Where to Go, Where to Watch; THE WAY IT IS.(Motorsports)

Byline: Nigel Roebuck

Former Formula One driver and Le Mans winner Martin Brundle describes modern F1 as "these plain vanilla, health-and-safety days,'' and with good reason. It is not easy to find classic Grand Prix circuits anymore. Instead, the emphasis now lies on safety and state-of-the-art facilities rather than the drama and challenge that defined eras gone by. One "autodrome'' is like another, bland and blander. However, three great traditional theaters of battle do remain.

Monza

Italy's Monza circuit-opened in 1922-is festooned with boring chicanes these days, but it retains an ambience found nowhere else. The pit lane has been repaved many times, but it still occupies the same piece of ground on which the legendary Tazio Nuvolari once walked. Set in parkland, Monza has kept its grandeur. Some of its corners-notably the two Lesmo turns, Ascari (named for the great Alberto, who was killed at the spot in 1955) and Parabolica-make for wonderful viewing.

Spa-Francorchamps

F1 skipped Spa-Francorchamps in 2006, while the pits and paddock areas were being refurbished, but it returns to the calendar this year. This place oozes history, and many F1 drivers name it as their favorite track. Ultrafast, with swooping corners all the way, Spa tests drivers as nowhere else. Watching a race here is marvelously rewarding, especially if you take up a position at the legendary Eau Rouge, a left-right, down-up switchback taken flat out. Other excellent corners are Pouhon, a long downhill left-hander, and Stavelot, a left-hander that looks quite tight but is in fact negotiated with a flick of the wheel and no throttle lift.

Monaco