Old vs New Spa Francorchamps - Battle of the Race Circuits 22

Old vs New Spa Francorchamps - Battle of the Race Circuits 22

In the 22nd and final battle of the race circuits we have a Spa-Francorchamps internal battle. Old Spa-Francorchamps won the last battle from Rouen-les-Essarts by only one vote. And the new contender you vote for is New Spa-Francorchamps.

0:00 Introduction
0:55 Old Spa-Francorchamps
2:55 New Spa-Francorchamps

Old Spa-Francorchamps was a 14.9 Kilometers, or 9.3 Miles long street circuit which was used for the first time in 1922 for motorcycle races. Actually, the first race should take place in 1921, but that event was cancelled because of a lack of compettitors. There was only one registration!

The circuit was extremely fast, which was exactly what the circuit bosses wanted. Within this policy fit an adjustment that was made in 1939. That year the famous artificial steep corner was introduced, to cut off the ‘l Ancienne Douane Hairpin to make the circuit faster.

For some of you this may be a shock, but the name of that steep corner is not Eau Rouge as you may think. They baptised it Raidillon, which is French for steep path. More about the name confusion in our video ‘Eau Rouge or Raidillon?’.

In 1947 another artificial corner was introduced. The slow Stavelot Corner was replaced by a fast banked corner.

The same year they also skipped the Malmedy Chicane, so Spa-Francorchamps was much faster now.

But the most feared corner at old Spa-Francorchams was the Masta Kink. An almost flat out combination of two kinks, at the end of the long Masta Straight.

The old Spa-Francorchamps Circuit hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix 18 times in the periode from 1950 to 1970.

But as people started to think more about safety, the fast street circuit became increasingly criticized. After the 1970 Grand Prix, Formula One shunned old Spa-Francorchamps and moved to Nivelles and Zolder.

And that’s where the story of Old Spa-Francorchamps end and the story about New Spa-Francorchamps begins.


The new Spa-Francorchamps circuit opened in 1979, as a replacement for the dangerous old street circuit. It contained a part of the old circuit, and a new permanent connection. With its 7 kilometers, or 4.3 Miles, it is only half of the old street circuit. But by today's standards it's still an incredibly long circuit.

Until 1999 it was a semi-permanent circuit. Since 2000 it has been a fully permanent circuit.

The new loop between Les Combes and Blanchimont contained a mix of medium and fast corners. Most iconic combination at the new part is the fast double left-hander named Pouhon.

Compare to old Spa-Francorchamps, today’s circuit is more technical. But it lacks a bit of the charm of a street circuit.

Formula 1 returned to the new Spa-Francorchamps circuit in 1983. In 1984 it was alternated with Zolder once more. But since 1985, the Belgian Grand Prix has, with the exception of a few seasons, returned annually to Spa-Francorchamps.

The layout of New Spa-Francorchaps changed a bit through the years. In 1981 the famous Bus Stop Chicane was introduced before the fast Clubhouse Corner. In 1983 Start/Finish moved from after La Souce to before La Source, because the old Start/Finish straight was too steep for Formula 1.

After the tragic events at Imola in 1994, a temporary chicane was built at Raidillon. A year later this iconic corner was back to it’s former glory, with a larger run off area.

The biggest change to the current circuit came in 2007, when the Start/Finish area was completely overhauled. The straight was extended slightly and a new chicane replaced the old Bust Stop Chicane.


Special thanks to Simon Smith for the voiceover. Visit also his channel:@HigherPlainGames

Also special thanks to the guy who sent me the video with a lap at the current Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Unfortunately I couldn't find back the corespondention and his name. If you are that guy, please contact me and I will give you the credits

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Тэги:

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