#raidillon

[eupat]

[bring-subaru-back-to-wrc]

Infinite Raidillon at Circuit de Spa Francorchamps, 1986

[opelman]

ELMS Spa 2021 by Ste Tit

[viper-motorsports]

Nighttime at the 2022 Spa 24 Hours

[eirianerisdar]

Daniel :(((((

[zombilenium]

"Cliffhanger"

Abandoned villa, Chemin du Raidillon, Saint-Pierre-en-Port, France

[f1]

Verstappen grateful for extra run-off at Raidillon after near-crash | 2023 Belgian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen said the recent extension to the run-off at Raidillon came as a relief when he nearly lost control of his Red Bull there during the Belgian Grand Prix. The barriers were moved back at that section of the circuit last year to improve safety standards at the ultra-fast corner after a series of crashes. Verstappen had to correct a snap of oversteer through the quick corner when rain fell briefly during today’s race. “The rain was just moving around on the track,” he explained. “Sometimes it was increasing in other places from lap to lap. “I just got up there and it probably just rained a bit harder when I was on the other side of the track in Eau Rouge, and I got there and it just caught me out. It was a bit more slippery than I thought it would be. “It happened quickly. Trying to correct it, sometimes of course it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And at that speed as well, you have quite a bit of downforce on the car that helps. “But it was not great. We did have to save a bit but it’s always a combination of things throughout the race when you’re saving.” “That’s probably not the best place to go sideways but luckily nothing happened,” he added. “Of course also with the changes through there, you have a little bit more run-off. But it’s still not a nice corner to have a moment.” Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free Asked what he was thinking at the time Verstappen replied: “A swear word.” Gallery: 2023 Belgian Grand Prix in pictures Verstappen won the race having started sixth and passed his rivals ahead, besides his race-leading team mate Sergio Perez, before making his first pit stop. He said the car felt better after switching to the medium tyre compound. “I could feel that the car was in a much better window and I could go a lot faster,” he said. “So from there onwards, that was really where it started to come alive and really enjoyable to drive once I got in the lead. Also, I could really look after the tyres well. “But then of course, the rain started to come down so you had to slow down quite a bit in some places. But once that cleared, we went back to a soft tyre set and again the car was well-balanced and it shows that once you are not in traffic how much better you can be on tyres. So, it was a great race.” Bringing the F1 news from the source RaceFans strives to bring its readers news directly from the key players in Formula 1. We are able to do this thanks in part to the generous backing of our RaceFans Supporters. By contributing £1 per month or £12 per year (or the equivalent in other currencies) you can help cover the costs involved in producing original journalism: Travelling, writing, creating, hosting, contacting and developing. We have been proudly supported by our readers for over 10 years. If you enjoy our independent coverage, please consider becoming a RaceFans Supporter today. As a bonus, all our Supporters can also browse the site ad-free. Sign up or find out more via the links below: Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 Belgian Grand Prix Browse all 2023 Belgian Grand Prix articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

[glittergridguardian]

From Stats! to Snaps!

Grid Guardian Archive 8 December 1998 by Charlotte Blackwood

“Goose”, or Nick Bradshaw- the beloved former rave engineer to two-time world champion Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, has officially returned to Formula One. But not in the way anyone expected him to!

It has been three seasons since Bradshaw stepped back from the pit wall and traded race weekends for diaper changes and bedtime stories, a choice he never regretted. In an Interview for the Grid Guardian, he told us proudly:

“I had to retire as an engineer, not because I was told to, but because I felt it was the right thing to do. Nothing is more important to me than Carol and my son. I can’t imagine missing all those moments with them, all the firsts we had with Bradley. When he first laughed and sat up! I swear I was calling Mav every 25 Minutes. When he first spoke, I couldn’t shut up about it! His first word was “Car”! Isn’t that impressive?”

The youngest Bradshaw’s interest in cars seemingly awakened a formerly dormant side of the engineer, turned stay-at-home father, because photography, something Nick Bradshaw has always considered a hobby, has now given him a lifetime achievement and maybe a new career.

