The official timetable for the forthcoming Spa Six Hours meeting on 1st – 3rd October has published – you can view it by clicking here.
Motor Racing Legends are eagerly anticipating our return to Spa with our three races – Pre War Sports Cars, Royal Automobile Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss Trophy with the Jaguar Classic Challenge and Historic Touring Car Challenge including the Tony Dron Trophy, Sixties Touring Car Challenge and U2TC.
The requirements for personal travel to Spa from the UK are becoming clearer – and it’s good news for anyone who is double-jabbed.
We have summarised below all currently available information on how you can travel to Belgium and how you can transport your race car.
Belgian Entry Requirements
Providing you can prove that you have been double-jabbed (eg NHS Covid Passport), the Belgian authorities require anyone arriving from the UK simply to take an antigenic test within 1 day of arrival in the county (or 2 days if arriving late) and to quarantine pending a negative result. The Six Hour organisers will therefore arrange for lateral flow tests to be available on arrival at the circuit and to have results within around 20 minutes. They will also arrange for PCR tests at the circuit for anyone needing them for the return to the UK. All testing will be charged at cost.
Please read the document Covid Information for UK Visitors for more information about accessing the circuit via the venue’s ‘Covid Safe Ticket’.
The Belgian authorities also require everyone to complete an Personal Locator Form during the 48 hours prior to travel:
Public Health Passenger Locator Form | Coronavirus COVID-19 (info-coronavirus.be)
Further details on Belgium’s entry requirements can be found here:
Belgium in the United Kingdom | Embassy of Belgium in the United Kingdom
There are currently no restrictions for anyone travelling via France – providing you can show you are double-jabbed.
There are certain scenarios that are more complicated:
- The “Covid Safe Ticket” is only available to residents of the European Union, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Vatican City, Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein. If you are from outside these regions then please contact us right away.
- If you cannot show that you are double-jabbed then travel becomes much more complicated. We suggest you read the available literature very carefully to understand whether you can travel.
- We understand that the Scottish vaccine passport may NOT work in Europe. Please read the notes from the Belgian Embassy above for more details.
Transportation of Race Cars
It is clear that individuals personally towing their own road-registered race cars should have no issues at border crossings and not be required to provide any sort of bond.
CARS Europe have provided the following information on how to get your race car to Spa, and have also put together a package for anyone needing help with arrangements:
“Firstly, for participants wishing to transport their own goods over to the race weekend. If the car is road registered in the name of the individual who will be towing the trailer containing the vehicle in question and all of the documentation (V5, Insurance and potentially the original Purchase Invoice) indicate the same, it is our understanding European customs authorities are likely to import the car and associated parts and spares as personnel effects without the requirement of any formal customs declaration or processing, nor the requirement for a bond or the like.
“Should the cars not be road registered then the vehicle and the associated spare parts and tools will need to be covered by an ATA Carnet. The ATA Carnet can be very complex to insure for an individual. The cost for an ATA Carnet is £275.00 GBP + V.A.T for processing and issuance, plus the cost of the guarantee premium which will be calculated on the value of the car and spares. With this option the individual will need to ensure the Carnet is opened and presented to the UK customs office at the exit port, and present all documents to the customs authorities again for import clearance and inspection at the point of entry into the EU.
“CARS propose to offer a simplified service by undertaking the transportation of the cars and spares to the event in our fully enclosed transporters along with undertaking the entire ATA Carnet process from applications to issuance and clearance in the name of CARS. This method enables a Carnet to be issued for the group which reduces paperwork and expense for the group and enable CARS to operate and represent / act on behalf of the entire grid.
“The costs for the round trip transportation of the car and spares is £2,350.00 + V.A.T (if applicable) per car plus an estimated £1,250.00 per car(incl. spares) for the processing, issuance and guarantee of the ATA Carnet, including all customs processing in the UK and EU. With the transportation and ATA Carnet, including all customs processing, the total cost is expected to be around the £3,600.00 per car and associated spares although as mentioned previously the ATA Carnet amount is calculated on the value of the car and its spares so the £1,250.00 is only an educated estimate at this stage and is subject to the values involved.”
For further information please contact Melvyn Palmer, Project and Events Manager at CARS Europe on +44 (0) 1284 850 950 or melvyn@carseurope.net
We fully appreciate that this may look overly-onerous. However we have been assured by those who have undertaken similar journeys that the reality is not as complex is it may appear – particularly if travelling via France.
However please do contact us if you have any specific questions; gillian@motorracinglegends.com
