Spa wingman needed for May 2 WEC race

JohnJL · 04-09-2015, 06:32 PM

Hi all,

I am in Ochtrup for our annual vacation and thought to try and get to Spa for the WEC race this year. I went to Le Mans last year and had a fall-down, drag-out blast. The Wife is usually up for races but being 7 months pregnant, that's not happening.

Anyone else in the area or interested in catching up in Spa for the 6 hour race on May 2?

John

JohnJL · 04-23-2015, 06:57 PM

Hi Guys and Girls,

we are 10 days out now, anyone else going to Spa or need an excuse to go? I've got another daughter coming in August, my free weekends are about to disappear...anyone want to catch a race?

JohnJL · 05-01-2015, 12:38 PM

Fine, I'll do it myself.

Art in Oz · Art in Oz's Garage

I am sure you will find a wingman at the track. You will have a ball!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

JohnJL · 12:23 AM

I couldnt find a wingman so my wife, who is a true sport, surprised me with VIP tickets for us both. The facilities were great and the racing was awesome. Our lounge was located directly above the Porsche and Audi pits and garages so we could see them in action. I will upload and post some videos of the stops and driver changes.

Our package came with pitwalk and then gridwalk passes. THe gridwalk was cool. All the cars are lined up and the drivers stand by for autographs and photos. THe wife wanted Patrick Dempsey photos but she was too shy and then he walked off...his entourage and bouncers were intimidating and he wasnt in a sociable mood. Maybe he will lighten up and do better than DFL...

Mark Webber was much more available but walked around with a 1000-yard stare. Pleasant enough but not really engaged.

I ran into Branden Hartley on the stairs before and he was really friendly and engaged. I liked him.

We had rooftop access from where we were and had a perfect view of turn 1. You could watch them outbraking into the corner for some spectacular passes.

Turn 1 at the start...

We also had a van that took us around the access road parallel to teh track. We could see every corner and watch the racing the whole way around.

Great race and a lot of fun...

Timo Bernhard and Brandon Hartley before the race. Brandon was pointing to something up the straight and called Timo over to check it out....

Wife with Mark Webber on the gridwalk.

Before...

After...early crash into a Manthey #91 or #92 resulted in the need to replace the nose...

Our table was directly above the #17 Porsche LMP1 pit. IT was really cool to see the driver changes and fueling/tire changes/adjustments:

One of the cars was on fire as it pulled into Parc Ferme at the end of the race...

IXjamesXI · 05-05-2015, 10:08 AM

What a trip! I would have volunteered had I seen this in time. What a race. I attended last year and I was blown away. Watching the Porsches bottom out and shower the track with sparks as they blasted through Eau Rouge is something I will not soon forget. Everything about that track is special, including the very solemn forest surrounding it.