Yesterday evening, he won not one but two AOP awards, respectively in the categories of Sport and Portrait.

“Now that he (his son) is older I can travel around a bit- visit Mav, help to train Sammy- (Mitchells new race engineer) (…) I always loved photography- and now that I’m not the one at the pitwall I have come to discover that I truly enjoy Formula One in more than one way. It’s incredibly visually exciting, isn’t it? Especially that photo of Ice, it really felt like he was some kind of God, you know. The lightning and the car together- just majestic.”

His winning entry in the category Sports is a truly surreal shot of Tom “Iceman” Kazansky’s car captured mid-race at the Belgian Grand Prix. Bradshaw managed to capture the moment when Kazansky’s car was at the top of Spa’s famous Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge, and lightning struck the track right behind Kazansky’s car. But the thing that made this picture truly special was the fact that there wasn’t a drop of rain on the track.

“I debated keeping the picture in my private collection, because it’s just an unbelievable shot.” Bradshaw explained. “But that moment- It was as if it wasn’t racing anymore. It was supernatural- like elemental. Ice didn’t just win that race- It was as if he was chosen. You can’t hide from lightning, you can’t run from it. Hell- if he wasn’t already Ice, I would have started calling him Zeus!”

Kazansky, who went on to win the 1998 Championship, was present at yesterday’s award ceremony seemingly on “uncle duty” as Bradshaw’s son Bradley stayed by his side all evening. He declined to be interviewed.

Nick Bradshaw’s second AOP award, a Portrait of his wife Carol as she laughs while gently fixing their sons’ hair on a piano stool, captured not only the jury’s but also our hearts. In his acceptance speech, Bradshaw said that this photograph, titled “home”, is the greatest and most important one he ever took. He ended his speech in tears, and before running off stage to kiss his wife, said:

“(…) I love you, Honey. You are my joy, my air and my greatest inspiration(…)”

prev< 3 >next ✭ masterlist

[frenchcurious]

Finotto & de Fierlant devant Xhenceval & Dieudonné (BMW 3.0 CSL) de Luigi Racing au Raidillon lors des 600 km de Spa-Francorchamps 1976. - source Carros e Pilotos.

[drivestraight]

light for the wip game

He really did love her once, but it was a different sort of love—safe and comfortable. It’s the sort that he isn’t sure he can find in himself again.

It’s not better or worse, but when you know how it feels to go from zero to one hundred, to flick left, right, through Eau Rouge then up the hill through Raidillon, sweeping corners, the thrill in your chest, the feeling you chase every time you slip into the cockpit—it’s hard to go back, when you know a love that lights up all corners of your life.

send me a word and if it's in my wip i'll post a bit from where it's from

[underatedwords]

notes from fp3 - spa

wet all session, heavy rain trackside

valtteri and zhou went on wets initially, all others on inters

mv and oscar immediately slid wide

lando slid wide at malmedy, onto the gravel - changed his floor during the red flag

daniel was reporting heavy steering over the radio - returned to the pits to get checked over

red flag 11 mins in; lance had a snap uo eau rouge, then went off and over at raidillon crunching his left front wheel into barrier, snapping the suspension - car was returned to the garage within the session so repairs could start straight away, and lance was taken to the medical centre for checks

green flag 9mins later, but no cars on track

red flag, after 14mins of no cars on track bc of standing water concerns

session resumed w/ 2mins left on the clock - the saubers, vcarbs, haas', esteban and carlos go out on wets

first time carlos and kevin have been out all session

carlos immediately off and over the gravel at rivage

most laps - esteban, valtteri, zhou and yuki w/ 7

least laps - kevin, george and carlos w/ 2

[eupat]

[trombone-minivan]

Hey, hi and hello, it's @brick-enthusiast coming at you from the sideblog again!

As part of a friendly agreement with @things-about-cars-in-posts, I am here to introduce another race car.

