It's a hard life living in the Eifel, with only the Nürburgring to play on. Which is why we at RSR Nürburg often indulge in a trip to nearby Spa Francorchamps. Like the 'ring, the Spa circuit is thrown across the geography like a table cloth over a fully set table. The climbs and drops are legendary. Also like the 'ring is Spa's weather...

Taking Eau Rouge for the first time in my life

It was my task to meet the boss at Spa and deliver our 996 GT3 RS hire car to the RMA trackday. In return I would be getting to drive Spa for the first time and take on board a little tuition myself.

After following Adam in his 997 GT3 RS all the way down a perfectly dry autobahn (where we barely hit 300kph) we were dismayedto enter a very wet Belgium. It was like the Belgians somehow deserved rain, and yet the Germans didn't.

Thoughts of country-specific meteorological weather systems were soon pushed aside by the concentration required to drive the GT3RS on its half-worn Pilot Sport Cups. I swear we created a bow-wave more than a couple of times as Adam and myself pushed onwards to Spa...

You don't see too many of these on track...

Arriving at the paddock in a two car convoy of finely tuned and sorted Porsche 911 GT3RSs should be a real occasion. Or that's what I thought right until I saw the pitlane. It was brimming wih amazing, rare and mostly very, very fast cars. Ferraris, Astons, MacMercs all brushing mirrrors with real racecars like Pro Sports and Judds. Don't get me wrong, the guys with Novas and Westfields were still there, but I was overawed by the 'top end' of the paddock. We slipped in quietly and parked our 'common' 911s without ceremony...

...nor these!

With it being so wet, my first desire was to simply watch a couple of laps and then sit in with the boss for an intro lap or two. The video below is taken from the first corner, where you can pretty much reach over the concrete wall and touch the passing cars, should you so wish...

RMA trackday, Spa from MrBTG on Vimeo.

A lap with Ron is always fun, and I thought I trusted him enough to be completely unstressed by now. But I had to think again. Accelerating down towards the fearsome Eau Rouge in one of our new Clio Cups wasn't so bad. But four-wheel drifting over the blind brow of it at 100mph in the full wet was mildly terrfiying!

Nice conditions. For ducks and dutchmen.

The downhill sections of Spa are just incredible in the wet, with your car control being tested to the limits. When I managed to uncurl my fingers from the door handle, I noticed that Ron had the car sliding beautifully into each and every turn. Even more amazing was that the Renault's stability control was blissfully unaware of the 5, 10 or 15-degree slip angles were maintaining to the apex.

Next it was my turn...

With Ron smiling slightly (I mean slightly) in the passenger seat, it was time for my first lap. What a rush. Like Ron, I left the stability computers engaged, but unlike Ron I kept triggering them. I'd have the car drifting nicely most corners, but then I would just handle the wheel roughly, or allow the driving wheels to spin a little and the computer would panic. BRRRRRR... car points forward and loses 10mph as the brakes are applied by the computer. Annoying. Ron's smile widens each time.
After two laps driving for myself I've got the place firmly envisioned on screen two of my internal cinema and Ron needs to go back to work.

Road Magazine testing the new Nürburgring edition Astra VXR

The rain eventually stops and bit by bit the track begins to dry. For most RMA members this was a two day event - the first being completely rain-soaked. This is the second, and many have already left.

Tim's Ferarri 288 GTO Evoluzione... epic

So as the weather brightened, there were more and more smiles. The event's exclusive photographer was Jochen from Frozenspeed.com and I think his photos will tell you more about the day than I can.

Like going back in time... this Porsche sounded incredible!

800bhp MacMerc race car. With auto slush 'box!

Our own RSR Nürburg Porsche out on a lap

Clio in the dry, at last!

My first laps in the dry felt brutal on the Clio in comparison to those in the wet. Tyres howling, taut Cup chassis absorbing everything the little motor could manage. It wasn't long before I needed a little more speed. Step forward Tim. Mate of Ron's and the proud owner of this achingly erotic Ferarri 288 GTO Evoluzione...

Turbo-charged 2.8 litre V8 knocks out around 700bhp

I sat, over-awed and over-accelerated for three whole laps in this red monster. The turbo lag is epic, making the hairpin a first-gear nightmare. The push in your back under acceleration is enough to make me worry about re-breaking my spine. And it sounds... well. The soundtrack could very well be described as simply epic... but it's more like a formula one car in a wind tunnel. Staggering.

When you bring Ferarris, you bring proper tools. Portable air wrench! Cool...

At the end of the day, I got my 'check ride' with Ron. Practiced instructing on another instructor (some sort of double jeopardy, but it does work) and got signed off for working my 'art' at Spa Francorchamps. See you there?

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