Spa in the sim: Eau Rouge, Pouhon and the Bus Stop

The lap at a glance

The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is 7.004 kilometres long in its current form, and it combines very slow corners, long uphill straights and some of the fastest sweepers that sims reproduce. The circuit gives the Raidillon alone about 40 metres of height difference. Learning Spa in a sim means learning the order of the corners first and the details second,.

In lap order, the corners that matter are:

La Source, the hairpin after the start and the slowest corner of the lap.
Eau Rouge and the Raidillon, the dip at the bottom of the hill and the steep climb that follows. Eau Rouge is strictly the stream under the small bridge at the foot of the Raidillon.
Kemmel, the long climb from the Raidillon to Les Combes, taken flat out. The circuit records its highest speed at the end of it.
Les Combes, a quick right and left chicane at the top of the hill, followed by the descent towards Bruxelles.
Bruxelles, also called Rivage, a long right hand bend, followed by a small left known as Speaker’s Corner.
Pouhon, a fast double left after a downhill straight.
Fagnes, a double bend approached at high speed, followed by Campus, a fast right.
Paul Frère, where today’s layout meets the old road that used to climb from Stavelot.
Blanchimont, a very fast double left.
The chicane known as the Bus Stop, a slow right and left that ends one lap and starts the next.

The names follow the circuit’s own guide to its corners; some sims label sections differently.

La Source to the top of the Raidillon

La Source decides your speed for the whole run down the hill and up the Raidillon. Brake in a straight line, let the car rotate before you open the steering, and be patient with the throttle on the way out, because the exit runs downhill and a car with a lot of torque will spin its rear wheels. On the first lap of a race, leave room and think about the exit rather than the inside line. Our guide to clean overtaking covers the first corner etiquette.

The circuit itself treats Eau Rouge and the Raidillon as a triple challenge rather than a single corner. The compression at the bottom loads the suspension hard, the climb is steep, and the top is a blind crest where the car goes light just as you need it to change direction. Whether the sequence is flat out depends on the car, the setup, the fuel load, the tyre temperature and the weather, so do not copy a lap from a video made in a different car.

Build up in steps. Start with a clear lift before the bottom, then shorten the lift lap by lap until the car stays settled over the crest.
Turn in early and smoothly. A late, sharp input at the bottom leaves the car unsettled for the climb.
Look up the hill. Pick a reference at the top of the crest and keep your eyes there while the car climbs.
Watch the exit. Most series police track limits at the top of the hill, so let the car run wide only as far as the rules allow, and keep the wheel as straight as possible onto Kemmel.

Kemmel and Les Combes

Kemmel is the obvious place to overtake. A clean exit from the Raidillon matters more than anything you do on the straight itself, and in traffic the slipstream is strong enough to set up a pass into Les Combes. Decide early which side you will use and avoid weaving, which can earn a penalty in stewarded leagues.

Les Combes is the hardest braking zone of the lap because you arrive at the highest speed. The opening right sets your speed for the descent that follows, so give up a little entry speed in the first part if it gets you a cleaner exit. Brake in a straight line and use reference points you can find on every lap, as described in braking points you can repeat. If your car allows it, a small change of brake bias for this corner is worth trying; our guide to brake bias explains how.

Bruxelles, Speaker’s Corner and Pouhon

Bruxelles is a long right that seems never to end. It rewards a late apex and patience: brake, carry some brake into the turn and wait until you can see the exit before you commit to the throttle. Trail braking is the tool for the entry. The small left that follows is easy to treat as nothing, but it decides your line for the downhill run, and the circuit notes that it often surprises drivers.

Pouhon is a fast double left after that downhill straight. It is not a right hander, whatever older guides say. Take your speed off before the turn in, then treat the two parts as one long corner: a car that is settled through the first part can carry more speed through the second. Running wide at the exit is the most common mistake, so find a reference for the second apex and use it every lap.

