A Lap of Spa-Francorchamps with Bert Longin, Triple H Maserati No.34 - News from FIA GT1 World Championship - Official Site

24/07/2010

A Lap of Spa-Francorchamps with Bert Longin, Triple H Maserati No.34

Belgian driver Bert Longin looks ahead to racing on home soil by describing a lap of the legendary 7.004km Spa Francorchamps circuit.

“We have the start and finish line which is a little bit up hill to La Source.  La Source is a very important corner, you try to completely cut this corner, trying to get as close as possible to the wall, about 10cm is possible, and on the exit you can be really aggressive as there is a lot of grip.

“Then we head down the hill to Eau Rouge and Raidillon.  Everyone knows that this is a very exciting part of Spa but you have to be very careful and take it well otherwise it's dangerous or you are too slow.  For me Eau Rouge is one of two of the most exciting corners in the world, the other being Blanchimont, and they are both at Spa!

“Eau Rouge can be taken flat, I did it with the C5 Corvette two or three times in qualifying, however the car can do it but not every driver can.  The most important thing in Eau Rouge is to stabilise the car on the entry, to be smooth on the steering and to go flat out in Radillon.  We will see if it is possible this year in GT1, I don't think it will be but I will try it. 

“After Raidillion it is up hill to Les Combes so if you get a lot of speed at Raidillion you will be fast into Les Combes.  You can brake very, very late for this corner and you can also cut the corner.  You have the kerbs then you have the grass but behind these you have a hole in the ground where all the drivers who push too hard have to be careful.

“Then we have Malmedy and Rivage.  Rivage is also a very difficult corner, you see a lot of people who go off on the exit of Rivage because it is an understeering corner, which can catch you out.  Also in the rain it is a slow corner but a lot of people get caught out by the grip level.  Every day the track is changing so you need to find out very early on where the grip is and how much there is.

“Then we come to Pouhon but I know it as Double Left, which is also a very exciting corner.  The trick here is not to go into the corner too fast because you then push too much on the front of the car and you have understeer and then the exit isn't ok.  It is a long, fast corner and if the exit is wrong you'll end up paying for it.  Finding the right braking point and the point when you get back on the throttle is crucial here.  If you get Pouhon right you can gain a lot of time.

“Next up is Les Fagnes, which we know as the Pif Paf.  Pif Paf is a big chicane and the exit is the most important part of this corner.  When you exit well, progressively on the throttle, you gain time.  It looks like you are slow but when you push too hard in the first part and the middle part you lose time on the third part. 

“We then have a corner where you have exit oversteer, the new part of Stavelot.  This corner is also important because it is the beginning of a very, very long up hill run.  If you do Stavelot well you have very good speed in the final part of the circuit.  In my mind I am going to take it flat in the Maserati, I'm very confident of this.

“Up hill to Blanchimont, which is also a very exciting corner.  There is always a discussing between drivers if you brake for Blanchimont or you take it flat.  But whether you take it flat or not you don't gain much time, it's all in the mind. 

“A corner that can make a lot of difference is the Bus Stop.  You brake very late for the Bus Stop, in the middle part it is oversteer and the exit is also oversteer all the time, so we have to make a compromise between very late braking, give up the middle part and have a good exit.  The exit is up hill and if the exit isn't good you have blown the final part of the lap.  You then cross the line to begin another lap. 

“There are plenty of overtaking opportunities at Spa-Francorschamp, you have Les Combes, Bus Stop, La Source and if you take Pouhon well there is a possibility at Les Fagnes.  There isn't any difference between driving a 1 hour and a 24 hour race.  To be honest the last Spa 24 Hours I drove like a sprint race, the cars are very strong.”

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