Joe is a long time motor sports fan and has travelled to various events in Europe in the past including Le Mans 24 hour race (which we have done together twice), classic motorbike races in Belgium and a Grand Prix at Spa in Belgium. I hadn’t followed the Formula 1 Grand Prix races before I met Joe and TV coverage has moved on a lot since I first watched an F1 race many years ago, becoming much more exciting as camera technologies improve. When Joe and I met we started watching the coverage together and when we started our campervan travels we often talked about going to a race or perhaps following some of the European races in the van. Now that we don’t have to make the trip across the Channel it cuts down a lot of the travel so we decided we would try the race that is probably closest to us now – the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit Catalunya just outside Barcelona. We booked tickets at the end of last year and even got a 50% Spanish seniors discount on Joe’s ticket which was a great bonus. Earlier this year we booked the camping area which is managed by the local municipality just opposite one of the circuit gates.
Rather than ploughing straight down the motorway to Narbonne and then turning right to Barcelona we decided to take a scenic route over the Pyrenees with stops at Loudenvielle on the French side and Rialp and La Seu d’Urgell on the Spanish side. We were expecting it to be a bit chillier in the mountains but in fact we had temperatures up to 30C and bright blue skies. The roads and scenery were stunning and we enjoyed scenic and peaceful overnight stops in contrast to the next few days.
The circuit campsite had sent us no information other than confirmation of payment and we found our way more by chance to the site late on the Thursday afternoon. Our booking did exist and we were free to get set up in what was basically a field for motorhomes with toilets, showers and washing up facilities for campers in tents. A big bonus however was that electricity was provided- we had assumed we would be totally off-grid but it made it much easier for managing the fridge and charging phones, etc. Our neighbours were a mix of Brits, Spanish, Italians and Australians, all parked cheek by jowl in true Spanish camping fashion. We were quite surprised at the young age profile of many of the attendees, but the F1 drivers are mostly young so would attract that following. The campsite rules included a ‘no noise’ policy after a certain time which proved to be rather pointless – Peaceful camping it was not! The noise level from surrounding bars and the circuit loudspeakers was rather like certain forms of torture you see in a series like Homeland where prisoners are subjected to loud noise and music. Spain were playing in the Euros on the first night and won their match so partying and thumping rave music went on until 2 or 3 am, and we were then woken at 7am by heavy beat music from the circuit loudspeakers. Everyone emerged very gingerly and a little shell shocked in the morning before heading off to the track and earplugs were the order of the day (or night) for sleeping on subsequent nights.
The big advantage of the campsite was its proximity to the circuit – a 5 minute walk to the nearest gate and then another 15-20 minutes inside the circuit to get to our grandstand seats. Grandstand G overlooks several turns on the circuit so is quite interesting for action, but it’s an uncovered stand so managing the heat can be an issue. We were well covered up and escaped to shade between practices and races and there was quite a bit of cloud cover at times. One question in our minds was what the experience of seeing the race live, at one fixed point on the track, would be like compared to TV coverage where you see everything that’s going on. Of course it is very different, but just as exciting as large screens show what is going elsewhere and it’s great to see the cars at close quarters. The passion of the fans, for their local heroes and those who follow a particular driver on the European circuit, makes it a great atmosphere. The British driver Lando Norris who was on pole position unfortunately didn’t have a good start and never recaptured the lead from the current World champion, Max Verstappen, but British drivers still made a good showing finishing in 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions. It’s definitely something we’d like to do again at a different track in Europe.
We stayed on at the campsite after the race rather than rushing to get away with the rest of the traffic and headed back into France the next day to a favourite campsite just near Collioure on the Mediterranean coast for a couple of days of peace. We took the ferry boat from Argelès to Collioure and enjoyed a lovely lunch there as well as some people watching. Joe has always enjoyed an omelette in a French brasserie but in these days of fast food they are a rarity, so he was delighted to find a restaurant on the quayside that served omelettes. It’s bathe simple things in life!
An old castle and surrounding land just outside Collioure is now owned by the French military and is the base of the national centre for training commandos. We saw some of the Commandos doing exercises in the bay – there are certainly worse places to be posted!
Linking back to our recent visit to the seaplane museum inBiscarosse, our afternoon’s entertainment was rounded off with a display by 3 Canadairs – the firefighting planes – practising water pick-ups and water drops in the bay just in front of the campsite.
Arriving back home I was pleased to see that the wildlife haven’t eaten the produce in the vegetable plot and the plants are growing nicely. We even enjoyed some first produce from the courgette plants and lettuces.
As the UK goes to the polls, France had its first round of elections here on Sunday after President Macron called a snap election which looks likely to prove as disastrous for him as for the Conservatives in the UK.
You’ll be buying a racing car next! When I was tiny my father took me to a race and in the stillness and silence following a crash I was heard clapping my hands and shouting ‘More!’. A minor crash. I would have enjoyed the trip to and away from the race but the noisy crowds … Though I’ve survived our own noisy crowd of triplets and a four-year-old, who grows his own beans. My garden is an up-market restaurant for a whole variety of slugs and snails, perhaps it’s even the national collection for molluscs: too many leaves look like shredded doilies. Enjoy your veg.
Hi Maggie, like the young you I think everyone still enjoys the thrills and spills of motorsports – as long as no-one is injured of course. The veg are doing better than expected but probably more due to my ignorance of what I should actually be doing! Have a lovely summer x