Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the famous venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours endurance race. It is considered to be one of the most challenging circuits in the world, mainly due to its hilly and twisty nature. The circuit features one of the most famous and dangerous sections of any racing track in the world, the Eau Rouge complex. Spa is the most favoured circuit of the majority of racing drivers and fans alike.

The track
Designed by Jules de Their and Henri Langlois Van Ophem, the original 9.3 mile triangle shaped- course used public roads between the Belgian towns of Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot. The Belgian Grand Prix was held at Spa-Francorchamps for the first time in 1924.

The old version of the circuit used between 1957 and 1978.Back then, the Belgians took pride in having a very fast circuit, and to improve average speeds, the former slow uphill U-turn at the bottom of the Eau Rouge creek valley, called the Ancient Douane, was cut short with a faster sweep straight up the hill, called the Raidillon. Until 2000, it was possible to travel over the race track when it was still a public road. At Eau Rouge, southbound traffic was allowed to use the famous uphill corner, while the opposite downhill traffic had to use the old road and U-turn behind the grand stands, rejoining the race track at the bottom of Eau Rouge.

The old race track continued after Les Combes towards Burnenville, passing this village in a fast right hand sweep. Near Malmedy, the Masta straight begins, which is only interrupted by the fast Masta Kink between farm houses before arriving at the village of Stavelot. Here used to be a sharp turn in the village itself, which was bypassed by a quicker, banked right hand corner. Another fast section of road in the forest leads to Blanchimont. Here, the new short Grand Prix track of 1979 joins the old layout, which was boycotted by F1 in 1968 for the first time.

New Layout
Over the years, the Spa course has been modified several times and today it has been shortened to 4.3 miles and is a fast and hilly route through the Ardennes where speeds in excess of 330 km/h can be reached. Since inception, the place has been famous for its unpredictable weather. Frequently drivers confront a part of the course that is clear and bright while another stretch is rainy and slippery.

Drivers and fans alike love races at Spa-Francorchamps. A dull race at Spa is very rare, and most drivers today say that the course is one of the two most challenging race tracks in the world (in addition to Japan's Suzuka Circuit).

Eau Rouge
The "raidillon" in the Eau Rouge valleyThe most famous part of the circuit is the Eau Rouge / Raidillon combination. Having negotiated the La Source hairpin, drivers race down a straight before being launched steeply uphill into a sweeping left-right-left collection of corners (the first of which is the actual Eau Rouge bend, the rest of the climb being called Raidillon) with a blind summit. The challenge for drivers has always been to take Eau Rouge-Raidillon flat out, at speeds exceeding 300km/h. However, this is now considered rather normal thanks to modifications made to the circuit, and the high downforce of modern Formula One cars. Still, a loss of control in this section often leads to very heavy shunt as usually the rear-end of the car is lost and the impact is most of the times lateral.

Recent Turmoil
Due to the introduction of a new legislatory order in Europe, new bans in tobacco advertising have been imposed and as of special case the Formula 1 is facing a major thread regarding this point. Due to this political and legislatorial circumstances the Grand Prix in this circuit was left out of the 2003 calendar as a response to the internal tobacco legislation in Belgium. The event was tagged as a World Class event within the national senate thus it was saved for the 2004 Formula One season. The circuit then suffered some other new modifications to its layout, specially in the section known as the Bus Stop chicane as it had been reprofiled with an aditional sweep to the right. Some wondered whether it was possible to overtake at the new chicane, but in racing conditions it proved possible but difficult.

There is an ongoing threat to the presence of the Grand Prix in the Formula 1 calendar in 2006. The organiser of the event went bankrupt in late 2005, and therefore the planned improvements of the race track and the paddock have not been made. The Wallonia government has stepped in and provided the necessary funds but the work will probably not be finished before the date that has been given the Belgian Grand Prix. As of 8 February 2006, the word is that the Formula 1 race in 2006 is called off due to necessary improvements.

The latest rumours say that the Formula 1 race will be back in 2007.