It may not be a tourist destination up there with the Maldives, but if you’re into motorsport, Belgium is a great place to head in August (or rather, it would be if its borders weren’t closed to us...).
The tiny nation has just held the marquee 24-hour race of the GT season, coming up is the Ypres Rally and then at the end of the month comes the Belgian Grand Prix. These three diverse events all have one thing in common: Spa-Francorchamps.
Yes, Spa is around 165 miles from Ypres and doesn’t exactly have a rallying heritage; but the track and its surroundings will host four special stages of the Ypres Rally on the final day, including the points-paying seven-mile Power Stage.
Sunday’s stages are an intriguing mix of classic Belgian asphalt roads and the actual Spa circuit, with the podium ceremony taking place at the track.
Mixing rallying with circuits isn’t a new idea – most notably showcased by the Monza Rally, which made its WRC debut last year. Even before then, Britain’s round of the WRC used to regularly visit Castle Combe and Silverstone.
But anybody who’s worried that the Ypres Rally might lose its unique ambience needn’t be concerned. It still hosts the best service park of the year, right in the town’s central square, conveniently flanked by bars and restaurants.
Ypres and its environs are mired in World War One history, and it’s incredible how vivid and moving the many memorials and museums are.
It’s a home event, too, for Thierry Neuville: a man who desperately needs some good luck to avoid his first winless WRC season since 2016.
The Hyundai i20 driver is immersing himself in Belgium’s month of motorsport: he was avidly watching the Spa 24 Hours livestream, he will be the man of the moment in Ypres and he’s a regular guest at the Belgian Grand Prix.
While Belgium is making its WRC debut this year, a Belgian team has actually already won the championship. Sébastien Loeb’s 2006 title was clinchedwith Kronos Racing, running his blue Xsara privately while Citroën took a sabbatical to develop the C4 WRC.
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We can drinK beer together.
With regard to Sebastian Vettel's disqualification.....this is exactly what turns off followers of of F1.
Everyone believes they have witnessed a race and a result, only for officials to overturn the outcome.
I am no fan of Seb's, but he deserved that result. HE hasnt cheated in any way....he could have no control over the amount of fuel left in his cars tank. This is entirely down to the team - therefore the team should lose the points (constructers points), not the Driver who has done nothing other than driven his heart out.
I am fed up with drivers carrying the can for their teams transgressions other than blatant cheating. A discrepency of half a litre of fuel would not offer Seb any advantage!