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Going to the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps (239 posts)

Topic tags: 2012 Belgian Grand Prix, Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps

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Kim Ellis said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

Hi all!! I have been following f1fanatic for a few years now, but had to actually register to join in the Spa chat. I had planned a trip to Holland for the first week in September to visit my boyfriend without even realizing that my trip corresponds with Spa. So, I was overjoyed when my boyfriend decided to surprise me with tickets to the race! He knows that my two bucket list races are Le Mans and Spa F1. I will get to cross them both off of my list this year. This will also be my very first F1 race to attend live.

So now I have a quick question for those of you that are familiar with the track. We have general admission tickets, but for me there is one small catch. I have a very severe knee injury (need knee replacement surgery), and walking up and down hills will put me on crutches for the next month or so. To be honest, that is a small price to pay to get to see this race live and in person. So, I will happily hop around on crutches for a while if I have to =) But, if I can avoid the crutches, that wouldn’t be bad either. We are coming in on a motorcycle, so I think that we will be able to park right near the gates. Does anyone have a recommendation for the best place to watch that is also the easiest to get to? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!!!

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Unionscum said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

@ kim ellis

Great that you can watch spa, but with a bad knee….oh dear… Easiest way for you should be to park in the green areas. Not so crowded as it is a bit further away from the grandstands. Take the entry at les combes. If i was you, i would take a seat on top of kemmel, it is the long straight after eau rouge…but there is a catch. As it is a long straight, and with drs, it will probably be the most popular spot of most ga ticket holders…so set your alarm clock for ‘very early- ish’. Dont forget to take a seat an position yourself on top. Kemmel is very steep (and slippery when it rains) so you should be able to overlook the people in front of you as they are emediately underneath you. There is a giant screen halfway kemmel and for the ladies, toilets are next to the walkway behind you. Good luck and enjoy spa. Oh, and don’t wear high heels :)

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Unionscum said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

Was scrolling a bit through the forum and my conclusion is this…..we (I’m from belgium) are about to be invaded by the brittish empire, or at least a few of its F1 nutters :) lots of questions about transport and how to get there, where to park etc…. You should find most of the answers here http://www.spa-francorchamps.be/en/access.php?lg=en if not, there are a few links in the pdf file that redirect you to more specific sites of towns and tourist info nearby. Remember, towns are very small in the region, except for liege and everything is far in spa, nothing is close. Wear good shoes, pack light but always for rain and even if its sunny, mornings are always chilly in the ardennes. Oh, and for those who have to drive through the dutch speaking part of Belgium first, roadsigns indicating directions to LUIK is the same as LIèGE. Have a great GP. Cheers!

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Kim Ellis said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

@unionscum

Thank you so much for the advice!! I know this is probably not going to end well for my knee (so I am dusting off the crutches as we speak), but injury or not, I simply cannot pass up an opportunity to see an F1 race at what is perhaps the most beautiful track in the world. This has been a dream of mine for years, so I will happily take the risk (and no worries about the heels, I can’t even take two steps in them before I am at the doctor’s office! Pity too, I miss my heels!!)

Again, thank you SO much for your suggestions. I fly in to Amsterdam (I am coming from the United States) on Saturday & am staying in south Holland. We will be leaving very very early to make sure to get the best parking and seats possible. I am actually really happy to hear that I will be able to watch from the kemmel straight. My dream, of course, is to sit and watch the cars coming through Eau Rouge (perhaps my favorite turn in racing), but with GA, that isn’t quite possible. Will I be able to get at least a glimpse of Eau Rouge from Kemmel if I get there early enough to get my choice of seats?

Thanks again for the info!!! I am so excited for this, I can’t really think of much else. PS – on my way home from work, I stopped off and bought a six pack of Leffe Brune to get me in the mood! My favorite Belgian beer (perhaps my favorite beer!!)

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Matt Gration said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

So……the road trip has begun. We’re in two camper vans, just about to hit the m25. We’re on the 07:00 ferry from Ransgate to Ostend, hopefully see some of you guys on there. We will be camping at Camping Du Moulin, look out for a blue 2002 VW camper, and a White T3 ‘Y’ reg VW camper. Can’t wait to hear those engines…..see you at Spa! Matt :-)

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Uros said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

Hey guys,
I’ve found this page today and I’m glad I have! I was wondering how is it with bringing in own food and drinks supply to the track site? Is it allowed at all? Are there any limitations? And in any case, what are the prices of food and drinks at the track? See you on Saturday and Sunday :-)
Uros

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Uros said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

Oh and if anyone knows what is the price of a weekend rental for the Fanvision if you get it at their stand at the track? I see it would have been € 55 if ordered online in time… but I’m already too late for that.

