Spa Francorchamps. Nothing Else.

Spa Francorchamps (10th April)

Going into this race, I never thought that I could have such a blast in a Ferrari….but then the Ferrari GT3 Challenge came to Spa and things changed.

E: 14 (1 Class A | 1 Class B | 7 Class C | 5 Class D)

P: (No Laps Completed)

Q: 10th (Of 10 that completed laps) – Lifted at Radillion

R: 8th (2nd In Class) – 2nd highest finish in a Ferrari

F: 9

S: 14

SOF: 1030

A fallen green solider was the least of my worries

Through the Bus Stop Chicane they go, two abreast waiting for the green flag to drop, already Ruben Fraser has a small advantage, being on the racing line for the Bus Stop Chicane…

the second he’s clear of the chicane, he’s clear of the chicane he is off! No patiently lining up, no waiting for the green, he is off! He wants this win!

Still in the chicane, Aaron Bertol and Joachim Jaderyd trade paint, Joachim cutting slightly and Aaron going little bit wide, but now they too get the green flag everyone is off flying down the straight

down into La Source they go for the first time, all pretty tidy, the interstingly coloured #7 of Aaron Smith, takes too much speed going into turn one, although he did brake in the braking area, and fires off quite wide…Robin Truswell utilises this, and is now side by side, doorhandle to doorhandle with him heading down the hill, into Eau Rouge (yes, I got that right, Eau Rouge is the bit at the bottom, passing the Eau Rouge River)

Two into one doesn't go....not at these speeds....

To begin with, I brake slightly earlier, as I try to prevent a potential collision from occurring. This is also wise, as he’s on the racing-line, and under normal circumstances, would have the right of way (his corner to take), he then brakes a little too late…at first, this isn’t a problem, but a little birdy told me that Ferrari’s don’t like it when you don’t shift down when you dab the brake whilst going up a big hill at a surplus of 100mph…..first he understeers off slightly, going onto the dirty part of the track where all the rubber and debris are, dabs the brake again, still trying to slow himself down, but the rear wheels lose traction, putting him into a slide, and from then on he’s a passenger. Other than fighting a losing battle the car slews sideways to the top of Radillion, still on the circuit, and the slide only pushes him closer to the cars doing over double the speed he is, and it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened…..

Aaron Smith was incredibly lucky to survive this horror crash

The same crash in video format

Bar a week in hospital Aaron Smith made an incredibly swift recovery.....

After this horrific incident, which was probably the worst I have ever witnessed, the race resumed without even a single yellow flag.

Later on in the lap, a driver sporting an Italian Flag let me, and the driver behind me past, after he went up Raddillion a little too quickly, and had to cut the corner, avoiding all of the messy shenanigans that were going on. Luke Keamy also spun out along the straight before the Bus Stop chicane, gifting me another free place.

On lap 3, Nathan Herne pulled over to the side of the track, giving me 8th place. This could have been a technical or an external factor

Scott Schnable, who was on my tail for the whole race, then made an incredibly hopeful lunge from the port of Dover…which obviously went well, spinning me around, and giving him a place.

- If you look close enough, you can see the Belgian border…..

Following this, he let me back past…

On the next lap, he tried to overtake me again. Again, his attempt was short lived. He passed me down the kemmel straight, however, at the end, he braked too late, lost control on the grass, and almost hit me…

- Overtaking isn’t the easiest at Spa….

On the same lap as this, I had an incredibly embarrassing spin at the straight before the bus-stop chicane (something about braking, and shifting down) letting past the fool…but I tried to hunt him down…

Poleman Ruben Fraser had an absolute killer of a race. Lead by quite some way until lap 4, when he dropped a wheel on the grass, at exactly the same corner that I messed up, however, he lost 4 positions, dropping down to a blundering, heart wrenching 5th place….Karma for jumping the start?!!?

And to add insult to injury, whilst battling for 4th place, went wide over the kerb at the end of Pouhon, unsettling the car, and spitting it straight into the barrier