Our trip to the Formula 1 race at Spa, 2007

Click on the zooming car logo above to see our pictures

As you may or may not know, Caz is a big Formula 1 fan, and her favourite course has always been Spa Francorchamps in Belgium. As this course is on and off the race calendar dependant on the year, I thought I would surprise her with a combined birthday/anniversary/Christmas present and take her for the weekend to the race.

She had told me her absolute favourtie spot on the track was a corner called 'Eau Rouge' a very steep corner where the cars enter at speeds in excess of 200 km/h, so this is where I got our tickets.

She had assumed we would just get a general ticket for the Saturday (Qualifying) and Sunday (Race) and sit somewhere in the open grass verges near the track, as this didn't sound that exciting to me (or comfortable!) I bought us seats in the grandstand at Eau Rouge for the Friday (Testing), Saturday and Sunday sesssions.

She also thought we may be camping near the track, and once again, I thought, hmmmm, sounds uncomfortable, so I booked a hotel about 40 minutes away in the German town of Aachen.

I still recall phoning her to tell her we were going, and that elicited scream one, then I told her that we had covered grandstand seats on the Eau Rouge corner, which elicited a louder scream and a thump as she was so excited that she fell off her chair... :) That made it worth every single penny! :)

I won't go into lots of detail here on the weekend, check out the photos as a picture really does tell a thousand words.

Here is some information about the course:

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

The circuit was conceived in 1921. Its creators, using public roads twisting and turning through the Ardennes hills, produced a truly majestic 13 km road course which was both respected and feared by all who drove on it. The track was redeveloped in 1983 and although the new circuit in only half its original length, it retains much of its previous character and charm.

Considered by many to be the best circuit on the F1 calendar, Spa has the longest lap length of all, and is certainly one of the most scenically situated, surrounded by wooded hillsides and small farms. It is also renowned for its changeable weather. Despite using public roads for half its length, Spa is used most weekends and on many weekdays for practice and testing.

In 2005 the race returned to the rainy Ardennes and it was indeed a spectacle. The race was won by Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher won the World Championship for the 7th time.