Eau Rouge

Eau Rouge (Spa-Francorchamps, June 2009), originally uploaded by Camiel de Hoen.

The Nurburgring is known for being a challenging track due to its over 100 turns, narrow width and dramatic elevation changes - even areas where modern race cars can still find all 4 wheels completely off the track before landing and heading straight into a braking zone.

A few kilometers away, in Belgium there is a much smaller track with a single corner that is considered one of the most challenging in all of modern motorsports: Eau Rouge at the classic track of Spa-Francorchamps. Eau Rouge is a massive left-to-right turn starting from just beyond the pit wall at the base of a hill and spiraling upward before coming to Raidillon - a blind left corner requiring you throw the wheel over, keep the throttle on and hope that nobody ahead of you shunted and that you'll have the right line. Many times, driver's do not commit or make a mistake and Eau Rouge/Raidillon bites - hard.



In the video above, Stefan Bellof eerily talks about how to approach Eau Rouge just prior to the 1985 endurance race at Spa in which he and his mentor, Jackie Ickx, tied up their 956 and 962, respectively, and the resulting accident at the top of Eau Rouge ultimately claimed Bellof's life in the prime of his career. Below is a clip of what happens when driving at even something as toned down as a track day when Eau Rouge snaps on someone - though with better than expected results.



Formula One is at Spa this weekend so I recommend tuning in for it. Coverage should be on SPEEDTV( our best option Stateside). The last few years of F1's return to Spa have made for very interesting and highly competitive racing(2008's Kimi vs. Lewis anyone?) and with the points being so close right now - things are bound to be compelling this weekend.