Spa or Monza??

[MrJan]

As a purely motorsport question this is a no brainer, I'd go to Spa every time, but a few other things have got in the way.

Me and a mate are looking at combining a bit of a week/weekend away with a GP. In the past the non-motorsport holidays we've ended up on have been heavily alcohol/partying lead, in the noisiest hostel we can find, with a smidgen of culture thrown in. This is where Monza gets the upper hand, the prospect of wandering around Milan in the evening and then going on a heavy night out is extremely tempting. The downside is the budget. We would probably be looking at general admission, which apparently means you need to be there really early to get the good spots...obviously this goes against any nights out in Milan.

Spa seems to be the cheaper option on the face of it. £60 ferry to Dunkirk, around 900 miles from my house to Spa and back again (say 50mpg at £1.40/l), so that's about £120 and camping seems to be about £20 a night. So for Thursday through Sunday we're looking at about £260 between 2 of us. Trouble is that there's no big city nearby to go partying in, on the face of it it's just camping in a forest and watching motor sport. Normally I'm not against that but I've already had 3 holidays this year that were just for motorsport and I kind of fancy something a bit different.

I guess what I want to know is is the atmosphere at Spa good enough to be considered a party (or do you ahve to get exactly the right campsite) and can the Italians be as irritating as some say (in as much as they get moody if there's no red car in front and the atmosphere goes a bit crap)? Also can you get a decent viewing spot from general admission at either track?

[driveace]

Budapest for the Hungarian GP at the Hungaroring would be my choice,and i am told tickets are cheaper

[MrJan]

Budapest for the Hungarian GP at the Hungaroring would be my choice,and i am told tickets are cheaper

I did think about that but my mate has a habit of not going to countries that he's already been to and he taught English in Budapest for a few months so probably wouldn't be too keen....that and it's less than 3 weeks away so is too tight to sort things.

[Wasted Talent]

Nice to have a choice!

I would guess that general admission at Spa gives a much better view with the hills/banks surrounding the circuit compared to Monza being a flat track, but you need someone who has been to Monza to confirm that

WT

[wedge]

Liege is near Spa.

About 15 euros for return train ticket, IIRC.

I've been meaning to go to Liege and nab a hire car to venture around the full Spa but for some reason I never get round to it.

[fandango]

I've been to Spa, on a general admission ticket, and I thought it was just amazing. During practice up at the top end of the circuit there are moments when you feel you're on a nice day out in the country - and then an F1 car passes, the noise filling the valley. Wonderful.

I stayed with a mate who lives in Aachen, so I can't vouch for the nightlife camping at the circuit, but I remember thinking that someday I'll return with the camper van and do the whole weekend there.

I don't think I'd go to Monza on a general admin ticket.

[MrJan]

The choice was made to side with the culture/party atmosphere and go to Monza, staying in Milan and one day in Venice first. From the motorsport side it won't be quite so good (the general admin spots don't seem great) but I really fancied going to a country that I've not been to before and also taking in a bit of sight seeing and some lively nights out. Also I've already been lucky enough to go abroad 3 times this year and all of them were solely to watch motorsport* (Monaco Historic, Acropolis Rally and Tour of Ypres Rally), so it'll be nice to do something a bit different.

This is not usual for me, however as I'm about to embark on having a mortgage I thought it best to make hay and spend a bit of my spare cash. In theory it would be much better used towards my deposit...but then I'd have missed a fantastic weekend in the South of France and a brilliant trip to Greece.

[Dave B]

I've done both

If is was a straight choice I'd choose Spa. I'm in Kent so it was easy to get a ferry and drive over (actually easier to go Dover-Calais and drive up the coast road), meaning practically unlimited luggage and easy journeys from our guest house to the track. The circuit itself is of course legendary, the tickets were reasonable: we had general admission but found excellent spots each day, the only downside was the unpredictable weather. You're right that it was deathly quiet, although if you can speak a smattering of German you'll probably enjoy the raucous parties they throw in their campsites!

Don't get me wrong, I loved Monza, but everything was more expensive and it was only the fact we made it part of our honeymoon which kept the travel reasonable: we'd already flown to Venice so it was half a day's journey on a train. We found a nice guest house in Lesmo (again deathly quiet) and walked to the circuit each day. We shelled out for grandstand seats as we had the same though about general admission, the views were amazing but I personally just preferred the atmosphere of Spa.

I'm not sure when we'll next get to a GP now we've a little one, but hopefully we can introduce him to F1 before all the great tracks are replaced with Tilkedromes or street circuits!

[Rollo]

I've not been to Spa, but when I saw the Italian GP I stayed in Seveso (famous for that industrial accident) which is 15km away and quite accessible by train. Milan is kind of expensive, but the satellite towns are cheap enough I suppose.

Monza compared to other motor racing circuits I've been to is quite limited in terms of viewing. Cars appear from the forest, whizz past you and they disappear again. I think from what I've seen on telly, that Spa might be a better viewing experience.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

The weather would lead me to go to Monza. Sure a wet race is fun but Silverstone has just taught me that a weekend camping in mud and rain isn't much fun.