Back from Spa!

Was it your first F1 race Florian.?

I know what you mean..look forward to your pics, Mikes were good and as long as SPA stays on the calendar I will be going.

 

I look forward to your writeup! I have not yet seen an F1 in person, but that day is coming!

 

Can't wait for the pics Florian!

I am sorry we didn't get to meet up, but by the time I saw your message about only having internet access until Saturday morning, it was already Saturday afternoon.

I really enjoyed the Belgian GP, so I think I will be back in the future, and I am sure we will have a chance to meet up again at some point.

Looking forward to your pics and race report

 

Lucky you, cant wait for the pics mate, thanks

 

Was in Hockenheim summer 2006, know EXACTLY what you mean

 

Florian,

I didn't know this was your first race - you are right, the thing that stands out more anything is the sound. It is so loud it almost tickles your eardrums like someone stuck a feather in waaay too deep.

You are right about the fans, I found them to be very friendly and kind, no hard feelings and no problems at all. Everyone was cheering their own favorite but nobody got upset at anyone else and nobody rubbed anything in anyone else's face. Everyone was very friendly, and it was a perfect environment for kids.

As for parking, where did you park? We took exit 10A from E42 the first day, parked in one of the lots in Stavalot (marked Gold 4, but anyone can park there, it was just recommended for being close to that area). It was a 10 minute walk to the track entrance, and about 20 minutes more to our seats. When we left there was almost no traffic, but this was Friday practice. On Saturday and Sunday, we took exit 10B off E42, and it was just like a rest area with police directing people onto a dirt road that winded through the country side (very narrow roads) and we ended up in a grass field. 10 Euro to park, and a 25 minute walk to our seats from the car. When we left on Saturday and on Sunday, it was no problem at all - there was no stoppage of traffic, no delays at all. We left our seats when we realized they weren't going to do a parade lap, then we dropped off the Kangaroo we rented, left the track about 3:45pm, and were at the car at 4:15, and out of the lot by 4:20pm. Back at our hotel before 5pm.

But the lot we parked at on Friday would have been much worse, because people didn't realize there were two exists for gold parking, so everyone was talking 10A and the lots at 10B were not even close to full, so we just drove right out.

The tickets are crazy expensive, ours were 475 Euro each. Then you can pay for VIP (may be paddock tickets, may be less?) but they have shuttle buses to the track, VIP parking, etc. But I think those tickers are more like 2500 Euro each. I don't think even the gold tickets are worth 475 Euro, so I'd never pay more.

Seems to me tickets should be 50Euro for bronze, 100 Euro for silver, maybe 200 Euro for gold.

Spa is a great track, I love the Belgian countryside, but I don't think the tickets are worth 950 Euro a pair. And I think that is why they can't sell them all.

IMO, Bernie really needs to fix this problem!

Oh, and about the transporter for the drivers parade, it IS the same truck! It was exactly the same one in Monza last year. It is owned by Formula One Mgmt and it goes to the various tracks along with everyone else. I wish they showed the drivers parade on TV. It was funny with Mark Webber giving Fisichella a hard time about the stuffed rabbit the other drivers got him for a good-luck charm. You don't get to see the camaraderie on TV but you see it at the track.

I have some very good close-ups of the drivers from the Parade. Unfortunately I already packed my bags (gotta get up at 4am to drive to Brussels to catch my flight). I will be back in Boston tomorrow and I will try to upload some then, but the pics are pretty good. I will love to see yours too Florian!

Cheers!

 

Hey,

Firstly, thanks again to Mike & Florian for their pix and reports - Cheers guys. Anyway, you said:

and:

It's been that way ever since I've been going! Nothing comes close to F1 "sounds".....

My first GP was Britain, Brands, 1967 btw - Won by Jim Clark, Lotus-Ford, 80 laps in just under two hours.

And they've sounded unique in some way ever since IMHO - Partly it's loudness, but it's more than that....

