6/3 Off to the races!

The weatherman was correct for a change and we awoke to a cold gray morning. We packed up and left by 8:30 with Stephan driving. We reached the track quickly and entry / parking was free !? We planned a meeting spot and then wandered off to explore and watch the races. I think when I was 8 or 9 my grandfather took me to the Indianapolis 500 time trials. So really not knowing what to expect the novelty factor was extreme. However I had  Tammy had with me to give pointers! As a one time youth racer she was all over this! There were several races scheduled with the main even of course later. And to make matters more challenging what started as a drizzle progressed to some serious rainfall with wind. The place is huge and absorbs the crowd easily. The track is long and windy but the facilities are at one end and you can watch either the long straightaway with the pit stops ending in a tight corner, or around the corner another straightaway the plunges downhill wiggles left and immediately shoots up a steep hill curving hard right. " It takes huge balls to fire down that hill - people die there!" we were told. Nobody did that day but conditions as they were I could see how it could happen. At first the F2 s were running piloted by very young people and it was great fun to watch them screech down the hill with popping backfiring at the bottom as they then whipped around and then up. We were walking to a new section when a new sound erupted, the F1 s! A screaming roar these much larger and faster cars are a wall of sound when they pass. The driving was aggressive of course and the initial impression for me was jaw dropping. As it was for the young kids in the stands rapt in awe as they would come around and I was there with them!
We explored the venue to see what was there and to keep moving so as to stay warm. The temperature dropped, wind picked up along with rain - very cold!
There were long lines for free racing simulators, electric minicars to test and a pitstop simulation where they would time your prowess at changing full scale racing wheels. Quite a lot really for the free admission. The food was typical fair fare - but we did find a huge pita with a mountain of meat and some salad which was good. For the final F1 cup run of the day we were at the end of the straightaway and across the track a giant portable led screen showed the race as it moves around the course. We could look down into the pitstop as well and to me this was something. The pit team would position, the car materialize and without exaggeration the wheels were changed, the car serviced and it vanished in a roar all in far less time then it took me to write this sentence!!! The wet track produced some crashes and the ambulances left a few times - unclear as to what happened to who with the language barrier. In one incident though, we saw on the screen a car lift almost vertically to smash down across the track miraculously missing other cars! We watch all this beside a woman and her daughter who screamed / cheered with impassioned clenched fists tearful even as one particular red and white car passed - obviously a personal connection there.
Wet and cold the day was satisfying and fun to be sure! We eventually met up with our German acquaintances who drove us a good bit out of their way to our lodging in Vielsalm. What great generous guys they were to offer this to foreign strangers. We really really appreciate it! We found some basic Italian food for dinner and I saved some pizza as trail fuel for the next day.
The hotel shower door was off its hinges and the lady at the desk seemed to have cared less so I just fixed it myself. This was my least favorite place to stay.