If you’re a Formula One fan then the circuit that lies between the towns of Spa and Francorchamps, in Belgium, must be one of your favourites. Fans and drivers alike rate it among the highlights of the season.
The hilly setting, a series of fast, high-commitment sweepers, long straights followed by tight corners and variable weather patterns in the Ardennes countryside have always made for interesting races.
Hallowed ground
If you’re a Michael Schumacher fan, as I am, then this place is even more special. The seven-time world champion made his debut at the Belgian GP in 1991, and claimed his maiden victory there a year later. The German also holds the record for the most number of F1 wins at Spa; six in total.
The most successful driver in F1 rated this as one of his favourite circuits, and as I stood outside the La Source hairpin looking down the main straight towards the Bus-Stop chicane and the famous Eau Rouge/Raidillon complex, I could only think of the former great.
In my mind I could hear the sounds of a high-revving V10 and imagined the recognisable helmet poking out of the cockpit of a Ferrari F1 car on yet another blistering lap. To have watched Schumi race here must have been a special sight.
Famous names
From a young age I could name just about every corner at this track – from the Eau Rouge/Radillon sequence to Stavelot, Blanchimont to the Bus Stop. I knew them all so I could scarcely believe that I was standing alongside the circuit that I had watched on television countless times over the decades.
I have been fortunate enough to drive many race and test tracks since entering this industry over a decade ago, and thanks to a ride and drive event of the latest Nissan GT-R I was about to drive out onto the world-famous Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Limited time
As we were primarily there to learn about the GT-R’s handling traits in extremis, our time for track exploration was limited. We had just a half-dozen laps to learn the intricacies of a circuit that can catch out even the best drivers in the world.
Without so much as a warm-up or sighting lap in another car, we made our way onto the circuit. Fortunately for me, my co-pilot was Ron Simons. The owner of Ron Simons Racing (RSR) is a former instructor for Porsche and Ferrari and has completed thousands of laps of Spa.
In the deep end
Entering the circuit from the private boma just outside the La Source hairpin means that we have a straight run down to the renowned Eau Rouge (“red river” in English). I have to tell you, the very first time you approach it you have NO idea what to expect.
A GT-R is capable of dialling up an indecent turn of speed in a short space and, heading down towards the left-hand kink, this isn’t a fact I am entirely happy about. I’d much prefer my first experience to be at a slightly more leisurely pace.
Not flat out
There is a misconception, probably created by Formula One, that this complex is flat out. Let me tell you that this is patently untrue. Unless the car you are driving has an extreme level of downforce, your approach will have to be circumspect.
That the great Stefan Bellof, Nurburgring record-holder and the man considered by many as the fastest to ever drive a racecar, was killed here means that someone with as little driving skill as myself has to show this stretch of tar a high level of respect.
I took a cautious approach, braking in a straight line before negotiating the left kink, then getting back on the gas to climb the hill smoothly, turning right then left again to the crest at Raidillon. The first time around it happened so quick that I was foot-flat up the Kemmel Straight before I took my next breath.
More experienced pilots turn into the left-hander flat-out then brake hard in the compression before banging open the throttle to climb the hill, as demonstrated by Mr Simons later that day.
Trickier and trickier
On the run up to Les Combes, the GT-R was again dialling up speeds that necessitated lots of time on the brakes before entering the chicane, the very same spot where Hamilton and Rosberg had their infamous coming together in 2014.
From that point, the circuit starts to fall away and the corners don’t get any easier. The double-left-hander at Pouhon is another corner that requires big ba… err, high levels of commitment and a place where you have to use all the road, and then some. Again, F1 cars make this section look a LOT easier than it really is.
Fast as f***
As if there isn’t enough to scare a newcomer to Spa, the final part of the lap is, arguably, the most eye-widening. From Stavelot through Blanchimont and all the way up to the final chicane are all tackled at extremely high speed.
The extremely slow Bus Stop chicane gives your brain a chance to catch up as you flick right then left, onto the start-finish straight.
Across the line, breathe in, reload
Once over the line, a wide entry is ideal to tackle the right-hand hairpin at La Source, the least intimidating corner on the track, which then allows you to carry loads of pace down the hill to Eau Rouge to do it all over again.
In the half-dozen laps I had to experience Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, my mind was blown. The high-speed corners, high levels of commitment required and technical nature make it the best circuit that I have ever driven.
I was driving on a relatively empty track, with those sharing track time considerately moving over if slower than I was. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to actually race here in a seriously quick car for dozens of laps. Perhaps one day…