Cheers,
Ian

 

With apologies for the hijack, I continued on down "memory lane" - John Surtees picked up a point for 6th, in a Honda, but was 2 laps down...... They're a little closer together now

Cheers,
Ian

 

Did you stand right next to the fence? That's ear piercing drop everything cover ears LOUD! haha.

The V10's sounded better and were as loud or even louder.

You haven't experienced F1 till you get to a track at least once. Just seeing them drive past, or tracking them in the distance you really get a better sense of how damn fast these cars really are

Thanx for the pics

 

Nice Pics, kimi off to work

 

Thanks for the pics Flo. My dream is indeed to attend F1 races at Spa, Monza and the 24 Hours Le Mans race. Gimme bout 10 years

 

Florian, you were about 50 metres away from me during the race! I was near the fence between the FOFA flag that was attached to the fence and the Union Jack that was on a huge stick. There was a big group of Brazilians to our right who started a Mexican Wave (Brazilian Wave?) before the race.

I was there with my 12 year old son and we made friends with a group of Germans, Brits, and Americans. After the race we got onto the track and had a beer on Eau Rouge!

I have been to about a dozen F1 races (Imola, Monza, Silverstone, & Barcelona), but this was my first time at Spa. It was the best F1 experience I have ever had. An amazing weekend. We had chairs that we put at the top of the banking. From there you could see the cars heading into the Bus-Stop and onto the start/finish, a bit of them heading towards Eau Rouge, and then obviously as they went past heading to La Combe. We were going to sit there during the race, but decided to go the fence for the first couple of laps. We stayed there for the whole race! The sound when they all went past after safety car had gone in and Kimi was steaming past Fisi was incredible! It made your chest vibrate!!

There were a couple of guys in our gang from New York who had tickets for the Gold 4 Grandstand on Eau Rouge. They stayed with us on the Saturday and on Sunday for the support races. They went to their grandstand for the F1 race and we met up with them on the track afterwards. They had enjoyed the race, but said they wish they had stayed with us as the atmosphere in the grandstand was totally different with people constantly coming and going during the race and playing with their phones! They will be back next year, but in Bronze!

 

Thanks for posting the photos, never get tired of looking at photos of the Spa circuit and surrounding area. We've attended 5 F1 races there over the years and only one without rain like this year. We were definitely happy when Spa was put back on the sked several years ago.

Carol

If in fact that's Kimi's car and not that of a fan, I would have thought he'd at least have an RS4 Avant.

 

Florian - yes, I knew that about the town designator but did not know about no vanity plates - My front plate on my TT Coupe is IN 704A (export plate from Euro delivery) - obviously from Ingolstadt! Where is KI?

thanks,
Carol

 

The Rabbit thing was that it's sort of a saying (at least in Western culture, not sure of German) that rabbits feet are lucky... so when Fisichella got the pole, apparently Heidfeld bought him a stuffed rabbit to take in the car on his recon lap. Fisi brought it along on the drivers parade and Webber grabbed it and was saying the story behind it... some said Fisichella ran over the rabbit in his car before the race.

It was funny to see the drivers laughing and joking with each other. I can't understand why they don't show the drivers parade as part of the normal coverage, it's one of the best parts of the show.

 

Great to read about Spa adventures on here, thanks!
CH

 

Victory lap.

There was no victory lap after the race. Was it a let down not to get to see the drivers cruise by and wave?

 

Yes it was a let down, but not a surprise. I think they should change the rule and allow the top 3 to do a victory lap. In 1992 when Schumacher won his first ever F1 race at Spa he weaved his way through the marshalls and went for a victory lap!

I understand that they need to get the podium and the press conference done for the tv companies, but would an extra 3 minutes really make such a difference?

 

I thought the Brazilians were great, especially some of the women!
Seriously though I was surprised and impressed at the number of people who had travelled huge distances just for the weekend. I spent most of the weekend with a father ansd son from New York. Chris had set up the trip as a surprise for his Dad who last went to an F1 race in 1979 at Watkins Glen! There were a group of 4 Californians on our campsite too. I was very impressed with their commitment. Bernie seriously needs to get some North American races sorted.