Take five Classics to Monte
Carlo up and down the cols on the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally route, then
join the Menton car club and thrash back up 1750 metres to the top of
the Turini in a thunderstorm. That was Trans Alpina 2009.
The 8 day escapade started with all crews descending on Reims from all
points in the UK, Rosyth, Newcastle, Hull, Dover and the Tunnel. Simon
and I enjoyed the luxury of the sail from Rosyth, which at 20 hours is
the longest. Strong winds were of some concern but we slept well on the
crossing, despite the overnight force 10 gale that the steward reported
the following morning. Perhaps it was the beer the night before that
helped!
A delay of an hour getting off at
Zeebrugge put us a little behind schedule and a blast down the
Péage was called for to make
up time. I had planned to drive around Lille, but the first of many
mix-ups between my left and right sent my driver Simon straight into
Lille. Now we were even later...
Last to arrive,
but in time for the 1900 gala dinner with all the starters. There
should have been seven classics, but Douglas and June Andersons'
Triumph Herald was about to blow its bottom end just before the off,
and John Stuarts Austin A40 Farina suffered a major oil leak after the
rebuild, again with no time to repair. John acted as "sweeper" in his
day car which was a comfort to us in thirty year old models!
Day 1 of the event welcomed us with grey
clouds and rain. Even in the wet a visit to the old Reims GP circuit
conjured up the noises and smells of a Grand Prix. The old buildings
and signs held many stories of races in days long gone, but one could
feel the excitement of those days even in the rain.
The rally then took us on the route to our first overnight at Mulhouse.
We covered some 180 odd miles before we hit the Alps, and our first col
of many, the Col de la Fontaine at 676 metres. A nice taster for
practicing the technique of col bashing, both up and down hill. This is
easy said my driver Simon, but Col du Haut de la Cote, the Col du
Grosse Pierre, and the Col de Oderon at 799m, 955m, and 884m
respectively started to make the arms a little tired. We were glad to
reach our hotel, meet the others who had all made it, and tell our
stories over a beer and a hearty dinner.
Day 2
and a visit to the
Schlumpf museum to see the largest single collection of
Bugatti's under one roof, before heading up into the Alps on our way to
Aix-les-Bains. Simon's Sprite started to cough and splutter, which had
previously been due to a sticking rear SU carb. Resetting the needle
did little to solve the problem, and a change of plug leads and cap,
and the coil also failed to clear the problem. The cols were also
getting higher, the Col de la Serra towering to 1049m. Simon mastered a
technique of simply flooring the accelerator, which appeared to stop
the coughing and certainly made us increase our rate of climb. The net
effect was to increase engine temperature to near the "red line" whilst
emptying the fuel tank. By time we reached Col be Beretin at 1155m we
were all but out of fuel. Thank goodness for the extra 10 litre jerry
can, augmenting the miserly 25 litre tank on the Sprite. However the
run into Aix was longer than we thought and we just made it on an empty
tank, and no fuel in the Jerry can. Simon didn't help by thrashing
the car along the side of the Lac du Bourget, which has some stunning
tunnels, and chasing the locals, who don't hang about!.
By now David Spence had a
knock coming from the rear of the Rover 3500, and the Porsche was
starting to make a few odd noises at the rear, so we were in good
company as far as car problems were concerned.
Day 3 after our overnight in Chambery took us back to Aix-les-Bains so
we could follow the 1964 Monte route up Col de la Cluse at 1184m,
providing spectacular views back down to Aix-les-Bains. Only seven more
cols to go on the route to Gap, and each one seemed higher than the
last, though all were around the 1000m mark, with the Col de Malissol
topping them all at 1153m.
 With the
need to keep the Sprite flat to the floorboards the water temperature
started to climb close to the red, even with the radiator fan and
heater blower on, the oil pressure to drop a bit, and the
fuel to disappear at a great rate of knots. I can vouch there are no
petrol stations on the routes we chose up and down the Alps, finally
running out of fuel 10 metres short of the Col de Vilar summit at
1053m. After a top up of fuel from the jerry can, and a rest to allow
the temperature to settle, we were on our way. Simon was hitting 88mph
on the way down, fast enough to jump "Back to the Future", following
the French idea of straight lining the hairpins where possible. We only
just made it into Gap about 8.00pm again with the fuel tank reading
empty, and nothing in the jerry can!! Was I glad I fitted a kevlar
bypass hose on the water pump after the original concertina type failed
on the Deeside run in August.
Day 4, the final
day and the big one, from Gap to Menton. The Turini beckoned but the
Sprite decided to sulk. A big back fire after the morning re-start blew
a fuse killing the fuel gauge, tachometer but most importantly stopped
the fuel pump and electric radiator fan. A replacement blew after a few
minutes. Only one more spare..... It had to be one of the "extras" I
had fitted, which proved correct as I took off a cigar lighter socket
set that we used for phone charging and stuff. Off we went well behind
the pack, but found the Porsche crew going the other way! I have to say
that our road book was circa 2004, and France has not only
re-engineered many of the junctions since then, they have also changed
many of the road numbers. Tortoise and Hare come to mind as Don Webster
navigating in the Porsche threw up his hands in a "Sacré
Bleau" moment.
