u/DHSeaVixen

This is a sort of maybe work in progress what-if version of redesign. What I am imagining here is a slightly different way that Spa's evolution into to a modern GP circuit.

For those who don't know Spa's history, the original ~14km grand prix layout, legendary for being fast and dangerous, was abandoned by Formula 1 after 1970 but continued to host sportscar races through to 1975 and then motorcycle and touring car racing through to 1978, after which the track was rebuilt as the ~7km layout we all know and love today.

But what things had happened a little bit differently?

Here I am imagining a 4.3km 'Grand Prix' layout constructed at the end of 1970, to be used for Formula 1 and motorcycles in conjunction with the original layout for sports-car and touring car races.

I don't think this would have been likely to extend the life of the original layout, so second part of this is a fictional 1977 proposal for an extended 6.8km Grand Prix circuit, potentially giving Spa three or four circuit variants to chose from.

So, how do we think this might have gone if this was how things had gone in real life? Would the 4.3km layout have been a success? Would the 1977 proposal have been built? If it had been build how might it have differed from the original proposal?

Let me know! Maybe I'll collect together the ideas and do a full illustration of what the final GP circuit might have looked like by about 1980 or even into modern times. Maybe it'll get some alternative history lore as well.