9ème Bordeaux Aquitaine Classic VHRS - 2024

 

The winning VHRS Subaru Impreza GT of Christian and Marie Lantres.

The Bordeaux Aquitaine Classic Rally 2024 attracted a good field of VHRS cars (Véhicule Historique de Régularité Sportive).  These are competitors who, rather than going for outright speed, attempt to achieve a set time.  They can choose from high speed, intermediate speed, moderate speed or low speed. In any zone their average speed cannot be more than 75kph or they start getting penalties.

The most successful of the VHRS cars on the rally and the most interesting cars of the 39 who were taking part are shown below:

The Podium VHRS cars

The second placed VHRS Volkswagen Golf GTi of Aurelien Carrasco and Nicolas Demptos.

Crossing the Dordogne River as they leave Castillon-la-Bataille is the third placed Subaru Impreza 1990 turbo of Renaud Canuyt and Laurent Jammet.

Other Winners

The best of those attempting a low target time were Patrice and Annie Gabarrou in their Talbot Samba.

Ready to leave for the start of the VHRS rally in Castillon-la-Bataille is the Audi Quattro of Francis Verbiguie and Jean-Louis Lacoste.  They were the best of those going for fast target time.

The Lania Fulvia 1600 of Vincent Mouret and Francois Cardon.  They were the best of those aiming for a moderate target time.

Interesting Other Cars

The oldest car competing was this Peugeot 203 C from the fifties.

An unusual car to see in VHRS rallies was this Buggy Sarap Buffalo.  This is a French beach buggy.

CG Simca  Type B 1200S.   One of my favourite French sports cars!  It was produced in the late sixties and early seventies based on a Simca 1200S but with coachwork by Chappe et Gessalin.

A Toyota Carina, I assume from the seventies.

An Alpine A310 V6.

Ford Escort RS2000 Mk2.

Lancia Beta Coupé GR4.  Lovely to see one of these again!

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

Opel Kadett B Rally.

8ème Rallye Bordeaux Aquitaine Classic - VHRS, 2022

This Fiat 131 Abarth of Max and Nadege Bazilet particularly caught my eye.  Unfortunately, it did not finish the rally.

Forty one cars started the BAC VHRS 2022 and thirty three finished.  VHRS cars are pre-1991 cars plus  some other more recent prestige series GT cars and they compete on regularity to a set time rather than on outright speed.   They don't have the noise and spectacle of their VHC counterparts but still are are nice to see compete and some are relatively rare to see nowadays and thus well worth waiting for.  Unfortunately, most rally spectators leave before they arrive.

Here are a few that caught my eye on the Bordeaux Aquitaine VHRS rally this year.  The winner was a Mini Cooper S but I seem to have missed it going past!

Caught in the bright sunlight, the Opel Kadett 2.0 GTE of Jean-Paul Lambert and Benoit Airault.   They retired on stage 1.

This Audi Quattro crewed by Francis Verbiguie and T.Passefons were classified fifteenth.

Pascal Houy and Christophe Labadie were classified seventh in this Porsche 911 SC.

This Opel Commodore was classified 30th crewed by Jean-Francois Quintard and Anthony Charmarty.

Runner-up in the VHRS rally was the Subaru Impreza of Christophe Bru and Bernard Lafite Dupont.

This Peugeot 205 GTi was classified fourth crewed by Jérôme David and Bénédicte Jolivet.

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.

This Porsche 911 was classified sixth crewed by Olivier and Alice Villemonteix.

Rallycross Legends Show- Dreux 2017

Legendary Peugeot and Audi rallycross cars in action at Dreux.

I remember in 2015 at Dreux the commentator musing why there weren't any historic rallycross races.  I don't know if this contributed to the idea but in 2016 the Rallycross Legends Show was created with a single outing at Mayenne.  This year there have been six events of which this one at Dreux was the last.  Up to thirteen drivers and their venerable rallycross vehicules take part in these demo runs.  Although not really competitive events as such, it is unnoticeable to the spectators.  It is really great to these these cars driven at speed again around real rallycross circuits.  They include the Group B cars from Peugeot, Audi and MG.   Two different groups take part.  One for two wheel drive cars and one for four wheel drive cars.  Marques include Porsche, Ford, Simca, Alpine, Lancia and Citroen. 

Simca 1000 leads 1980 Alpine A310 1600 Politecnic and 1989 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS.

Group B MG Metro 64R driven hard by Philippe Tollemer.

Michel Gambillon takes the Simca 1000 Rallye 3 through its paces.

Christiqn Ménier in his Ford Sierra Cosworth RS chasing the Simca.

Peugeot leads Citroen and two Audis.

Plenty of chance to see the cars close up in the paddock.  This is the Citroen BX 1900 Turbo 4x4 of Jean-Luc Pailler.

Lancia Delta integrale 16v.

Alpine A310 1600 Politecnic similar to the one in which Jean-Pierre Beltoise won the French Rallcross championship in 1979.

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.

Audi Quattro Sport S1 Group B.