This Is Belgium’s Epic Spa-Francorchamps, 61 Years Ago

This is one for the books. Or, rather, one for your YouTube favorites—it’s a documentary film produced by Shell in 1955, the company rightfully deciding that highlighting the Belgian Grand Prix would make a good movie. It does, without question.

If you’ve been to the modern, current Spa-Francorchamps, little of this film will look very familiar, save Eau Rouge and other corners that haven’t been substantially altered. In 1955, the track measured a mammoth 8.7 miles (~14 km), with 21 turns, and the fastest-ever laps in this configuration set in the early ’70s were roughly at 3 minutes, 15 seconds; even in the ’50s the four-plus-minute Grand Prix cars were still averaging more than 120 mph. Yow.

You could Google who wins the race, but where’s the fun in that?

^{Thumbnail image via silodrome.com}