Spa Francorchamps

About

It was early in the 1920's that the idea of creating a race track in the Ardennes Forest near Francorchamps and Spa came about. The idea was spawned by two prominent figures in the motorsport world at the time, Jules de Their and Henri Langlois Van Ophem, who were looking to make use of the natural triangle of roads joining the towns of Malmedy, Stavelot and Francorchamps, to forma race track. It was in 1922 that the official inauguration took place for a motorcycle event following cancellation of the first event due to take place in 1921. The famous 24hrs of Francorchamps race was first held at the circuit in 1924 and it was not long after in 1925 that the circuit attracted the single seater racing when it held the European Grand Prix, eventually won by Antonio Ascari. The track remained in its original configuration until the 1970s but due to the reluctance of drivers wanting to race on the 14km circuit for safety reasons, and because of the naturally dangerous surrounding making it difficult to overcome this problem, plans for a new circuit were drawn up. The key features of the old circuit wanted to be kept in the new layout with the most dangerous zones (those situated between Les Coombes and Blanchimant) to be removed. In 1979 the inauguration of the new 7km circuit took place and the circuit was soon back in the frame to hold the Belgium F1 Grand Prix which it continues to hold today. The circuit is renown for being one of the most challenging and technical circuits in the world and is a driver favourite. With its prestigious reputation, this fantastic facility will hopefully remain as one of the most highly regarded motorsport arenas and continue to hold some of the largest international motorsport events long into the future.