Tour Auto 2022, Compétition Group VHC (pre-1966)

 

The third placed 1965 Shelby Cobra 289 of Damien KOHLER  / Sylvie LABOISNE on the EC8 special stage near Puisseguin.

This year the Tour Auto returned to its more usual end of April date.  The cars started from Paris and the rally properly got started at the Chateau of Rambouillet.  Then the cars spent five days driving down the west side of France and ended up in Andorra with many special stages and circuit races on the way.

I saw the cars on day 2 on the road in Coulonges-sur-l'Autize and racing at the Circuit Val de Vienne.  Then on day 3, I saw an amazing special stage in the vineyards of Puisseguin as the cars headed to Bordeaux.  Unfortunately, the corner where I was standing was to end the hopes of a number of competitors.  It was a tight left hander with gravel acting as marbles and sending a number of cars into a ditch.

The British crew of Roderick and Rory JACK in their 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA end up in the ditch and damage their car.  They did get going again and finished the rally.  The local spectators are experts at getting cars out of ditches.

This posts covers the top VHC runners (pre-1966) running in the competition category, thus the Cobras, E-Types, 26Rs, 904 and 911s.  The winner of this part of the competition is regarded as the overall winner of the rally.  Further posts will cover the Index of Performance and the later cars.

Having watched Thierry Boutsen on TV score a number of podiums for Benetton in the late eighties and three wins for Williams in F1 GP in the early nineties, it was great to see this Belgian driver compete in his third Tour Auto and take a win.  He led pretty much the whole rally, beating the regular winners, and in the end finished over a minute ahead of his nearest rival.

Very good to see so many spectators attend Val de Vienne and the special stage.

The Top Twelve Overall in the VHC Competition category.

1st.  Thierry BOUTSEN / Hervé ORDIONI, Shelby Cobra 289 1963 (218)

Thierry Boutsen rounds the tricky left hander on EC8 where so main cars ended up in the ditch.

Thierry Boutsen applies opposite lock at Circuit Val de Vienne after being nudged by the Shelby Cobra Daytona replica.

Winner of the Plateau 4 race at Val de Vienne was Thierry Boutsen.   He was also to go on to win the whole Tour Auto.

2nd.  Raphaël FAVARO / Thomas DE SAULIEU, Lotus Elan 26R 1965 (211)

The Lotus Elan kicks up the gravel on EC8.  The Swiss driver won in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Favaro's Elan on the Circuit Val de Vienne.

3rd.  Damien KOHLER / Sylvie LABOISNE, Shelby Cobra 289 1965 (212)

Damien Kohler leads a group at Circuit Val de Vienne.

On the road through Coulonges-sur-l'Autize.

4th.  Bertrand PENLAE / Anne PENLAE, Porsche 911 2,0L 1965 (213)

Anne Penlae gasps in shock as she sees the Bussolini's Porsche 904 in the ditch. Bertrand keeps his concentration up to finish fastest on this stage.

This Porsche was the fastest VHC car on some special stages but couldn't keep up with the bigger engined cars on the circuits.

5th.  Jean-Pierre LAJOURNADE / Christophe BOUCHET, Jaguar E-Type 3.8 1962 (202)

The fastest surviving Jaguar E-Type on EC8 near Puisseguin. This French team won in 2015 and 2016.

Jean-Pierre Lajournade at Circuit Val de Vienne where he finished sixth.

6th.  Joachim VON FINCKENSTEIN / Christina VON FINCKENSTEIN, Lotus Elan 26R 1964 (207)

The Finckenstein's Lotus Elan on EC8, arriving just after an E-Type has recovered from an off road excursion.

Joachim Finckenstein's Elan at Circuit Val de Vienne where he finished eleventh.

7th.  Jean-Pierre RICHELMI / Thierry BARJOU, Lotus Elan 26R 1965 (242)

The Richelmi / Barjou Lotus Elan comes into view over the crest on EC8 near Puisseguin.

The Lotus Elan at the Circuit Val de Vienne.

8th.  Ben GILL / David DIDCOCK,  Shelby Cobra 289 1965 (203)

Top Brits on the rally this year were Ben Gill and David Didcock in this Shelby Cobra that was smoking at this stage but still got to the end.

A few seconds later they successfully negotiate one of the trickiest corners on the rally.

9th. Jean-Marc MERLIN / Sophie MERLIN, Jaguar E-Type 3.8 1962 (222)

The Merlins in their E-Type on EC8.

Merlin's E-Type chases Kohler's Cobra at the Circuit Val de Vienne.

10th.  Patrick BONNARDEL / Christiane NICOLET, Jaguar E-Type 3.8 1964 (206)

The top ten was completed by this E-Type driven by Patrick Bonnardel.

The Jaguar at the Circuit Val de Vienne.

11th.  Gaby VON OPPENHEIM / Andreas MIDDENDORF, Porsche 911 2,0L 1965 (210)

The German Porsche on EC8.

12th.  Claude CASSINA / Tomy GRUELLES, Austin Mini Cooper S 1275 1964 (191)

This Mini Cooper was the first of the VHC Touring Cars.  Here it is seen at the Circuit Val de Vienne, absolutely dominating the Plateau 3 race,

Other notable competitors:

Jean-Marc and Patricia BUSSOLINI in their 1965 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, seconds before they ended in a ditch near Puisseguin on EC8.  Before that they had been heading for a strong top ten position.  Even though the local spectators towed them out the ditch and got them going again, they retired.

The Porsche 904 going well the previous day at Val de Vienne.

The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe 1965 replica of Olivier MUYTJENS and Brice PINEAU.  Interestingly, all replicas are penalised on time.   This replica won the race at Nogaro.

The Daytona Coupe was slower on the special stages and only came 41st on this stage, EC8.

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page.

Thierry Boutsen leading the other main VHC contenders at Circuit Val de Vienne.

The Bussolini's Porsche 904 having a strong run at Val de Vienne.

Neither of these cars finished the rally.