Test day at Spa Francorchamps in a Supercup car..
08-09-2012, 02:25 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Test day at Spa Francorchamps in a Supercup car..
In preparation for the Spa Supercup race coming up, the team I'm driving with (Team Bleekemolen) was able to get entries into a test day on Monday Aug 6th at the track. It was basically a club type test day with 2 groups of cars, race cars and non race cars. Each session was about 45-60 minutes and we alternated all day.
Since my phone didn't work when I landed in Brussels, it took some extra time finding my way to the track. I ended up booking a room at the closest hotel to the track (Hotel de la Source) since I was only driving one day and staying 2 nights. The area is really cool. The track is basically situated inside of a couple villages, so (one of) the entrances was about 100 yards from the hotel.
Sunday at 2PM when I arrived at the hotel it was about 85 degrees and Sunny. I thought, wow.. this is like California.. only I'm in a village in the forest. How cool! Why does this place have such a bum rap about weather?
At 3:30PM I was having a beer at the hotel bar to kill time and happened to look outside. It was almost black and raining an angry rain, big *** drops and standing water. Hmm.. so that's where the reputation comes.
Monday morning I woke up at 7AM and made it to the track at the planned 8:30AM to try and find the team (I hadn't met anyone before and had no idea what their equipment/gear/rig/cars would look like.. except they were definitely Porsche Cup's). It took me about 45 minutes to find my way to the track entrance as the gate by the hotel was closed (apparently only open on "big weekends"). After a quick introduction to all the team members and the other driver on the team (Jeroen Mul, he kicked my *** like I've never been kicked since I started racing). Jeroen was very cool and spent a lot of time helping me get up to speed.
First session was green at around 10AM and we went out w/ about 12-15 other race cars (including a couple prototypes and open-wheelers). The track was AWESOME. It felt much differently than it looks on TV. Much more elevation change (everywhere!) and most of the corners have blind exits, which makes it hard to carry speed into and through the middle when you can't see the exit. The track is also so long and has so many corners, it's hard to remember exactly how it was the lap before to improve the next time through.
Before we went out, Jeroen and the data engineer walked me through what a typical fast lap is on the track. Basically a gear map and kind of a brake point/pressure area for each corner on the track. Eau Rouge is entered flat out in 5th gear (on the rev limiter), all 4 wheels over the first left curbing (while still on the rev limiter), lift up the hill and get the car pointed to the right, then back to full throttle over the top left hander (while avoiding the right curb at all costs coming up the hill). Sounds easy enough, rite?
My first lap through, I surprisingly did the T1 hairpin well and had a good run, coming up to Eau Rouge I was in 5th gear and rite before the red shift lights came on I was like.. "oh, **** this man!" and got onto the brakes to get the car slowed down a little after slightly soiling myself. I still got in there at a pretty good speed and managed to make the corner without to much drama. It definitely can carry more speed through there, but even at my sedate pace the g-load was pretty awesome and the car was light over the top.
For the famous Blanchimont corner, the fast guys on a good lap in a Cup basically give it a little lift, get back to full throttle near the apex, and use all of the track (and typicallythe asphalt run off 1 or 2 car widths beyond the curb (?!@&#*!@)). For those unfamiliar with Blanchimont (Turn 17 I think), it's the second corner of a double apex (sort of) left hander. It's entered in 6th gear (first apex is easy flat), and according to my data at around 157MPH (WTF?!@@#!). My first lap through I slowed down enough I had to downshift to 5th. For the rest of the laps (when it was clear) I stayed in 6th, but my minimum speed was still around 7-8MPH less than Jeroen.. even on my best laps.
All season I've been learning new tracks, and without failure, I always turn my fastest lap on the first day within the first 7-10 laps. However, here I knew after the first session it was going to be VERY different (and humbling). :-)
I only ran a 2:40.2 in the first 45 minute session (Jeroen did a 2:30.x). There was a lot of traffic as most of the race cars out there were extremely slow compared to a Porsche Cup. Our best hope was simply to get lucky lap where we were able to pass people without being held up to much in the fast corners.
