Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Uncle buck

Uncle buck

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Hi. I am booking my first outing to Spa in May next year for the WEC. Found a hotel 30minutes from the track.

Was wondering if anyone had been recently and willing to share any tips or experience they have had at the track.

MTIA
 
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Uncle buck said:
Hi. I am booking my first outing to Spa in May next year for the WEC. Found a hotel 30minutes from the track.

Was wondering if anyone had been recently and willing to share any tips or experience they have had at the track.

MTIA
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Well never been there but been to several road races while stationed in Germany. Thing I found out was to get near a corner. Vehicles slow down some on them and move at other than the speed of sound. Did some moto cross up in Washington years ago and then it was all about finding the right place. There was a neat jump there and I got in position where I didn't see them well till just before the jump. worked out real well. Tried to get the starting point but at the start it was a mess, for me it was better to let them get going and finding a spot they weren't so cloged up. Problem with that is it took a bit to get from one spot to another! Kind of like taking photo's of the dog's in the yard. To get different shot you have to move around a bit. Pretty simple with the dog's, time consuming on a big track!
 
Uncle buck said:
Hi. I am booking my first outing to Spa in May next year for the WEC. Found a hotel 30minutes from the track.

Was wondering if anyone had been recently and willing to share any tips or experience they have had at the track.

MTIA
Click to expand...
I've not been for a few years but have been several times. It's a great circuit for photography, and a 6 hour WEC race is a great opportunity to walk the track. You can walk pretty much the whole lap. Being an F1 circuit there are fences everywhere but some have photo holes cut in them for spectator photography (some officially, quite a few unofficially). Well worth a walk up to the hairpin at the top of the circuit after the Les Combes chicane, you get a wonderful view back down the valley to the Bus Stop and pits a long way below you. The new grandstand at the top of Radillion looks incredible and I've seen some great photos from there.
 
I went in 2019 for my mate's 50th.

My first GP. As it was his 50th we stumped up extra for (silver IIRC) seating on Corner 12 (Poulon).

But we actually spent a fair chunk of the day wandering around. Creeping through the woods and sneaking right up to the fence at Bruxelles for example - where I filmed this. Not knowing at that time, the severity of the crash.

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1EueDcufETA


Didn't have the best equipment at the time - crop body and an EF 70-300 lens.

My favourite shots were from the Chicane just before the Start/Finish line. I had some success by just standing in the crowd at Eau Rouge, and some from some of the straights.

I did end up with way more than my fair share of shots of empty track though. Or half a car.

The biggest challenge was to get high enough to get a clear shot of the track with no fence.

Some things to bear in mind,

  • Eau Rouge is way steeper than you think. At the end of the race, people had removed the advertising hoardings and were standing up on them and sliding down the tarmac.
  • The Dutch fans are mental.
  • At the end of the race, you can walk the entire circuit on the track (this was news to me).
 
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I'm probably jumping on this thread a little late but I've been to Spa three times. The security guards, although very pleasant can be a little over zealous. The circuit itself is the biggest on the calendar and is huge - but what a track!! It's also VERY hilly, the elevation at Eau Rouge/Radillon has to be seen to be believed. If you are thinking of taking your gear just keep in mind the distance and terrain you will be carrying it over. Everywhere is banked so you are always looking down onto the track just don't stand behind the Dutch - they are the tallest people in the world and it shows. There are a lot there supporting some bloke called Max Verstappen. I've been to circuits all over Europe and Spa is fantastic, absolutely love the place.
 
MartinJvilla said:
The Dutch are all technically insane but I love 'em. The campsites at La Combe are full of them and the set ups they have need to be seen to be believed. God, do they know how to party!!.
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I can't even begin to tell you how mad an evening we had when we joined them for 'some' beers.

Let's just say we ended up talking to the Belgian Police.
 
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