Anyone else watching WEC Spa 24hrs?

[Bustaspoke]

I think someone hit a deer in 1986 in the night.

Burnicle was saying that the old circuit was 9 mies long,was that when the circuit was full length?

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I think someone hit a deer in 1986 in the night.

Burnicle was saying that the old circuit was 9 mies long,was that when the circuit was full length?

No, it was a similar layout to now, but with a lot less run off and no fences to keep wild life out.

[Bustaspoke]

Any idea why SERT got the Stop & Go penalty? I can't work it out
When they pitted early in the evening was that really to get the on board camera working ?

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Any idea why SERT got the Stop & Go penalty? I can't work it out
When they pitted early in the evening was that really to get the on board camera working ?

Greg Black went into the back of another rider causing him to crash, it had no effect on the result as SERT got all the time back in the next safety car session.

SERT are now snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the pits.

[crust]

Lovely circuit, excellent to watch at and to ride, it's like a giant roller coaster.

Went a few times in the 80's and early 90's when fat Colin's team were racing.

[Bustaspoke]

Spa is top of the list of circuits i still have to visit

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

For me it's the same distance as Pembrey, when the ferry went from Felixstowe to Zeebrugge it was only about 170 miles.

[Bustaspoke]

For me it's the same distance as Pembrey, when the ferry went from Felixstowe to Zeebrugge it was only about 170 miles.

For me it's 300 miles just to get to Dover,but it's only 15 miles to Pier Head for the IOM boat...
Made up for YART getting the top step on the podium,I felt sorry for SERT having to pit & get the onboard camera working
Listening to the commentary,I wasn't the only one surprised when they said that the last time Yamaha won a endurance race was 2009
Bring on Suzuka!

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

The last time YART won a 24 Hour race was 2009, they won the Estoril 12 Hour in 2020.

SERTs biggest problem was having to replace the water pump, they could have won without this, the camera was a bit bizarre, you don't need a camera to race.

[Bustaspoke]

I get it with the water pump,that's a mechanical,but being required to pit so that they can fix the camera just seems wrong.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Did race control make them pit for the camera?
I thought they found the problem when they were already in the pit.

[Bustaspoke]

I'm not sure,I just remember them pushing the bike into the garage & taking the bodywork off the bike,then when the pit lane reporter asked the team about it he mentioned the on board camera

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

That's what I saw, looked like a co ax cable they were fiddling with.

[The Spin Doctor]

Burnicle was saying that the old circuit was 9 mies long,was that when the circuit was full length?

The OLD old circuit was indeed 15 km long, used public roads and was ferociously fast and dangerous, but hasn't been used for forty-odd years. It was roughly triangular and apart from the hairpin at La Source (still used) the public road circuit took in the corners of the villages of Malmedy and Stavelot.

The current 'short' circuit came into use in 1979 and still used stretches of public road (which of course led to ordinary riders getting laps in before and after the race). The old long circuit was finally shut to all competition a few years later. For years there were still white / red painted bits of kerb and armco barriers along the old road.

The current circuit was improved again, being closed to traffic and bypassed by public roads as well as modified around the new pits area ready for the 2007 season, and there have been a few further tweaks to get it reopened to top class bike racing.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I've seen the F1 at Spa, proper old 20,000rpm V10 stuff, in the rain. The sound of those engines bouncing off the hillsides while they're still a mile away is not something I'll forget!

It must takes enormous cajones to ride it on a bike in the rain at proper pace!

It's really good for spectators IME cause it's soooo hilly. Not so good for the ol' legs