As usual, the paddock of the speed competition is buzzing with rumors, most of which naturally come to our ears...
We hide the majority of them, either because of a confidentiality clause, or for lack of elements allowing us to think that they are something other than rumors, but it also happens that several apparently diffuse elements overlap and, that time, we let you know, with the strict conditional.
The last concerns Spa-Francorchamps, location of the next event of the FIM EWC world endurance championship which will be held from June 16 to 18.
Since the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans the rumor has been circulating that the Belgian event could completely be split in two!
The cause is expensive lighting that is difficult to make effective (we already saw this last year with temporary floodlights installed in the gravel traps and above all lighting said gravel traps according to even the pilots), but also the neighbors who would enjoy sleeping at night…
The idea currently mentioned would therefore be to cut and shorten the initially planned 24-hour race into two rounds, with a first part from 15 p.m. to 23 p.m. on Saturday, then a second from 7 a.m. to 15 p.m. on Sunday. We would therefore have two 8-hour races, a first in Endurance, with the regulatory changes that this would entail...
But beyond what we should then call the 8+8 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps if this were true, the Belgian circuit currently seems to be at the heart of intense news.
His contract with F1 ends this year after the GP which will take place on July 30, and for the future, the Belgian track faces strong competition from South Africa. The verdict is expected at the end of the month.
End of the Belgian Grand Prix or alternation with another GP, as had been mentioned (in vain) for France, the fact remains that the Walloon sky is not without clouds despite the work undertaken recently to develop the infrastructure of the Belgian route.
However, in this uncertain context, we cannot forget the arrival of Claude Michy, promoter of the French MotoGP Grand Prix, in the organization of the 24 Hours of Spa.
An arrival which, together with the uncertainties that the event and the circuit in general seem to be experiencing, could well ultimately transform into the rebirth of the Belgian MotoGP Grand Prix on the “most beautiful circuit in the world” with the help of the institutions.
As a reminder, the last Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix dates back to 1990, won in 500 cc by Wayne Rainey on his Yamaha and by John Kocinski in 250cc.
Simple paddock rantings or smoke announcing the Walloon fire, we will see, but the rebirth of a mythical event in a place which is no less so would undoubtedly be very far from displeasing French-speaking enthusiasts, especially managed by PHA, the structure of the always imaginative and very seasoned Claude Michy...
