I just learned of a very interesting track that would fit marvellously in
GPL.
It appears that the countryside of Chimay in southern Belgium can boast
not only with excellent beer but also a very cool street circuit of
historical note. The course, consisting of 10.8 km of public roads
between Chimay and Salles, was used for car racing from the mid-twenties
to the late sixties or early seventies. Several non-championship Grand
Prix events (14 says Forix) were hosted there under the moniker "Grand
Prix des Fronti�res", last in 1954.
The track has since then been reduced to a considerably blander,
shortened affair that only uses a fraction of the original circuit, but
is apparently loved by motorcycle racers ("One of the most bonkers race
tracks in the world" says one biker on his web page of the modern track)
and is still regularly raced.
The track seems to have been fairly fast, as is visible from the track maps
alone. I looked up statistics from 1953 races which indicate that the track
was definitely faster than the 1953 Rouen (the 5.1 km configuration where
the back straight went ruler-straight from Beauval to Paradis), and I would
estimate that GPL cars could possibly lap something between 2:50 to 3:10
here, which would equal average speeds around 215 kph (in comparison, a
2:00.00 lap at Rouen averages 196 kph, and a 3:20.00 at Spa averages 254).
Does anybody else know anything about this track? I swear by the taste buds
of the brewer monks that this is _just_ what GPL needs - track to fill the
gap between Rouen and Spa both in length and speed. And it looks much more
attractive than the million-mile straights of Reims or old Hockenheim too..
+Cinquo [36.xx]
