucky as I live 70 miles away over the border in Germany. But often work at Spa as a car instructor.

[graeme4130]

Renn Sport said:

Using tyre warmers enables you to be on pace much sooner on the circuit, reducing the laps needed to bring cold tyres up to optimum temperature for maximum grip. They can also dramatically increase the life of your tyres by reducing the number of heat cycles. Each heat cycle causes a degradation in the tyre compound - by maintaining a constant temperature you can reduce the number of heat cycles and prolong the life of your rubber.

I nicked this from the No Limits site..
https://nolimitstrackdays.com/tyre-warmers/

As I couldn't have explained it better.

It's also a lot safer to try and get heat into tyres on a car than it is on a bike as you're only working on a single surface rather than sides and a little bit of cold tyre siding won't see your car sliding down the track on it's side for 100m

[mckeann]

Noise can be an issue. They seem to run 100 or 102db days, but they test at 8K rpm as opposed to 5.5K rom in the uk

[Renn Sport]

doogalman said:

Renn Sport said:

I was wondering if the site had showers and I may take my T5. .

There are showers in the lower paddock.

There is also power in all the paddocks, just take some extension leads and an adaptor.

Never used tyre warmers on any bike track days there, never been a problem as the track is quite grippy and tyres soon get heat in them. Besides I always like a warm-up/sighting lap then go for it.

Wet weather grip is a plenty as long as you stay off the tyre line of cars into the heavy braking zones.

Weather is generally good thruout summer, I was last riding there late september and it was a belter. should it shower the track can dry pretty quick with a couple of places that are slow to dry so again a good reason to warm up on an out lap.

Spa really is a classic track that has to be done at least once. 3 1/2 hours drive from calais it's easy to get to. I'm lucky as I live 70 miles away over the border in Germany. But often work at Spa as a car instructor.

What tyres do you run? I was going to take D212 or Supercorsa for the dry and some full wets. In mixed conditions I'm not sure what to go out on?

Should I get some road tyres like the M7RR's? That's a lot of tyres. I don't like riding in the wet because its cold, uncomfortable, then you have to dry your kit.

However if I am paying £400 at Spa then I think rain is a fact of life and as such I'll ride in it.

[mckeann]

Definitely take wets. I'd use supercorsas in the dry and the 50/50 conditions. In my experience, half the circuit drys quickly, so you can enjoy half a lap on the supercorsas, and tip toe through the wet bits ok. Half a lap is still a huge amount of dry track, so it kills wets very quickly

[Tall_Paul]

Renn Sport said:

Tall_Paul said:

My one visit to spa (not for a track day) and yes, it was raining.

I am planning a weekend road trip to Spa with my brother and some pals. I like the roads around there too.

I think the track day needs to take precedent.

The roads round there are excellent, but the weather can definitely be hit or miss. I had rain going through Belgium, then 25 degrees and sun in the Moselle valley, then back to rain on and off going past the nurburgring and Spa.