In the second session I did a 2:37.x (in traffic) and Jeroen did a 2:28.x (!&@*#). For the third session I was still trying to get comfortable with the brakes, and the tires on the car (were used from the previous race weekend before the test day) were basically flat spotted (by me) and corded so they tossed on another set of scuffs. I ran a little better w/ a 2:35.x but still a lot of traffic (and some rain drops in a few corners).
For the 4th session, it looked like it might rain and I really wanted to get some laps on good tires before the race weekend. I had them throw on the stickers and gridded up at the front of the line to get out and try to get at least 1 clear lap. I managed to get a reasonably clear lap (had to pass a couple cars who were coming up to speed but they didn't cost me much, if any time). I did a 2:32.6 and thought hmm... that kinda sucks. The rest of the session I drove laps in traffic and didn't improve time-wise, but was feeling much more comfortable with the track and the car.
For the 5th and final session of the day, Jeroen put on new brakes and tires to try and get in a mock qualifying session. He ran a 2:26.x. I ran every lap of the session just try to get more comfortable with the brakes and the track. I managed some high 2:32's and low 2:33's but due to the miles on the tires, couldn't go faster than when they were fresh. I normally don't put much stock into the Motec eclectic lap times as I'm pretty consistent, but with so much traffic on the track I was keeping an eye on it as I think it was a better representation of my pace. It was a 2:30.2 for the last session (on old tires), which isn't horrible but not that great compared to Supercup guys.
The brakes on the Supercup car are ceramic and use a different rear master cyl than the normal Cups. They require much less pedal effort to reach the threshold point and as such, require a much more sensitive and consistent pressure which was taking me time to get used to. I'm still not completely comfortable with them, so the team is sending me a set to put onto my Cup for more practice before the race.
The drivers in that series are so good, there is simply no way to compete without being completely comfortable in the car (let alone the track).
Anyway, the track is simply amazing. If anyone ever gets the chance to get there and do some laps... run, don't walk at the opportunity! Even if it's in a rental car or whatever. It's the most challenging and rewarding circuit I've ever been on.
I can only imagine what it'd be like in the rain, at night.... maybe next year. :-)
-mike
Track Entrance
My car for the day (I believe Sebaastian qualified this car P2 at Monaco this year):
Our garage for the day from the pit wall:
Pit lane from the pit wall:
I ate dinner outside about 500 yards from the track the last night (to bad you can't see the rainbow in the picture, and i normally don't take pictures of rainbows.... !):
I travel light when going to the track.. checking bags is for suckers.
Since my phone didn't work when I landed in Brussels, it took some extra time finding my way to the track. I ended up booking a room at the closest hotel to the track (Hotel de la Source) since I was only driving one day and staying 2 nights. The area is really cool. The track is basically situated inside of a couple villages, so (one of) the entrances was about 100 yards from the hotel.
Sunday at 2PM when I arrived at the hotel it was about 85 degrees and Sunny. I thought, wow.. this is like California.. only I'm in a village in the forest. How cool! Why does this place have such a bum rap about weather?
At 3:30PM I was having a beer at the hotel bar to kill time and happened to look outside. It was almost black and raining an angry rain, big *** drops and standing water. Hmm.. so that's where the reputation comes.
Monday morning I woke up at 7AM and made it to the track at the planned 8:30AM to try and find the team (I hadn't met anyone before and had no idea what their equipment/gear/rig/cars would look like.. except they were definitely Porsche Cup's). It took me about 45 minutes to find my way to the track entrance as the gate by the hotel was closed (apparently only open on "big weekends"). After a quick introduction to all the team members and the other driver on the team (Jeroen Mul, he kicked my *** like I've never been kicked since I started racing). Jeroen was very cool and spent a lot of time helping me get up to speed.
First session was green at around 10AM and we went out w/ about 12-15 other race cars (including a couple prototypes and open-wheelers). The track was AWESOME. It felt much differently than it looks on TV. Much more elevation change (everywhere!) and most of the corners have blind exits, which makes it hard to carry speed into and through the middle when you can't see the exit. The track is also so long and has so many corners, it's hard to remember exactly how it was the lap before to improve the next time through.
Before we went out, Jeroen and the data engineer walked me through what a typical fast lap is on the track. Basically a gear map and kind of a brake point/pressure area for each corner on the track. Eau Rouge is entered flat out in 5th gear (on the rev limiter), all 4 wheels over the first left curbing (while still on the rev limiter), lift up the hill and get the car pointed to the right, then back to full throttle over the top left hander (while avoiding the right curb at all costs coming up the hill). Sounds easy enough, rite?
