Total 24 Hours of Spa (Questions from Newbie)
Discussion
We’ve been to Le Mans for a good few years so we’re used to badly organised events but the more I look for information on the Spa 24 hours the more I am beginning to think Le Mans isn’t that badly organised afterall!
We’re definitely going to Spa at the end of July but I have a few questions that I hope some of you that have been before may be able to help me out with please?
Tickets – Had confirmation that they’re cheaper to buy online first, thanks for that. But is it worth the extra for the paddock access?
Parking – We will be driving in every day from an Airbnb we have booked about 10 minutes away. So what’s the parking situation? When we went for the 6 hours WEC last year it was just rock up, pay your 5 Euros and there was plenty of space. Is that the same for the 24 hours? When you click on the parking section of the website it simply takes you to ticketmaster.be where there is zero info about parking! Is there any better parking that you can pay extra for? We’re taking a nice (by my standards) car and want it to be safe.
Food – When we went to Spa for the 6 hours I was really surprised by the general lack of services around, especially food and drink. Is the 24 hour busier and therefor more availability? Otherwise will make more effort to bring stuff with me.
Race commentary/radio – Is there a Radio Le Mans equivalent?
Anything we should definitely not miss?
Sorry if my post sounds a bit negative, I am really looking forward to it honestly!
We’re definitely going to Spa at the end of July but I have a few questions that I hope some of you that have been before may be able to help me out with please?
Tickets – Had confirmation that they’re cheaper to buy online first, thanks for that. But is it worth the extra for the paddock access?
Parking – We will be driving in every day from an Airbnb we have booked about 10 minutes away. So what’s the parking situation? When we went for the 6 hours WEC last year it was just rock up, pay your 5 Euros and there was plenty of space. Is that the same for the 24 hours? When you click on the parking section of the website it simply takes you to ticketmaster.be where there is zero info about parking! Is there any better parking that you can pay extra for? We’re taking a nice (by my standards) car and want it to be safe.
Food – When we went to Spa for the 6 hours I was really surprised by the general lack of services around, especially food and drink. Is the 24 hour busier and therefor more availability? Otherwise will make more effort to bring stuff with me.
Race commentary/radio – Is there a Radio Le Mans equivalent?
Anything we should definitely not miss?
Sorry if my post sounds a bit negative, I am really looking forward to it honestly!
I think the parking would be similar, although there will be more camping in the car parks than there were for the WEC, where are you staying? Parking is available at the Stavelot and Les Combes gates if you're somewhere to the south, you don't need to be restricted to the main car parks. I've always camped at that end of the track.
Paddock access? For me it's a no brainer as it isn't that much more, and I really like to watch from above the F1 pits. It also offers a short cut from Eau Rouge to the Bus Stop.
Food? It's not brilliant, you have standard burger fare, the more expensive pits buffet but that's about it. I tend to stock up in the garage shop just outside the circuit. You have a few more shops up the hill in Francorchamps.
What not to miss? The view from the inside of Bruxelles both the corner itself and the view to the pits straight across the valley. The East Belgian Racing club bar at Radaillion is worth a stop at, cheaper beer and the atmosphere on race night at 4am is brilliant. If you are arriving earlier in the week, the parade on Wednesday is great, it's not like the crazy Le Mans one, you actually see the cars and meet the drivers.
If you want to do a pit walk, do the one earlier in the week, it's a lot quieter
Food? It's not brilliant, you have standard burger fare, the more expensive pits buffet but that's about it. I tend to stock up in the garage shop just outside the circuit. You have a few more shops up the hill in Francorchamps.
What not to miss? The view from the inside of Bruxelles both the corner itself and the view to the pits straight across the valley. The East Belgian Racing club bar at Radaillion is worth a stop at, cheaper beer and the atmosphere on race night at 4am is brilliant. If you are arriving earlier in the week, the parade on Wednesday is great, it's not like the crazy Le Mans one, you actually see the cars and meet the drivers.
If you want to do a pit walk, do the one earlier in the week, it's a lot quieter
Not unless Radio Le Mans restart their commentary which they stopped a few years ago. The circuit commentary is in French with hourly English updates. I would say it is significantly easier to follow than Le Mans/WEC. Rather than the 3 coloured dot system for the leaders, they have LED panels displaying the actual position for the entire field, in different colours for the classes. In qualifying they use it to show provisional grid position
There don't seem to be any plans for Radio Le Mans to have any coverage, what I didn't say when I mentioned the series app further up the thread was that I couldn't get the 'audio only' button to work at the Brands or Silverstone rounds so I streamed the video, which was good for the shorter events but would be a bit thirsty for a 24 hour race, hopefully it'll be ok.
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