Angoulême Circuit des Remparts 2022 - Classic Cars

 

1929 Bugatti T37A 1500cc.  Karine Blanchard's car in the paddock.

The Circuit des Remparts was a circuit around the streets of Angoulême where they held the Grand Prix des Remparts in 1939 (Formula Libre) and then again from 1947 to 1951 (Formula Two) and then again for a final time in 1955 (small capacity cars).   The circuit was a short 1.3km track and it hasn't changed since the original configuration.  Winners included Juan-Manuel Fangio (Maserati), Raymond Sommer (Alfa Romeo) and Maurice Trintignant (Simca-Gordini).  The circuit was revived in 1978 and homologated in 1983 so that actual racing could take place again.  Races have been held most years since although interrupted by Covid in 2020.  The revival includes a Concours d'Elegance on the Friday, a Classic Car Rally on the Saturday and racing on the Sunday.  All weekend many classic cars can be seen parked around the town.

I didn't book early enough to get a grandstand seat (essential if you want to enjoy the racing) so I had decided to wait until next year before getting my first experience of  Le Circuit des Remparts.   Then on Friday evening I got a call from a friend, Stuart, asking if I wanted to travel up to Angoulême in his classic car and enjoy walking around the town looking at the classic cars.  I didn't need asking twice!

There was much more going on in Angoulême than I expected and shall definitely want to come again next year and will hopefully be early enough to buy a ticket for the grandstands.

My Journey to and from Angoulême

On the road in a Riley Kestrel Special.

Stuart's car is a Riley Special.  With a mid-thirties Riley Kestrel chassis and a 1.8 litre 6 cylinder Riley motor the car was converted in the early sixties into a 2 seater open sports car with an aluminium body.  Stuart has restored it into the attractive classic car it is today.  The car is about as far as it gets from modern air conditioned cars!   There is no roof, just two small aero screens to protect you from the winds, no heating, no seat belts, no side impact protection, an outside handbrake etc.  There is just the joy of motoring as it used to be pre-war.   It was really cold as we motored up to Angoulême together but what a pleasure as it is some years since I have travelled in such a car.   We were quite a sensation on the last part of the journey up the N10 as classic car fans hooted and waved to us. Great fun and with such a car we had no trouble parking with the other classic cars in the centre of town. Thanks, Stuart!

The view through the aero screen of the Riley from the passenger seat.  Fantastic!

More pictures of the Riley further down the post.

The Paddocks

As we didn't have tickets we couldn't get into the main paddocks but we could get a few glimpses through the fencing in a couple of spots.

One of the stars at Angoulême was Ari Vatanen, World Rally Champion in 1981, and there was a demo run of Group B rally cars in his honour.  On the left are a MG Metro, Peugeot and Lada of that era.

The paddocks are in the streets of Angoulême and here you can see some of the pre-war racers.

The ex-Malcolm Campbell 1913 Talbot.

One of the Austin Seven racers.  They had a special race for these cars on Sunday.  This is a twenties car.

The Bugatti Paddock

The Bugatti paddock was accessible to all in a courtyard in the centre of town.  Most of the cars seemed to be T51s but there were some other models including a couple of Brescias. 

The Bugatti T51 that was driven by Julien Debrulle.

Bugatti T51

Bugatti T51

1920 Ballot Indianapolis on display.

A 1933 Bugatti T51 gets a top up of water before the race.

A tribute to Abarth

There was an "Exposition Abarth" in the town hall gardens in the middle of town with a number of interesting cars.

1974 Fiat SE 030 Abarth.  A mid-engined competition sports car with a 3.5 litre Dino V6 engine and a Pinifarina designed body.  One of the two cars built finished second in the 1974 Giro d'Italia endurance event.  They never raced again but it can be seen as a forerunner of the Lancia Beta Montecarlo.

1963 Simca Abarth 1150 SS Corsa 6 speed.

1973 Abarth-Osella PA1.

1962 Fiat 2300S Coupé Abarth.

My Top 20 from the spectator "classic car" parking areas

There were lots of amazing cars parked around the town with certain streets dedicated to different makes of car.  In no particular order :

This MGA "Le Mans" took my fancy.

A Triumph TR3 and a 1977 Triumph Dolomite Sprint.

A pair of Austin Sevens.

This Martini liveried Lancia Delta attracted a lot of attention.

1963 Renault Dauphine 1094

Jensen Healey

DB Panhard Le Mans Luxe.  Next to it is a three wheeler Blackjack Zero of 2007, not a classic car but in the spirit of an old BSA or Morgan.

Lancia Lambda.

Matra D-Jet.

Jaguar E-Type V12.

1969 Retailleau-Bodin PRAB 1100 Berlinette.   From what I can gather, two friends built this in their last year at Technical College in France.   They actually built two cars, one in white and one red. This one  is powered by a Renault 8 engine and has always been owned by André Bodin.

MG TC.

Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider and Ferrari 308 GTS.

Two Simca Rallye 2.

A rare 1939 Georges Irat OLC 3 cabriolet.

1917 McLaughlin Buick D45.  Apparently made in Ontario Canada.

Iso Grifo.

I must include Stuart's Riley Kestrel Special, here seen framed by a Ferrari Mondial and a Renault.

Renault 5 Turbo.

This car (Renault?) had been one of the entrants at Friday's Concours d'Elegance.

Other Exhibits around the town:

OAK Racing LMP2 Morgan-Nissan art car.

1908 Chenard et Walcker.  A shame the restorer mis-spelt the name as Walker!

Ford-Montier.   Charles Montier had a factory in Courbevoie in the twenties and adapted the Ford model T to French standards changing both the bodywork and mechanics.   This led to his cars taking part in motor sport events as well such as the Course de Côte de Gaillon and the first 24 hours of Le Mans.

There was a big display of Renault competition cars many driven by the great Jean Ragnotti who was present during the weekend.  Here is his one of his Monte Carlo Rally Renault 5 cars.

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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 à condition de créditer le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com, et de fournir un lien vers cette page.

Riley Kestrel Special

Riley Kestrel Special