18 oct. 2007 13:51:08
- Porsche-Jeck
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- Lieu: Rheinland , Allemagne
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Eau Rouge in the wet (trackday report)
Hi guys, want to share some impressions from yesterday's trackday in Spa with you 
It was great to see another Rennteamer's face in Spa: thanks for the nice chat, Phil_966
As a Spa-Rookie I was curious to experience this great track. Regarding scenery, uphill/downhill legs it's almost a mini-Nordschleife, but with F1 safety standards of course.
The layout is relatively easy to learn and there are only very few blind corners.
Unfortunately the weather is also similar to the big sister track in the Eifel.....
At least the morning stints were in the dry though. After 9 introduction laps behind the instructor's car the fun on the Ardennes roller coaster started
Almost all the participants behaved like Gentleman drivers on the track - big help for a Rookie like me
Nice for my ego: a 996 GT3 got the blue flag, hehe
Noon it started to rain - strange feeling in the stomach
First it was light rain only I was astonished how well it went (not the soap like NoS tarmac)
In the afternoon the rain increased and the instructors gave the usual warnings: stay away from the curbs etc.
One instructor though just loved the rain ("Everybody can drive fast in the dry...") and he proposed to show me two laps with my car and to afterwards judge my amateur attempts from the passenger seat. Great idea
It was unbelievable how super-smooth he drove my car. And of course his line was just a piece of art - I would give everything to be able to drive like that
After driving some laps on my own trying to keep in mind the hints and tricks the instructor showed me, he joined me as a passenger. Great stuff - "drive nearer to this curb, you're giving away half a meter
" - "Les Combes/Malmedy was perfect" etc...
Then it was time for my Guardian Angels As it kept raining, the track was rather empty now (the guys with cup tires gave up) and the problem in these conditions is, that the track changes from lap to lap. I still had the instructor as a passenger when I approached the mother of all all corners just like the lap before. Big mistake. We just didn't notice that the "small lake" just at the Eau Rouge bottom had expanded - aquaplaning at 155 km/h is no fun 
. Just when the rear end became loose the front wheels regained grip already (luckily), so that I was able to rescue our butts. Only comment from the instructor: uiuiuiuiui
Some laps later I had another big "moment" as the same problem happened on the straight to La Source - this time at 160 km/h. Again I was lucky to regain control and decided that the Guardian Angels needed some rest after 40 laps
At least I have a new fan now When I returned to the pitlane a nice girl 
started a chat: wow you must have had a blast - that looked great. What do you mean ? have you been on the track also ? No, I watched your "moments" from the grandstand
Apart from this mean aquaplaning it's great to track a car in the wet - you really learn something about your car and about how to drive a clean line. In the wet this wisdom is even more true: smooth = fast
It was a great day with just a little bit too much adrenaline - I'll return to Spa for sure
Here are some pics from yesterday - Enjoy
Roadsign to driver's heaven
It was great to see another Rennteamer's face in Spa: thanks for the nice chat, Phil_966
As a Spa-Rookie I was curious to experience this great track. Regarding scenery, uphill/downhill legs it's almost a mini-Nordschleife, but with F1 safety standards of course.
The layout is relatively easy to learn and there are only very few blind corners.
Unfortunately the weather is also similar to the big sister track in the Eifel.....
At least the morning stints were in the dry though. After 9 introduction laps behind the instructor's car the fun on the Ardennes roller coaster started
Almost all the participants behaved like Gentleman drivers on the track - big help for a Rookie like me
Nice for my ego: a 996 GT3 got the blue flag, hehe
Noon it started to rain - strange feeling in the stomach
First it was light rain only I was astonished how well it went (not the soap like NoS tarmac)
In the afternoon the rain increased and the instructors gave the usual warnings: stay away from the curbs etc.
One instructor though just loved the rain ("Everybody can drive fast in the dry...") and he proposed to show me two laps with my car and to afterwards judge my amateur attempts from the passenger seat. Great idea
It was unbelievable how super-smooth he drove my car. And of course his line was just a piece of art - I would give everything to be able to drive like that
After driving some laps on my own trying to keep in mind the hints and tricks the instructor showed me, he joined me as a passenger. Great stuff - "drive nearer to this curb, you're giving away half a meter
" - "Les Combes/Malmedy was perfect" etc...Then it was time for my Guardian Angels
As it kept raining, the track was rather empty now (the guys with cup tires gave up) and the problem in these conditions is, that the track changes from lap to lap. I still had the instructor as a passenger when I approached the mother of all all corners just like the lap before. Big mistake. We just didn't notice that the "small lake" just at the Eau Rouge bottom had expanded - aquaplaning at 155 km/h is no fun . Just when the rear end became loose the front wheels regained grip already (luckily), so that I was able to rescue our butts. Only comment from the instructor: uiuiuiuiui Some laps later I had another big "moment" as the same problem happened on the straight to La Source - this time at 160 km/h. Again I was lucky to regain control and decided that the Guardian Angels needed some rest after 40 laps
At least I have a new fan now
When I returned to the pitlane a nice girl started a chat: wow you must have had a blast - that looked great. What do you mean ? have you been on the track also ? No, I watched your "moments" from the grandstand Apart from this mean aquaplaning it's great to track a car in the wet - you really learn something about your car and about how to drive a clean line. In the wet this wisdom is even more true: smooth = fast
It was a great day with just a little bit too much adrenaline - I'll return to Spa for sure
Here are some pics from yesterday - Enjoy
Roadsign to driver's heaven
Actually it was a really nice lady (the hydroplaning scenes must have revoked bad memories for her - she told me that she totalled her BoxsterS on the Autobahn in the wet 
)
