Spa weekender
Matt and friends head for the legendary Belgian racetrack
Best laid plans and all that… after solving my clutch issues (PC, July 2017), the 2000 was in fine fettle. Which was a good thing, as having completed our epic Uk-wide cafe tour, a European jaunt was next on the list. I’ve been to the excellent Spa Classic twice before, in both a TR6 and a Peugeot 205 diesel but this would be the first visit in my saloon. I teamed up with friend and CT 10CR co-driver Lee Dreher, while RBRR 2016 co-driver Greg Macleman also ended up on board, as his 1974 MGB GT had, shall we say, failed to proceed. The plan was to meet at Greg’s place in Purley on the Wednesday night before the event, ahead of a 10am ferry the next day. But things didn’t go quite to plan.
An accident on the M11 meant that I spent an hour or so sat in queuing traffic, managing to travel all of two miles in that time. The ignition light kept flickering on at idle, but I put that down to the engine getting a little bit hot and bothered… but unfortunately I was wrong. When the traffic cleared and I was able to get up to speed, the ignition light came on permanently and the voltmeter nose-dived down to 11v. Worse still, the engine was misfiring badly and reluctant to rev cleanly. It was obvious that the alternator had failed. But what to do next?
No way was I going to wait on the side of a dark and rainy M11 while waiting for help to arrive – so I found my way to a Harvester pub in North Weald and put the call in to the AA. Patrolman James arrived within half an hour and quickly confirmed my initial diagnosis – the alternator was indeed kaput. With the night closing in, this left me with a tricky problem. Yes, I would be able to get
‘I didn’t get to bed until gone 1am – but our trip was back on track!’
a replacement the following day but that would have meant missing our ferry and impacting on our travel schedule. I needed help.
In the nick of time
Salvation came in the form of fellow Club Triumph member and MKI saloon owner Ellis Stokes, who lives in nearby Potters Bar. A quick call to Ellis secured me the loan of a known-good alternator, so I just had to get over to his place. James followed me in his van and we made it in one piece. Twenty minutes later and I was back in business. Thanks again Ellis! I didn’t arrive at Greg’s until 1am, but our trip was back on track.
The next day we reached Dover in good time ahead of our crossing, via the ever-handy DFDS service into Dunkirk. Having suffered at the hands of the Brussels ring road on previous trips, we’d plotted an alternative route that approached Spa from the west rather than coming down from the north, which worked out nicely. I thoroughly enjoyed the final 40-mile run in through the twisting forest roads of the beautiful Ardennes. Once we’d arrived in our accomodation near Stavelot, itself famous for being part of the old Spa grand prix circuit, we were all set for a weekend of race thrills and Belgian beer.
The weather swung from persistent rain to blazing sunshine but our spirits remained high. There is just something about Spa that gives it a magical quality – it’s a mixture of the history that pervades the track itself along with the beauty and sheer grandeur of the landscape that envelops it. Until you’ve stood at ‘ground level’ on the iconic Eau Rouge corner then you really can’t grasp the extreme gradient, for example.
The racing action was equally impressive, too. The thunderous Group C cars are among my favourites to watch but being able to get up close and personal to the beasts in the pits while they were being preened and readied for work was something else. Standing mere feet away from a Porsche 962 with the rear bodywork removed and the mighty 3-litre flat-six burbling and blipping away was a particular highlight.
The homeward journey was problem-free and all too soon the adventure was over. The 2000 coped with everything three men could throw at it, while also lugging a not inconsiderable amount of super strength Trappist beer into the bargain. Classic road trips – you can’t beat them!