A rush of adrenaline at Spa !
Ziv’s “Radical” adrenaline rush at Spa !
Even tough I’ve been working my way through motorsport journalism for a few years now, chances to truly “experiment” this devouring passion are not numerous. A nice ride in a vintage car or a leisure karting race are the too rare pleasures that I grant myself behind a steering wheel. Question of availability or budget, I guess. So when my good friend Ziv offered to join him in the cockpit of his beautiful Radical RS3 racing car, especially for a run on the most beautiful race track in the World, that’s a proposition I simply couldn’t refuse!
So, on a early June afternoon, I went to the “Eau Rouge” Valley in Eastern-Belgium. Luckily, the weather wasn’t as bad as I feared but rather bright and sunny with high temperatures, open sky and a dry track. Ideal conditions for the many guests taking part in the Track Day event organized by Marc Duez’s structure whose business activities include renting the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps to allow car owners, Gentlemen Drivers and guests to enjoy themselves driving powerful machines. Diversity was the name of the game as I ran into a VW Fun Cup chassis of the DRM Motorsport team, a Le Mans prototype from the d’Ansembourg family, lots of GT cars and some Radical models including Ziv’s with a beautiful blue/Orange livery. A car that he has been sharing with his good friend and teammate Benoit Claeys, these two having raced on many European circuits for over a decade.
Once the beast and myself were officially introduced, it was time for action ! Helmet, hood, gloves, earplugs; nothing is left aside to feel like a proper racing driver. Ziv jumps first behind the wheel, then I carefully climb over the bodywork to seat on his right, surprised by the narrowness of the cockpit. The seat belts are on, the jacket lifted and the feet wedged to the bottom of the cockpit. A gesture of the finger and 250 horses roar behind our backs, ready to pounce! Leaving the pitlane behind, we head to the track, starting with the way down opening up to us like a vertiginous slide in front of the Endurance boxes. 1st, 2nd, 3rd gear and so on: the Radical devours the first meters of asphalt without blinking to the assault of the Raidillon which stands on the trajectory like a mountain with its top almost lost in the clouds! The wheel on the curbs for the Eau rouge left-hand, Ziv slightly lift off the throttle to better smash it back in the middle of the climb where the engine roars but holds on good to the top.
The poor devil hasn’t seen nothing yet as we head for the Kemmel straight with a top speed exceeding 200 km/h reaching the “Les Combes” heavy braking zone. A fantastic series of fast, tight and bumpy corners followed by a dive into the Brussels hairpin and the Speakers’ Corner. This left-hander is more difficult to deal with than it seems and many have been trapped there before, including F1 drivers! The dive continues to the famous “Double-Gauche” of Pouhon, partly negotiated at full throttle and where the tires bite the track while screaming. The following “Pif-Paf” section of “Les Fagnes” is negotiated without flinching before kicking of the third and last sector where Ziv barely touches the brakes for the return to the fast Blanchimont left-hander before one of the heaviest braking zones of the track, the Bus-Stop chicane. Crucial to keep the right trajectory when climbing on the curbs before wrapping up the lap at the “La Source” hairpin, the slowest point of the entire layout but still one to master well entering the following round. Seven kilometers and three minutes of pure adrenaline, magnified by the pace and reflexes of Ziv who went flat-out for half a hour! An exhilarating experience that I would recommend to anyone lucky enough to live it!