Postcards from Europe

[group44]

Hey guys, 
Just wanted to share a few little slices of my recent vacation overseas. This was my first time crossing the pond and I wasn't sure what all I should try to see. Normal tourist attractions aside, I thought a day at Spa was just what the doctor ordered. Picked up a nice rental Bimmer in Paris and proceeded on what amounted to a sizable week long road tour. Here it is on a quiet Belgium road in the Ardennes country side. Some fantastic winding roads to be had in the area. Needless to say, I spent very little time on the main highways.



More views near Stavelot





And finally, the circuit.





Got to the track just in time to catch the very end of the WEC 6 hour race on May 3rd. Listening to the Aston's coming out of La Source was brilliant. It was just what I needed to get in the right frame of mind for the next day.



That's me standing next to the GT86 I used for my track day at Spa  It was beyond amazing. While I was there, it was a public driving day so there was everything on track from Citroen's to well prepped Porsche's. The day gets broken up in to 25 minute sessions, of which I did four. I have to admit, my first session was more than a little slow, but being my first time on track in a fully suspended road car, I had to start somewhere. The next two sessions I worked hard on hitting my marks and gaining some confidence. I did manage to get my times into what I considered to be a pretty respectable range around 3:27. Then came my last session as well as the last of the day. I was feeling good and the traffic had thinned out so it was time to go.  What a blast I had as I really tried to open it up. Got my best down to a low 3:21 with the Toyota starting to tell me I was nearing the limit in a few spots. I'm still having a hard time believing I got to drive such an outstanding track.

Note to Forgetful, go get your ride on track man, you won't regret it. My only gripe was the diff in the chicane. Other than that it was an excellent track day car. So there will be more to come, but I'm gonna make you wait as final prep for my first kart race this weekend will prevent me from getting more posted.

Cheers

[clacksman]

Cool!

[timneyb]

Like

[Forgetful]

No, I'm not jelly at all!

That's sounds like a hoot. Were you flat through Eau Rouge?

[group44]

Was brushing the brakes on the straight to get my entry speed to around 165 km/h then immediately getting fully back in it going up to Raidillon during my last session. The ascent continues to scrub off more speed, which was fine by me considering the crest is enough to keep one honest.

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