Name: Spa-Francorchamps    © Inside F1, Inc.  Mineral water was
discovered in the Ardennes hills by the Romans and the town of
Spa was established. Russian Emperor Peter the Great was among
those who dropped by to sip the iron-rich water for medicinal
purposes. But drinking healthy water was a pretty boring
occupation and so the locals opened a casino with the idea of
helping the rich and famous to leave the contents of their
wallets behind them in Belgium. When that gimmick began to wane,
a local man by the name of Jules de Thier dreamed up the idea of
holding car races to keep the visitors amused.  Racing in the
Ardennes was not new. As early as 1902 there had been a Circuit
des Ardennes. This was the very first closed circuit to be used.
At the time all the major races were from city to city. This was
the idea of Pierre de Crawhez and the first route covered
53.5-miles, running in a triangular circuit along the highways
from the town of Bastogne to Longlier, 16 miles to the east,
then south to Habay-la-Neu