You know Peugeot? In recent years, the French brand is probably best known for fighting tooth and nail to shake a reputation of dullness. However, you've probably heard - or perhaps you remember - that Peugeot used to be a whole lot more cool.

Well, this story takes place a little bit after that. Less than a year after the last story I told, in fact, in 1995. And the similarities between the two don't end there.

The car in question is the then-new Peugeot 806.

By all means a run-of-the-mill, boring people carrier, unveiled in 1994.

PSA Group had co-developed it with Fiat, so it was also sold as a Citroen, a Lancia and a Fiat.

(As you may remember from a recent post by @things-about-cars-in-posts!)

Anyway! Peugeot wanted to do something to promote their version of the so-called Eurovan. Someone, half-jokingly, suggested to take it to the racetrack.

That someone was Pascal Witmauer, the man in charge of Peugeot's advertising in Belgium, as well as marketing for the Belgian Procar racing series. Peugeot's "promotional event" was set to be 1995's running of the Spa 24 Hours.

A 24-hour endurance race, yes.

A 24-hour endurance race that was happening at the end of July. It was May.

The project was handed over to Kronos Racing, a Belgian racing team that would go on to build successful Peugeots and Citroens for the circuit as well as dirt. And well, they did complete it.

As much as a parts-bin-special it might have been, the Peugeot 806 Procar was a serious racing machine. Its interior was stripped of anything non-essential, the 8 factory seats were replaced by a single carbon bucket and a roll cage.

The engine and drivetrain were a mix of parts from the 306 Maxi rally car and the outgoing 405 Mi16 circuit racer, while the then-new 406 Supertourisme donated a 6-speed sequential gearbox.

The van's speed certainly didn't lag behind. It qualified 12th overall and third(!) in its class. Not to mention that it certainly stood out in a field full of contemporary BMW 3-series and French hot hatchbacks.

By the start of the race, the big white box was already the crowd favorite. Pascal Witmeur (who also happened to be one of the 806's three drivers) recounts:

“Every time we passed by Raidillon¹, people were applauding. The public liked it, because apart from being atypical, it was often on two wheels!"

¹ a corner on the Spa-Francorchamps track

Unfortunately, mechanical issues didn't take long to show up. The team ran into brake problems an hour into the race. The engine itself gave out before the 10-hour mark, leading to a DNF for the Peugeot.

Not that it mattered to the public though. The touring van single-handedly improved the image of all MPV's² - not just the French-Italian quadruplets. Peugeot of Belgium had 5000 posters printed - all of which were given away signed by Witmeur.

"For a few hours, I was more more famous than Johnny Hallyday³!"

he laughs, admitting it was likely that many workers from Peugeot's local Sevel Nord⁴ factory came to see the race.

² multi-purpose vehicles in case you don't know, European for "minivans"

³ iconic French singer, composer and actor, regarded as "the French Elvis Presley"

⁴ that's where the 806 was assembled. Note the logo on the side of the race car's front bumper!

The very same Peugeot 806 Procar is still around to this day. After the race, it was reportedly kept by one Jean-Pierre Montron - founder of Kronos Racing - until his passing. It went up for sale in 2020 (wherein it had a bunch of articles I could use as sources written about it) and again in late 2022, when it failed to sell at auction.

Thank you for reading <3

image links: [one through four] [five]

[opelman]

ELMS Spa 2021 by Ste Tit

[viper-motorsports]

AF Corse leads a retinue of Le Mans Cup competitors up Raidillon as their N°51 Ferrari 296 GT3 tackles qualifying for the 2023 Four Hours of Spa.

[eirianerisdar]

👏👏 Lance Stroll using his post-sprint interview to talk about the tragedy at Eau Rouge/Raidillon today, how it’s caused two deaths in five years now, and how the drivers have been talking about it for years and yet not enough has been done

I think some media only get caught up in his nepo-baby origins and forget how genuine he is

He’s a great driver and a genuine person and deserves even more respect after what he said today