My first lap through, I surprisingly did the T1 hairpin well and had a good run, coming up to Eau Rouge I was in 5th gear and rite before the red shift lights came on I was like.. "oh, **** this man!" and got onto the brakes to get the car slowed down a little after slightly soiling myself. I still got in there at a pretty good speed and managed to make the corner without to much drama. It definitely can carry more speed through there, but even at my sedate pace the g-load was pretty awesome and the car was light over the top.
For the famous Blanchimont corner, the fast guys on a good lap in a Cup basically give it a little lift, get back to full throttle near the apex, and use all of the track (and typicallythe asphalt run off 1 or 2 car widths beyond the curb (?!@&#*!@)). For those unfamiliar with Blanchimont (Turn 17 I think), it's the second corner of a double apex (sort of) left hander. It's entered in 6th gear (first apex is easy flat), and according to my data at around 157MPH (WTF?!@@#!). My first lap through I slowed down enough I had to downshift to 5th. For the rest of the laps (when it was clear) I stayed in 6th, but my minimum speed was still around 7-8MPH less than Jeroen.. even on my best laps.
All season I've been learning new tracks, and without failure, I always turn my fastest lap on the first day within the first 7-10 laps. However, here I knew after the first session it was going to be VERY different (and humbling). :-)
I only ran a 2:40.2 in the first 45 minute session (Jeroen did a 2:30.x). There was a lot of traffic as most of the race cars out there were extremely slow compared to a Porsche Cup. Our best hope was simply to get lucky lap where we were able to pass people without being held up to much in the fast corners.
In the second session I did a 2:37.x (in traffic) and Jeroen did a 2:28.x (!&@*#). For the third session I was still trying to get comfortable with the brakes, and the tires on the car (were used from the previous race weekend before the test day) were basically flat spotted (by me) and corded so they tossed on another set of scuffs. I ran a little better w/ a 2:35.x but still a lot of traffic (and some rain drops in a few corners).
For the 4th session, it looked like it might rain and I really wanted to get some laps on good tires before the race weekend. I had them throw on the stickers and gridded up at the front of the line to get out and try to get at least 1 clear lap. I managed to get a reasonably clear lap (had to pass a couple cars who were coming up to speed but they didn't cost me much, if any time). I did a 2:32.6 and thought hmm... that kinda sucks. The rest of the session I drove laps in traffic and didn't improve time-wise, but was feeling much more comfortable with the track and the car.
For the 5th and final session of the day, Jeroen put on new brakes and tires to try and get in a mock qualifying session. He ran a 2:26.x. I ran every lap of the session just try to get more comfortable with the brakes and the track. I managed some high 2:32's and low 2:33's but due to the miles on the tires, couldn't go faster than when they were fresh. I normally don't put much stock into the Motec eclectic lap times as I'm pretty consistent, but with so much traffic on the track I was keeping an eye on it as I think it was a better representation of my pace. It was a 2:30.2 for the last session (on old tires), which isn't horrible but not that great compared to Supercup guys.
The brakes on the Supercup car are ceramic and use a different rear master cyl than the normal Cups. They require much less pedal effort to reach the threshold point and as such, require a much more sensitive and consistent pressure which was taking me time to get used to. I'm still not completely comfortable with them, so the team is sending me a set to put onto my Cup for more practice before the race.
The drivers in that series are so good, there is simply no way to compete without being completely comfortable in the car (let alone the track).
Anyway, the track is simply amazing. If anyone ever gets the chance to get there and do some laps... run, don't walk at the opportunity! Even if it's in a rental car or whatever. It's the most challenging and rewarding circuit I've ever been on.
I can only imagine what it'd be like in the rain, at night.... maybe next year. :-)
-mike
Track Entrance
My car for the day (I believe Sebaastian qualified this car P2 at Monaco this year):
Our garage for the day from the pit wall:
Pit lane from the pit wall:
I ate dinner outside about 500 yards from the track the last night (to bad you can't see the rainbow in the picture, and i normally don't take pictures of rainbows.... !):
I travel light when going to the track.. checking bags is for suckers.
