Some Assembly Required – Spa Classic

Something a little different this month. By the time you read this, I will have been in Belgium, attending the Spa Classic vintage race at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit. As per the event promotional material: Every spring, the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit
becomes a living theater of automotive history. From May 22 to 24, 2026, the engines of a bygone era will once again roar through the Eau Rouge valley for the 14th edition of Spa-Classic, one of the must-see events on the European historic racing calendar. In 2025, the event attracted more than 25,000 spectators, nearly 400 competing cars, and more than 800 club cars, confirming its status as a major event of the season. On the legendary 7-kilometer track, nicknamed “the Ardennes toboggan,” these machines will find a playground worthy of their caliber. Eau Rouge, Raidillon, and Les Combes
remain passages that thrill purists and enhance the driving experience.

Many of you will remember that I attended the Goodwood Revival in the UK last fall. The Spa Classic promises to be a similar event, although it looks like period dress is not required. My wife and I have planned a trip through Europe for the spring of 2026. My bucket list events are the Spa Classic and the Mille Miglia Recreation (more on that in a future article). Looking at the entry list, it looks like there will be a lot of Jaguars represented. I see numerous E-Types, an XK-120, an XK-140, a Lister Jaguar Costin, a Lister Jaguar Knobbly, and an XJS. A glance at the entry list indicates that most of the cars are from the 1950’s or newer, with the newest cars being from 2010 and earlier. In addition to production cars, modified for racing, I see that a number of sports racing prototypes are entered. Of particular interest to me is a Group C class, which was kind of the “anything goes” class of the 80’s.
Spa has a reputation of being rainy so I’m bringing my rain gear. As long as the track doesn’t get too wet, it’s always fun to watch the cars get sideways in the wet. I’ve driven a little bit on wet tracks and I frankly don’t know how the drivers maintain such a brave pace in wet conditions. Maybe you just have to grow up on wet roads. As with many vintage races, the cars are divided up into classes that each get on track twice a day over a 3 day weekend. It looks like the races will be from 30 minutes to 1 hour long. If it’s like Goodwood, I expect these guys to race hard and put on a good show. Pit access is usually very good at vintage races. I look forward to checking out the cars up close.

Update- I have attended the event and it was a blast. The track is even more beautiful in person than it appears to be on TV. I found out that there is a 100 meter elevation gain between the low point at Eau Rouge and Les Combes. If any of you watched the F1 race, spectators were distributed all around the track. The Classic race probably has about 10% of the spectators of a F1 race. What this means is that you can drift in and out of the fixed grandstands, with seats always available. You can also take the walking path around the entire track, stopping to admire the various corners, again without having to fight a packed crowd of viewers. My wife (not a walker) sat in the large covered grandstand overlooking Eau Rouge each of the 3 days we attended. I sat there to but, as noted, took the chance to walk the track circumference on Saturday and Sunday. Allocate several hours to walk the entire track but it is worth it! Another factor of vintage racing is that 90% of the pits are accessible without special ticketing. The only place that is really off limits is the hot track side of the permanent pits as you see in an F1 race. A tip is to bring a seat cushion, as none of the grandstand seats are padded. And after the first day, I brought in my over the ear noise cancelling headphones. Not necessary for all the cars but some classes were just too loud for my old ears. We stayed at a short term rental, about 25 minutes from the track. Arriving early each day, traffic was not an issue. And it didn’t rain! Wow. Below are some pictures. There are plenty more, of better quality, on line but this gives you a feeling of the flavor of the event.