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Unionscum said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

@kimellis

A peek at eau rouge will be hard, kemmel goes slightly up toward les combes and just after eau rouge there is a slight bend to the left, not to mention the many trees….if you feel fit enough though, you might risk going down the walkway toward eau rouge by the end of the race, track should be opened for fans once the flag has dropped and you can do eau rouge yourself on foot , or cruches for that matter. You’ll never make it to the podium on time so this might make up for it, it is a once in so many time experience right? It is a long and steep walk though…just so you know. In the old days you were able to do this bend with your own car, mighty….it was still used as a public road than. Now there is a new road dor public that goes all around the north side of the track…pitty…anyhow, i’ll keep my eye out for a girl with cruches….see if you still have some of those leffe brune :)

@uros

No idea about the fanvision but about the food and drinks, no problem, you can bring your own. On track, as usual, everything is overpriced :)

C u on track….perhaps :)

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Unionscum said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

http://twitpic.com/apblu8 a view from last year toward eau rouge, which you cant see. Paddocks in the background…gives you an idea of the distances you have to walk….it is a 7km track…thank god not the old 15 anymore ;)

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Kim Ellis said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

@unionscum -

Thanks for the info & the picture! I am getting so excited! I am babying my knee as much as possible until the race and keeping my fingers crossed that it appreciates my effort and lasts through the race. As long as the weather is decent, we will be riding the motorcycle to the race. Not sure how much we can carry, but if we find room for some Leffe in our gear, one has your name on it! Enjoy the race =)

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anonymouscoward said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

Anyone in green 121 come say hello to Audi with bikes on roof

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Keijzer said 9 months, 2 weeks ago:

What a weekend it was; On our way from Holland on Thursday evening it rained all the way untill the exit 11 on the Motorway, it stopped raining so we were ably to set up everything on camping Green and grapped our first draft beers! On Friday morning it was raining, we saw the first practice at the entry of Les Combes, around 11:15 AM we walked back to the campsite and stayed there for the rest of the day, at night some great fireworks and (it stopped raining around 05:00 PM and we saw some sun). Saturday morning the sky was blue and temperature was rising, we watched Practice 3 at Pouhon and in the afternoon we were sunbathing on Kemmel straight for Q and GP2 race. After a great day we had a nice evening/night. Sunday morning we put all our stuff together and placed ourselves near Bruxelles corner in front of a giant screen, watched all the action with crashes during GP2, Porsche Supercup and of course F1.

It really was a great weekend; good weather on Saterday and Sunday, great races and a lot of beers and BBQ, Spa, I’m going to miss you; see you next year!!

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Alan said 9 months, 1 week ago:

Yep a great weekend (slow reply as I continued my trip to Bruges after the Grand Prix)

I was in camping green too, in my pokey tent amongst all the (predominantly German) motorhomes! Can say I was somewhat jealous on the Friday but the rest of the was great, even saw Vergne hanging around as we were putting our tent up.

Only complaint was all the sideways fireworks and the guys watching hardcore porn at a loud volume – the guys who the bus looked really lonely as they’d brough so much stuff and no one wanted to hang around. Also completely random to hear Gangnam Style pumping out during the night.

Circuit itself is amazing, watched the Practices on Kemmel (walking or sat down), we watched Q from Pouhon and the race from Les Combes, had fan vision so didn’t need a screen to see the rest of the stuff – don’t know how the people around us followed the race without it.

Hilariously I bought an umbrella after mine perished in the umbrella graveyard that was the Kemmel Straight on Friday, and I still haven’t had chance to use, weather has been too nice since!

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Nick said 7 months, 1 week ago:

It was a great weekend, no doubts. Not to mention that it was my first Grand Prix !

The whether (except Friday) was so perfect that I managed to walk around the circuit – that was just great :)

We stayed in Epen (Netherlands , about 50 km from circuit) with my friends from Russia and was surprised that one nice family from London supports Petrov, that amazed me !

Hope, I’ll be there next year as well :)

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