08-09-2012, 03:07 PM
#2
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Mike, I was there last year for the Porsche Sports Cup weekend and met up with Chrzanowski Racing team for the weekend. I only got to ride the track, not drive it - in a 993 RS! Eau Rogue and the ride up the hill are unbelievable. Spa is simply an awesome track.
As a new Cup owner, I can only imagine what it would be like to drive Spa well. Unfortunately for Gunther and his team, one of the drivers wadded up one of the team's 997 Cups in a wet practice in Blanchimont (every corner was serisouly damaged). I felt bad for the driver until he walked out of the garage and got into his Carrera GT to go home!
Great account of your weekend and grreat pictures. This is a track any serious driver needs to visit, watch and drive!
Toby
As a new Cup owner, I can only imagine what it would be like to drive Spa well. Unfortunately for Gunther and his team, one of the drivers wadded up one of the team's 997 Cups in a wet practice in Blanchimont (every corner was serisouly damaged). I felt bad for the driver until he walked out of the garage and got into his Carrera GT to go home!
Great account of your weekend and grreat pictures. This is a track any serious driver needs to visit, watch and drive!
Toby
08-09-2012, 03:59 PM
#4
Nordschleife Master
Mike,
Sounds like a totally awesome experience. Thanks for sharing with those of us who are stuck at a desk so that we can live vicariously through you. Keep the stories and pictures coming.
Sounds like a totally awesome experience. Thanks for sharing with those of us who are stuck at a desk so that we can live vicariously through you. Keep the stories and pictures coming.
08-09-2012, 04:18 PM
#5
Basic Sponsor
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Yeah...Spa is definitely on the bucket list.
08-09-2012, 04:48 PM
#7
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P.S. I hear that running a race in a potential race winning Grand-Am 997 that is available for Laguna is the perfect event to follow up with after Spa!
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08-09-2012, 05:17 PM
#9
I have gotten 4 track days at SPA and I still dream of getting back there but this time in 997 cup.
Pictures and simulators do not do it justice, I really love Pouhon, turn in and throttle steer those 2 apex's !
Pictures and simulators do not do it justice, I really love Pouhon, turn in and throttle steer those 2 apex's !
08-09-2012, 05:59 PM
#10
Racer
good luck mike, ive won here 6 of the last 8 races there in club racing in the uks porsche open series annual trip, its such a special place! puts a smile on your face every time i go, i dont want to sound like a idiot and tell you how to drive it but be careful going over au rouge in the wet, as the car becomes light ive seen so many backwards in the wall to the left exiting the corner. i did laugh as i read your post regarding the weather, this year it was 34 degrees and 5 mins before the 1st race the sky went black in about 2 mins like the world was ending and we had thunder/lightning and torrential rain. within the 30 min race the sun was back out back up to 30 plus deg. crazy weather changes there. i was only there in june and im still jealous of you!
heres a pic of me on the f1 podium, sorry for the hijack, the place makes me wanna go right now!!!!
regards mark
heres a pic of me on the f1 podium, sorry for the hijack, the place makes me wanna go right now!!!!
regards mark
Last edited by BIG 928; 11-14-2012 at 05:37 PM.
08-09-2012, 07:00 PM
#12
Rennlist Member
Pouhon is the section of the track which scares me most! Very fast and hanging a bit to the outside... If you loose it there, good luck! A friend totalled his GT2 there last week...
Eau Rouge is very impressive! Had the chance to walk up there on the track by feet... Everyone should do this! It gives you a completely new understanding of the corner... Helped me a lot!
Blanchimont is difficult and scary the first times, but not as challenging as Pouhon or Eau Rouge IMO.
I believe Rast is doing 2'24"s or 2'25"s there...
Definetely one of the nicest tracks you can drive here in Europe!
Eau Rouge is very impressive! Had the chance to walk up there on the track by feet... Everyone should do this! It gives you a completely new understanding of the corner... Helped me a lot!
Blanchimont is difficult and scary the first times, but not as challenging as Pouhon or Eau Rouge IMO.
I believe Rast is doing 2'24"s or 2'25"s there...
Definetely one of the nicest tracks you can drive here in Europe!
08-10-2012, 01:39 AM
#15
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
