[GTLegends] - Spa 1967

[Alessandro Pollini]

File Name: Spa 1967

File Submitter: Alessandro Pollini

File Submitted: 18 May 2012

File Category: Tracks

Author : sunalp2

Designed by Jules de Their and Henri Langlois Van Ophem, the original 15 km (9.3 mile) triangle-shaped course used public roads between the Belgian towns of Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot. The Belgian Grand Prix was held at Spa-Francorchamps for the first time in 1924.

Until 2000, it was possible to travel over the race track when it was still a public road. At Eau Rouge, southbound traffic was allowed to use the famous uphill corner, while the opposite downhill traffic had to use the old road and U-turn behind the grand stands, rejoining the race track at the bottom of Eau Rouge.

The Masta Kink was one of the most fearsome sections on any race track in the world, requiring skill and bravery in equal measure to get it right. After a long run from Malmedy, the cars would reach top speed before having to negotiate Masta, a high speed left-right chicane, and a good exit speed was vital as it is followed by another long straight run to Stavelot.

That Masta was lost to F1 racing after the 1970 race was partly its own fault. Jackie Stewart's crusade to improve safety in racing was set in motion by his crash there in 1966, when his BRM ended upsidedown in the cellar of the farmhouse on the outside of the corner, with fuel gushing out of the tank onto Stewart, who had broken ribs to add to his misery.

After Masta, and at the end of the subsequent Holowell Straight, there used to be a sharp hairpin at the entrance to the town itself, which was later bypassed by a quicker, banked right hand corner. Another fast section of road in the forest leads to Blanchimont. Here, the new short Grand Prix track of 1979 joins the old layout.

18 Formula 1 World Championship Grands Prix were run on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit's original configuration, which was boycotted by F1 in 1968, before the revised circuit banished it to the history books in the late 70s. The lap record of the old triangle-shaped track is held by the French driver Henri Pescarolo, at an average speed of 262 km/h (163 mph).

Original track by Papyrus.

Converted to rFactor by Bud Lucas.

GTR2 version by zwiss.

See included Read Me's for full credits.

Thanks to zwiss for giving me permssion to convert his GTR2 version to GTL.

This will not overwrite the previous release by Frank.f55 and will happily sit along side it.

Includes lighter asphalt by painless

You will find it at the top of your menu as 1967 Spa.

Extract to GTL\GameData\Locations

sunalp2

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