Armed Forces Racing League 2025: “Spa Franchechamps… SPA FRANCHECHAMPS!”

Report by: Dean Bowditch

Say it loud. Say it proud. Spa Franchechamps! A name that echoes through the Ardennes, reverberates off the forested slopes, and demands respect. The Lossie Phantoms arrived at this legendary arena for Round 5 of the league — the penultimate stand before the final showdown. Does it get any better? Oh yes.

The lap is long. The consequences are heavier than a missed shift and your dignity scattered somewhere between Eau Rouge and Raidillon. First, the hairpin of La Source, a gentle prelude to what comes next. Then, pounding down into the infamous Eau Rouge and Raidillon sequence that terrifying climb where drivers commit at 300 km/h, crests blind, and hope the car keeps its tyres glued and the gods keep the wheel in your hands. Spa’s heart.

Then the high-speed Kemmel Straight, feeding into a litany of corners where momentum is king and error is way too visible. You don’t get the same lap twice. You mess one corner, and the rest of the lap becomes an apology tour. Imbalance, mis-commitment, lost time.

Spa tests everything: aerodynamics, courage, your neck muscles (because it’s anti-clockwise), and your mental elasticity when you realise you’ve cost yourself seconds you’ll never get back.

The Times:

• Belgium GP 2025 Pole Position Time: Lando Norris - 1:40.562.

• Event Top time: 1:41.810

• Best Mighty Phantom time (yours truly): 1:45.067

Again, I was around four seconds slower than the leader. In Spa terms, that’s not just “behind”... that’s carrying apologies through Raidillon, burning tyres on the Kemmel, and praying the last sector doesn’t eat you alive.

During my lap, I genuinely thought I was flying. Until I wasn’t. Traction control STILL on (because one can only be brave in stages). I launched down from La Source, held the throttle, felt the compression of Eau Rouge in my sim rig as though my real body was wrestling it. I nailed the climb up Raidillon — commitment, full tilt, heart racing. But then: the Kemmel Straight was a tease, the following sequences a blur, every corner demanding brain and spine in equal measure. I changed my line every time through because I couldn’t trust what I’d done two corners ago. Mistakes stacked up: a missed apex here, too much kerb there, the ghost lap I chased turning into a nightmare of second guesses.

When I crossed the line at 1:45.067, I knew I’d given everything I had. But I also knew it wasn’t enough. And in that moment, I felt it: a perfect lap isn’t just time. It’s rhythm. It’s soul. Spa demands that you give both, or you get spat out.

Spa Franchechamps doesn’t forgive. It doesn’t apologise. It demands respect, and then even more respect. The Phantoms walked away bruised, slower than the frontrunners, but undefeated in spirit. Because you don’t just race Spa — you survive it. You learn from it. And you vow to do better.

Only one round left. The final dance. The Phantoms? They still believe they can be heard at the finish line. At this point, they're not fighting for the championship; they're just fighting to see who gets to be the prettiest corpse at the wake. Win it or bin it? They booked the bin years ago.

👻 The Mighty Phantoms

 🛡️ SGT Dean Bowditch