Wednesday 16th April 2014

Spa Treatment: PH Blog

The current layout of Spa remains stellar but for the real picture of you need to go beyond

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As you'll have gathered I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days at Spa-Francorchamps. Like the 'ring, Brooklands, Monza (where Matt was), Reims, Le Mans and other old-school circuits there's just something bewitching about the place.

Masta Kink was 190mph+ back in the 1930s

I was watching the qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix the other week and had nodded off by the time Q3 had started. I just couldn't engage with it. The corners all looked the same, it was all so immaculate and though the race ended up exciting these newer tracks can never beat the history and soul of places like Spa.

I love the build-up of arriving somewhere like this too. As you roll down the hill into Francorchamps there are gantries over the road, geared up for controlling the race-day traffic. Signs count down the distance to the circuit. All the pubs and hotels have some sort of motorsport theme. This circuit is embedded in the local culture. Indeed, it is the local culture. I remember when I first came here in the early 2000s and the section from La Source to Blanchimont and the old Bus Stop Chicane was all open as public roads, sturdy gates sealing off the rest of the track. Seems mad that someone popping from Stavelot to Francorchamps for a pint of milk could, until recently, have taken in Blanchimont as part of the route.

Banked corner took racers from Stavelot road

In a break on the second day I took a little drive out of the circuit to follow the route of the old lap. To most people it's probably just a sweeping stretch of road through the Ardennes farmland. But if you've read tales of triumph and tragedy the ability to complete probably three quarters of the classic Spa lap without even going through the gates of the modern complex is fabulously evocative. Bimbling along in the Lotus the idea of doing the same at three times the speed in one of Colin Chapman's minimalist aluminium bathtubs or even a thundering 30s Silver Arrow just boggles the brain. I filmed a lap with the GoPro which you can watch here speeded up a bit or here in real-time if you prefer. The scary thing is the speeded up one probably isn't far off a representation of the kind of pace Henri Pescarolo was doing when he set the all-out lap record of 3min 13sec in a Matra 670b in 1973. At an average - average - speed of 164mph.

The sweeping downhill run from Les Combes

If you are lucky enough to drive the track in its modern guise you're in for the real treat. Sanitised - relatively - there's still a sense of speed you rarely get on other circuits. Skimming the wall past the old pits at 100mph-plus and gathering your willpower for the seemingly vertical wall of tarmac at Eau Rouge is one petrolhead rite of passage that doesn't disappoint. If you nailed the line in the Elise that brief moment of weightless, dead-ahead steering between the fully loaded right into blind left would coincide with cresting the summit in a beautifully harmonious sequence. Half a second either way or a kerb width off line and the experience was a lot less comfortable... And after that you still had Pouhon and Blanchimont go come! If you haven't been there already you need to add it to the bucket list.

Just make sure you leave some time to retrace the steps of the track as it was when the real heroes were racing here back in the day. And drop into the museum at Stavelot while you're at it.

Dan

A lap of the old Spa circuit (possibly speeded up - real-time here if you prefer)

[Sources and images: Musee du circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, FIAWEC.com, official Spa-Francorchamps website, historic photography LAT Photo]

 

[HorneyMX5]

I went to Spa for the first time last year to watch the 6 Hours weekend with the wife. We had a brilliant time and will be heading back there again next year. I'm also very tempted to take the MX5 over there for a trackday. The place has such a magical atmosphere.

If you're interested my pics of the 6 hours weekend can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickhorne/sets/72157...

And some video here: http://youtu.be/Khx88GNuqjo?t=2m4s

Edited by HorneyMX5 on Wednesday 16th April 09:52

[herebebeasties]

For the real picture of what, Dan?

[dukebox9reg]

It always seems the same on the continent, the locals embrace the circuits.

Back in Ol'Blighty the locals winge about too much noise which means there is only 1 race in the year and 2 track days meaning the tracks go under. Cracking.

[p1doc]

spa is great-my claim to fame i was overtaken by nigel mansell at the busstop in his m5 toyring in the wet lol
totally agree about continent supporting their tracks and keeping motorsport heritage going via museums themed hotels car industry testing etc compared to uk
martin

[Hoofty]

Firm favourite of anybody who's ever played Grand Prix Legends. Awesome track.

[dinkel]

[bimbeano]

Very funny video (speeded up).
Spa and the Nurburgring must be the most amazing racetracks on the planet and they're located within a few hours of driving distance.
I have been there many times during the 90ies when some of my friends competed in the 24h World Endurance races for bikes. It's a track you really have to know well and drive a lot as some of my friends proved in those days. It wasn't the skills that made them being able to follow a professional , and they did it on a pretty standard-ish bike :-)

[MichelV]

dukebox9reg said:

It always seems the same on the continent, the locals embrace the circuits.

Back in Ol'Blighty the locals winge about too much noise which means there is only 1 race in the year and 2 track days meaning the tracks go under. Cracking.

Unfortunately that is not true. Over the last years the Spa circuit has been under threat by local left and green wing wkers. The surrounding villages have decibel meters and are monitored. db levels in the small villages are limited and as a consequence a lot of races need to be in by 18.00hours (like spa summer classic). (for those familiar, its is very hard to hear or see race cars from the local villages but still tehy insist on noise levels that even a crying baby easily surpasses).
Luckily the last elections have erradicated some of the left and moral superior left wingers, and have been replaced by people with more common sense and a more neutral attitude towards racing. They understand that the economic wasteland that Spa is will not improve by closing down the track.

If you want more proof on how we are governed by idiots look at Chimay race track. It is off the chart and the local restaurants and hotels have been ruined. Especially the English liked to come to Chimay. I even believe Rowan Atkinson rolled his car at Chimay some 5 or 7 years ago...

[dukebox9reg]

MichelV said:

dukebox9reg said:

It always seems the same on the continent, the locals embrace the circuits.

Back in Ol'Blighty the locals winge about too much noise which means there is only 1 race in the year and 2 track days meaning the tracks go under. Cracking.

Unfortunately that is not true. Over the last years the Spa circuit has been under threat by local left and green wing wkers. The surrounding villages have decibel meters and are monitored. db levels in the small villages are limited and as a consequence a lot of races need to be in by 18.00hours (like spa summer classic). (for those familiar, its is very hard to hear or see race cars from the local villages but still tehy insist on noise levels that even a crying baby easily surpasses).
Luckily the last elections have erradicated some of the left and moral superior left wingers, and have been replaced by people with more common sense and a more neutral attitude towards racing. They understand that the economic wasteland that Spa is will not improve by closing down the track.

If you want more proof on how we are governed by idiots look at Chimay race track. It is off the chart and the local restaurants and hotels have been ruined. Especially the English liked to come to Chimay. I even believe Rowan Atkinson rolled his car at Chimay some 5 or 7 years ago...

It's just like the nuggets who buy a house near an airport then winge about the noise and campaign to get runways cancelled etc, er derrrrr its why the house was cheaper, the airport (or race track) hasn't popped up from nowhere.

[MichelV]

I know a story that is even funnier.

Zolder race track has been around for 50+ years. In the 80's people start building houses in the woods surrounding Zolder (the track was in a decline, no F1, sporadic DTM, no Group5 but did not close). In the 90's Zolder picks up again with more events and more track days....

The dude that fights Zolder the most since then....a retired F16 fighter pilot.

And if you know at what age F16 Pilots retire from the army....

It is like my green neighbour. Everything is bio. But a windmill 500 meters from him. No way as it disrupts his view...

[RoverP6B]

Remember watching racing from Spa on TV back in the late 60s. Always thought they should restore the old layout.