Whilst our splutter had not
cleared we were still keeping up a fast clip as they say. Col St. Jean
at 1332m was our toughest climb yet, but the Col de Fanget at 1459m
seemed to go on forever, with the Col du Defend at 1230m offering a
little respite. On the way down we spotted a black squirrel crossing
the road, before we all stopped for coffee at Annot. All classics and
sweeper intact. This was it, the final run for the Col du Turini at
1700m the highest and toughest climb. The route wound up and up, with
some sections having no armco or outside barrier, just a great view
straight down (eek!). The spluttering was getting worse and the
collective knowledge of all the crews was put to good use at the
summit, where we all pulled in for a rest. Lots of things tried, but
none of them worked until on the road down from the Turini another
almighty "pop" after which the Sprite ran faultlessly. Simon thought it
was like a cat spitting out a fur ball.
 We
all made it into Menton after some 950 miles of Col bashing, over a
thousand if you include the run from the channel to Reims. A hearty
meal into the early hours of the next day, with plenty of wine,
celebrated the victory of our venture.
Friday
was a rest day, time to check and repair our problems. Dave Spence and
Roddie Main were under the Rover fixing the knock and Joe Norman and
Don Webster took off in search of the local Porsche dealer to check out
their noises. The Campbell Ferrari and the Bird Spitfire however seemed
to have managed relatively unscathed.
Simon and I
headed for Monte Carlo and drove the GP circuit. The Sprite is quite
"rorty" with its straight through exhaust, and a policeman at Casino
had a smile on his face, expecting a supercar to appear up the hill
only to see the tiny Sprite.
Saturday was the
Nuit du Mentonnais, and a quick look at the roadbook confirmed our
worst fears. We were routing up to Sospel and the Turini again. Baking
sunshine as we waited for the start at 3.00pm would turn to the worst
thunderstorm I have ever encountered by time we reached the summit of
the Col du Turini. If you think the rain in Skye is bad, just drive to
the Turini. Not so much raining on us more raining around us as we were
now inside the cloud with lightning going off everywhere. We tried on
one occasion to drop the top, as it failed to keep much of the downpour
out anyway, but that proved more than foolish, but the Sprite never
faltered once.
The Porsche was also letting in
water, as we met Joe and Don, gaffer taping the front windscreen. Water
was pouring in and sizzling on the electrics behind the dashboard.
Fortunately nothing blew or caught fire! We did manage to
drop the top on the way down as we left the thunder behind us, and made
it back to Menton after giving some of the local Fiat 500 Arbath crews
a run for their money. These guys simply fly up and down the mountains,
absolutely fearless.
We were given a big cup as a
our prize and are welcome back anytime. Perhaps in a few years time
maybe!
We had reached the end of our fantastic
journey, something we will all remember for a long time. After our
departing picture we all set off on our respective ways home. For Simon
and myself, we headed west, toward the Spanish border. But that as they
say is another story, for another day. |
Spawned from a holiday in Nice
a year ago, Douglas and June Anderson spotted a poster for the 2008
Nuit du Mentonnais along the quayside. After following up the contact
it was decided that CCHMSC offer a trip down to Monte Carlo, followed
by a run on the 2009 Nuit du Mentonnais. Douglas and June had already taken part in the Mini's to Monte event in 2004,
celebrating the 40th
anniversary of Paddy Hopkirk and Henry Liddon's win in a mini on the
1964 Monte Carlo Rally. With permission from the Mini Cooper Register to
use their roadbook of that event we completed a route that would take
crews through some of the most stunning scenery in the Alps, over many
Cols and visit the towns made famous over the years in the Monte Carlo
rally. We would arrive in time to join the Club Automobile du Menton
for their annual bash up the Maritime Alps to complete the clubs first
major escapade into mainland Europe. The roadbook followed much of the 1964 Monte Carlo
route from Reims to Mulhouse, Aix-les-Bain, Gap and into Monte Carlo.
Mostly on D roads and "whites" some of which were completely unguarded
as we climbed high into the Alps. Basically the tour was a week long car tour to
Monte Carlo following in the tracks of the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally,
which was won that year by Paddy Hopkirk and Henry Liddon in a Mini
Cooper S. It starts in the famous cathedral town of Reims, leaving
entrants to make their own cross channel arrangements, depending on
where they lived. The suggested route took us
through France to the Maritime Alps, then down to the warm
Mediterranean, in a leisurely four days to reach Monte Carlo from
Reims. The overnight halts were at Mulhouse, Chambery, and Gap. This
averaged out at just over 220 miles a day. After a rest day on Friday 9th,
when most took to a visit around Monaco, and over to Italy, which was
only 1km from Menton, we joined the 5emé Nuit du Mentonnais
on Saturday 10th October. This event, organised by
Automobile Club Menton, is a 3 stage tour of the famous
mountain passes or ‘Cols’ some of which were used
in the night circuit of the Monte Carlo Rallies of the 50’s
and 60’s.
1st stage: 60 km
Menton, Monti, Col de Castillon, Sospel, Col de Braus, Col du Turini.
Refreshments at the top of the Turini.
2nd stage: 70 km
Sospel, La Bollene
Vésubie, Col St. Rock, Luceram, L'Escarene, Sospel.
Refreshments at Sospel.
3rd stage: 74 km
Sospel, Col du
Castillon, Col Saint Jean Braus, Col de Braus, Col de Madone, Menton.
The Ecosse Cup An
end of event dinner was provided by the Menton Club and also doubled as
the Ecosse team celebration marking the end of what had been an
exciting week. As an appreciation John Stuart brought along a bottle of
whisky to present to the organisers for their help and patience over
the preceding months to make our trip enjoyable. The Nuit du Mentonnais
concluded the suggested tour, with only farewells to be made and the
long trip home, with fond memories of a unique tour.
The Turini from
Menton |
Home | About | Events
| News | For Sale | Links
