{"id":1699,"date":"2014-06-18T11:07:09","date_gmt":"2014-06-18T09:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/b106543.web05.cust.bluerange.se\/?p=1699"},"modified":"2014-06-18T11:12:52","modified_gmt":"2014-06-18T09:12:52","slug":"preview-spa-francorchamps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/preview-spa-francorchamps\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: Spa-Francorchamps"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/b106543.web05.cust.bluerange.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Pre-Spa-ENG.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-1700\" alt=\"Pre-Spa-ENG\" src=\"https:\/\/b106543.web05.cust.bluerange.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Pre-Spa-ENG-1024x422.jpg\" width=\"785\" height=\"323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Pre-Spa-ENG-1024x422.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/felixracing.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Pre-Spa-ENG-300x123.jpg 300w, https:\/\/felixracing.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Pre-Spa-ENG-1024x422-561x231.jpg 561w, https:\/\/felixracing.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Pre-Spa-ENG.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 785px) 100vw, 785px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Round five of the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship sees\u00a0Felix Rosenqvist and the rest of the F3 fraternity\u00a0travel to the deep forests of the Belgian Ardennes, as the field prepares to battle it out\u00a0at\u00a0one of the sport&#8217;s greatest driving challenges: Spa-Francorchamps.<\/p>\n<p>With its 7 km lap packed with legendary sections such as Eau Rouge, Pouhon\u00a0and Blanchimont,\u00a0Spa holds an undisputed place in\u00a0the history books of motor racing, and makes for a popular return to the FIA Formula 3\u00a0European Championship calendar following a year on the sidelines in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Felix\u00a0travels to Belgium looking to maintain the positive momentum\u00a0of his most recent racing activities, two weeks on from an\u00a0emphatic double win for the Team Sweden FA1 squad at Monza.<\/p>\n<p>After a penalty\u00a0forced him\u00a0out of an increasingly vivid victory dispute\u00a0at the latest F3 round in Budapest, however, there is an element of unfinished business going into the up-coming weekend, with Felix eager to return to the winners&#8217; circle sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<p>Add to that the fact that Spa remains one of the few circuits on which the Mercedes-backed M\u00fccke Motorsport man is yet to celebrate an\u00a0F3 victory, and there\u00a0is no shortage of incentives as we head into the most\u00a0hectic part of the season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Flashback: the previous races<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>FA1: Monza<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>6-8\/6<br \/>\n<\/em><strong>[yes_list] <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Felix Rosenqvist dominates to win twice at Monza\" href=\"https:\/\/b106543.web05.cust.bluerange.se\/felix-rosenqvist-dominates-to-win-twice-at-monza\/?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\">Felix Rosenqvist dominates to win twice at Monza<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?set=a.797327706966506.1073741848.205041946195088&amp;type=1\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Gallery: all the images from Italy<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>[\/yes_list]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nFIA F3 European Championship: Budapest (Round 4)<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>30\/5 &#8211; 1\/6<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/em><strong>[yes_list] <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Felix Rosenqvist takes Budapest podium\" href=\"https:\/\/b106543.web05.cust.bluerange.se\/felix-rosenqvist-takes-budapest-podium\/?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Felix Rosenqvist takes Budapest podium<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Video: a look back at Budapest\" href=\"https:\/\/b106543.web05.cust.bluerange.se\/video-a-look-back-at-budapest\/?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Video: Felix looks back on Hungary<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?set=a.791855050847105.1073741847.205041946195088&amp;type=3\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Gallery: Hungaroring<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>[\/yes_list]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAYOUT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/b106543.web05.cust.bluerange.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Spa-map.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1696\" alt=\"Spa-map\" src=\"https:\/\/b106543.web05.cust.bluerange.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Spa-map-300x205.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Spa-map-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/felixracing.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Spa-map.jpg 916w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Length: <\/strong>7.004 km<strong><br \/>\nOpened: <\/strong>1922<br \/>\n<strong>Lap record, F3:<\/strong> 2m16.123s (F\u00e9lix Serrall\u00e9s, 2012)<br \/>\n<strong>2013 results (Felix):<\/strong> no race staged<br \/>\n<strong>Race duration:<\/strong> 35 minutes<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Above everything else, Spa-Francorchamps is a massively fast circuit. At no other venue on the calendar do drivers\u00a0travel at\u00a0full throttle for a similar amount of time,\u00a0setting the stage for\u00a0several\u00a0genuine overtaking opportunities\u00a0and close racing.<\/p>\n<p>The majority of the corners are negotiated at very high speeds &#8211; often above 200 km\/h &#8211; but the start\/finish area is dominated by the slow Bus Stop chicane and the La Source hairpin; with the latter requiring a good exit in order to carry as much speed as possible through the mind-blowing uphill sweep of Eau Rouge and onto the subsequent Kemmel straight.<\/p>\n<p>The key to a competitive lap time at Spa is spelled &#8220;trade-off&#8221;, with teams seeking to find the right balance between top speed on the never-ending straights and decent grip in the aerodynamically sensitive corners in the middle part of the lap. Many tend to put a premium on top speed in\u00a0an attempt\u00a0to aid overtaking, but there is a very fine line on the road to exaggeration and the slightest mistake on set-up can bite back remorselessly in the shape of tyre-chewing oversteer.