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It took about seven hours to drive to the Belgian Grand Prix in 2018. I've been watching F1 for nearly 30 years, but that's the only race I've ever been to. I stood near the top of the Kemel straight, hoping to see some overtaking. On lap one, I nearly got it. The first four cars arrived at the corner side by side. But none of them got past, and the rest of the race was a procession. We got home at about five in the morning.
So the race wan't much, but was it worth the trip? I went with friends, and we enjoyed ourselves. I soaked up the atmosphere, and the history. I drove through the Masta kink¹. I saw Hamilton and Verstappen come over the crest at Raidillon going flat out in qualifying in the rain. After the race, I walked down the hill to Eau Rouge, where you could see the track surface had been scraped by titanium skid blocks. It still smelled singed. I picked up scraps of shed tyre rubber, warm and sticky. I took photos of my friends sitting on the grid pretending they were about to start a camping stool race. I ate chips at the bus stop chicane. So yes, it was worth it.
I only tried to go again once. I figured I could also drive to Zandvoort in the Netherlands, and that I would spend big for a seat in the grandstand with all the Dutch Verstappen fans. But the tickets were massively oversubscribed, and there was a ballot, and I didn't win.
Recently I organised karting for friends and family. I hired Buckmore Park circuit². It's an excellent track, with a plenty of variety and elevation changes. Going downhill I found it hard to convince myself that I should keep my foot down. We had five minutes practice, and straight into a 20 minute race. I qualified second, and got into the lead after three laps. Then I had no idea how far ahead I was because I couldn't see behind me. Turns out - not so far ahead. I got into a mess with some back markers at the hairpin, and I was down to third. Happily, overtaking is qute do-able on this track. You can get along side people into the tighter corners, and if someone's not got something quite right then the track is wide enough to go for a pass almost anywhere. I thought the time must be nearly up, but the clock said still 5 minutes to go. I'm not fit enough for this. But I got back into the lead, and got the world's worst trophy. The sticker saying "winner" fell off as soon as I picked it up.
If you've never been karting, it's a fun thing to try. Most circuits have open practise sessions and they provide everything you need.