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The Raidillon
The Raidillon is
the steep fast right hand corner which is cutting off the
l'Ancienne Douane section
since 1939. In the thirties there was a competition between the
circuit owners to have the fastest track. Francorchamps didn't want
to stay back so they decided to construct this artificial corner.
The
Raidillon became one of the most beloved and feared corners in the world. While
accelerating from the La Source hairpin down the straight you see these massive
mountain in front of you which looks very intimidating! While
touring cars enter the Raidillon about 200 km/h (125 Mph), Formula
one cars do almost 300 km/h (185 Mph) at this point. With a
well-trimmed car the bravest drivers will take this corner flat out!
That's very important because after this corner comes the long Kemmel straight.
A mondegreen is the mishearing or
misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning.
There is a big misunderstanding about the name of the Raidillon
which is called Eau-Rouge by many people. You can call that a
mondegreen too. Just in front of the Raidillon flows the Brooke
Eau-Rouge underneath the track. At this point was the original left
hand corner leading into the
l'Ancienne Douane
section. This corner was called Eau-Rouge. At some maps (undoubtedly
made on more recent date) with the 'l Ancienne Douane, the left hand
corner leading to the Kemmel straight is called Raidillon. But this
is not right! This corner never had an individual name, it was just
a part of the 'l Ancienne Douane section. The one and only Raidillon
was introduced in 1939 and is the steep shortcut between the
Eau-Rouge corner and the left hander leading to the Kemmel straight.
This is the real Eau-Rouge!
From the original left hand corner the Eau-Rouge is just a part
still in use. Because the Raidillon is attached to the Eau-Rouge in
Belgium they speak also from the "Raidillon on the Eau-Rouge". The
fact that you see these names close together on the map is also
contributing to the misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that has
adopted world wide proportions!
At this picture (click to enlarge), made in Musée du Circuit
at Stavelot, you see the old l'Ancienne
Douane section and a little story about the construction of the Raidillon.
Because the texts are in
French and Dutch here an English translation: Airpicture from
the circuit from the corner "La Source"
to the bank to Burnenville. The long hairpin from "l'Ancienne Douane" is clearly
vissible.
He was cut off in 1939 by the famous "Raidillon".
After the tragic accidents at Imola earlier that year, a
temporary chicane was constructed at the Raidillon for the Belgium
Grand Prix of 1994. A year later the run off area was enlarged so
the chicane was fortunately disappeared. See also
A lap at old
Spa-Francorchamps.
© Text
and pictures: Herman Liesemeijer |