<\/p>\n<p>Spa-Francorchamps is surrounded by the\u00a0forests and mountains of the Belgian Ardennes,\u00a0making it infamous for\u00a0its changeable\u00a0micro climate,\u00a0and is also the longest circuit on the calendar at 7.004 km.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3JKJ03f03HI\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>VIDEO: Go on-board with Felix for a lap around Spa-Francorchamps in Formula Renault (2008).<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>FELIX&#8217;S PERSPECTIVE:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Spa is a fantastic circuit; everyone loves to race there. It features a unique mixture of fast and slow &#8211; but\u00a0technical &#8211; corners, and the\u00a0climb up Eau Rouge and\u00a0along the Kemmel straight makes for\u00a0some close racing. I\u00a0drove\u00a0at Spa most recently in 2012, and got to experience\u00a0just how quickly the\u00a0weather can change in the Ardennes;\u00a0you can go from blue skies to pouring rain in literally ten minutes. It will be great fun to get back, and the aim\u00a0is to continue along the positive\u00a0path we took\u00a0towards the\u00a0end of the weekend in Budapest. I go to Belgium with the added momentum of the FA1 double\u00a0win at Monza two weeks ago, and Spa is one of the few circuits on which I haven&#8217;t yet won in F3. I&#8217;ll do my best\u00a0for that to change this weekend.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>TIME TABLE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>All times local (GMT+02:00)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Friday\u00a020\u00a0June<br \/>\n<strong>Free Practice 1:<\/strong> 09.45 (40 minutes)<br \/>\n<strong> <strong>Free Practice<\/strong> 2:<\/strong> 10.30 (40 minutes)<br \/>\n<strong>Qualifying 1:<\/strong> 14.10 (20 minutes)<br \/>\n<strong>Qualifying 2: <\/strong>17.15 (20 minutes)<\/p>\n<p>Saturday 21\u00a0June<br \/>\n<strong>Race 1:<\/strong> 11.45 (35 minutes)<br \/>\n<strong><strong>Race 2:<\/strong> <\/strong>16.30 (35 minutes)<\/p>\n<p>Sunday\u00a022 June<br \/>\n<strong>Race 3:<\/strong> 10.05 (35 minutes)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>HOW IT WORKS &#8211; AN FIA F3 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP QUICK GUIDE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Each round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship is made up of three races, all of which are of equal length (35 minutes) and importance for the outcome in the title chase. The points structure mirrors that in use in Formula 1, running to the <strong>25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1<\/strong> system (with the top ten finishers in each race scoring points).<\/p>\n<p><strong>The grid<\/strong> for all three races is set in the two qualifying sessions. For Race 1, the starting order is established by the outright results of Qualifying 1, while the subsequent second qualifying session forms the grid for Race 2. For Race 3, the grid will be based on each driver&#8217;s second-fastest lap in Qualifying 2.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>CALENDAR<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The full 2014 calendar can be viewed <strong><a title=\"Calendar\" href=\"https:\/\/b106543.web05.cust.bluerange.se\/calendar\/?lang=en\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>ENTRY LIST<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>FIA Formula 3 European Championship 2014 &#8211; <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fiaf3europe.com\/en\/drivers\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">teams and drivers<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>HOW TO FOLLOW FELIX THIS WEEKEND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>WEBSITE<\/strong><br \/>\nAs always, www.felixracing.se will be fully updated throughout the weekend, with reports from each of the sessions that take place. The website is the central hub of information for everything that goes on both on and off the track, and will also feature other relevant news, pictures and videos.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV<\/strong><br \/>\nAll three races at the event will be streamed LIVE at www.fiaf3europe.com, with <strong>a link set to appear in the slider field at the top of the www.felixracing.se start page<\/strong>. In addition to the real-time broadcasts, a new-for-2014 agreement will also see Eurosport produce a magazine-style wrap-up show to be aired on the Tuesday following each round.<\/p>\n<p>[yes_list]<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fiaf3europe.com\/en\/tv-schedule\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">International TV broadcast schedule<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/yes_list]<\/p>\n<p><strong>SOCIAL MEDIA<\/strong><br \/>\nThe interaction with fans and followers will principally involve Felix Racing&#8217;s official <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FelixRosenqvistOfficial?fref=ts\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Facebook Fan Page<\/strong><\/a><strong>, <\/strong>where supporters can discuss all the goings-on and post potential questions to Felix. Tweets will also be forthcoming through Felix&#8217;s own Twitter account (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FRosenqvist\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>@FRosenqvist<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Round five of the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship sees\u00a0Felix Rosenqvist and the rest of the F3 fraternity\u00a0travel to the deep forests of the Belgian Ardennes, as the field prepares to battle it out\u00a0at\u00a0one of the sport&#8217;s greatest driving challenges: Spa-Francorchamps. With its 7 km lap packed with legendary sections such as Eau Rouge, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news3","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"aioseo_notices":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1699"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1725,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699\/revisions\/1725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/felixracing.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}