Fagnes, Campus, Paul Frère and Blanchimont

Fagnes is a double bend approached at high speed, followed by the fast right at Campus. Link them with small inputs. Paul Frère follows, and its exit leads into the fast run to Blanchimont, so a tidy exit here is worth more than a late brake on the way in.

Blanchimont is a very fast double left. Whether it is flat depends on the car and the conditions, but even where it is, the line and the steering inputs decide how much speed you carry to the end of the lap. Keep the inputs small and the line consistent. In multi-class racing, faster cars often catch slower ones in this part of the lap, so hold a predictable line and let the faster driver choose the side.

The Bus Stop chicane

The lap ends with heavy braking from high speed into the chicane known as the Bus Stop, a slow right and left. The circuit explains the name: there used to be a bus stop at this point when the roads were open to traffic. Brake in a straight line, do not attack the first kerb so hard that the car is unsettled for the left, and focus on the exit, because it decides your speed past the line and your entry into La Source on the next lap. Track limits are usually tight here, so learn the corner within them from the start.

Setup: one compromise for three kinds of corner

Spa mixes slow corners at La Source and the Bus Stop, long straights at Kemmel and before the Bus Stop, and fast sweepers at Pouhon and Blanchimont. No setup is ideal for all three, so decide where your car loses most time.

Downforce: enough to keep the car stable through Pouhon and Blanchimont without being slow at the end of Kemmel. Our guide to downforce against drag explains how to read the track before you decide.
Ride height and springs: the compression at Eau Rouge is the test. If the car bottoms out there, raise the ride height or stiffen the springs a little before you change anything else.
Gearing: where the sim allows it, choose a top gear that reaches the limiter just before the braking point at the end of Kemmel when you are not in a slipstream.
Tyres: the lap is long, so tyre temperatures change a lot between the slow and the fast sections. See the tyre window for how to read them.

If your sim runs dynamic weather, practise the lap in the wet as well. Wet driving moves the line, as explained in wet racing technique.

A practice plan for Spa

Learn the order. Drive a few slow laps and say the corner names out loud, so you always know which corner comes next.
Split the lap into three parts. La Source to Les Combes, Bruxelles to Campus, and Paul Frère to the Bus Stop. Work on one part per session.
Build speed at the Raidillon in steps. Never try it flat for the first time on cold tyres.
Review. Watch the replay of your worst lap and compare speed traces with a reference lap. The replay session and the four telemetry channels show how.
Finish with a long run. Spa rewards consistency over a stint more than one fast lap.

The general method behind these steps is described in learning a new track in three sessions.

Which sims and which version of Spa

Spa appears in most major circuit sims, but versions differ, because the circuit has been modified several times over the years. Assetto Corsa Competizione is the official GT World Challenge game, its Steam page names Spa 24 Hours races, and it states that every official circuit is laser-scanned; see our guide to the first ten hours in ACC. iRacing sells its most recent scan of the circuit in one package with the original version built in 2010; the iRacing guide explains how track purchases work. Whichever sim you use, check that you are practising the current layout before you study a reference lap.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Which way does Pouhon turn?

Pouhon is a fast double left after a downhill straight, not a right hander. Treat the two parts as one long corner and find a reference for the second apex.

Is Eau Rouge flat out in a sim?

It depends on the car, the setup, the fuel load, the tyre temperature and the weather. Build up in steps, from a clear lift towards flat, and never try it flat for the first time on cold tyres.

Which corner comes before the Bus Stop chicane?

Blanchimont, a very fast double left. The lap order at the end is Campus, Paul Frère, Blanchimont and then the Bus Stop, which leads to the start line and La Source.

How long is a lap of Spa-Francorchamps?

The current layout is 7.004 kilometres long, according to the circuit. Its slowest corner is La Source, the hairpin after the start.

Why is the last chicane called the Bus Stop?

According to the circuit, there used to be a bus stop at this point when the roads were open to public traffic.