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 | Trans Alpina - 4 to 16 October
2011 (Part 5)
Report
by Jim Paterson
Nurburgring and Home
Racing at Nurburgring - 15th October
 The
original plan was to take the cars on the circuit on the final day, but
an event had been booked, so we decided to spectate. With our vantage
point we had the best seat in the house, plus a walk over the road led
to a path along side the track, so a FREE entry to a trackside view.
We
watched the four hour endurance race which must have had about 200 cars
across three classes all going round together. As the track is ??? km
long it took a while before the fast guys up front met the tail enders
of the slow class (slow being relative). That was when the fun began,
in among the back markers.
We celebrated on our veranda and
popped the champagne to celebrate the end of a fantastic tour before
heading to a restaurant where a lot of red wine was consumed!
The Trip Home - 16th October
We
all drove up to the Nurburgring for a final “tour photo”
before setting off on our individual routes home, some to the Channel
Tunnel, others to the Zeebrugge ferry Joe Norman and Terry Clarke
stayed on at Nurburgring to drive the Porsche around the track. Joe was
so fired up that after his drive he continued driving to the Tunnel and
on to home at Stirling. I'm told the Porsche went through £213 of
fuel that day, most of it on the Nurburgring if I know that pair!
 Dave
Spence and Roddie Main in the Sierra had a deja vu moment on the trip
to the Tunnel. As they left Nurburgring they travelled via Netherlands,
Belgium and eventually into France on the A16 Autoroute. They had just
entered France a few miles east Dunkirk when a 4X4 marked "Douane" -
yes the dreaded French customs overtook them, and flashed a sign (in
English) - "FOLLOW ME" - Oh no! not again! A similar
“customs” interrogation took place when the same car and
crew returned from the Monte Carlo Historique in February. The crew
duly followed them down a slip road and into car park. When they said
they had come from Nurburgring - they laughed - "You didn't take THAT
car round Nurburgring - did you?" They were into everything - luggage,
tool box, all the cubby holes in the car - even queried Dave's 1 Euro
99 cent bottle of wine. There were 5 customs officers, guns and all so
the crew were conscious not to upset these guys! They were asked
if they were carrying any cigarettes - did they smoke etc.- were they
carrying tobacco, booze, drugs, explosives, immigrants etc. Even looked
at hotel receipts etc. Eventually when they found nothing let the car
and crew go. Dave is now getting a severe complex every time he crosses
a border - must be the bloody car!!!
Though tired and weary, all
the cars and crews made it home, more or less in one piece, after an
adventure that had seen us climb most of the highest and famous passes
in Europe in some of the best weather we could have asked for. Truly a
tour to remember.
Trans Alpina will return in 2013. Where that will go to will be revealed in good time. Watch this space, as they say.
Part 1 - Getting to the start at Reims
Part 2 - Reims to Menton and the Nuit du Mentonnais
Part 3 - The Col Bashing
Part 4 - Through the Black Forest to Nurburgring
Part 5 - Nurburgring and Home
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| Updated 27 November 2011
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