Historic Tour - Val de Vienne - Sport Protos Cup - 2021

The Sports Proto Cup mainly caters for 3 litre Alfa Romeo engined cars from 1990 to 1994

I alway love seeing open cockpit sports prototype cars and this field of cars contained many good looking pre-1995 examples.  Most of the cars were "Coupe Alfa V6" cars from the early nineties with a sprinkling of cars from other series over the years.    There were also a couple of really historic seventies 2 litre sports cars from Lola and Grac.  The marque, Lucchini, was the one most represented and these cars were built in Italy.  Although the winner of the race was never really in doubt, there was a good tussle over second place and other positions further down the field.  These pictures and results were from the Saturday afternoon race.

First lap action with cars 5 and 7 tangling.

The winner of the race was Gianluigi Candiani in his 1994 Lucchini SP94 Alfa Romeo V6 12v 3L.

Second place went to the 1994 Lucchini SP94 Alfa Romeo V6 3L (No.12) of Stéphane Nguyen.

Third place went to Louis Kolly in this 1973 Lola T292-BMW 2L

In fourth place was Dominique Vulliez in this 1991 Bogani 91- Alfa V6 12v 3L (No.36).

Fifth place went to Pierre-Loup Boch in a 1993 Lucchini SP93-BMW 3L.

Sixth was this 1991 Merlin MP46 Alfa Romeo V6 12v 3L of Josserand De Murard.

In seventh place was this 1994 Norma M14 BMW 3L driven by Léo Columbini.

Eighth place went to a 1991 Spider 905 Martini Mk64 driven by Jean-Pierre Destombes.

In ninth place was Philippe Gandini in a 1994 Merlin MP94 Honda 1.6L.

Tenth place went to this 1990 Lucchini SP390 Alfa Romeo V5 24v 3L driven by Lionel Boch.

In eleventh place was this 1991 Lucchini SP91 Alfa Romeo V6 12v 3L.

Final classified finisher was this 1974 Grac MT20 JRD 2L driven by Bernard Garsou.

The following cars were all non-finishers:

The 1991 Epsilon Alfa Romeo V6 12v 3L of Francis Dougnac.

The pretty 1972 Grac MT14b BMW M10 of Bernard Levy.

The 1991 Merlin MP91 Alfa Romeo V6 12v 3L of Laurent Bayers.

This 1987 Arc MF15 Alfa Romeo Boxer didn't even finish the pace lap.

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.

The pace car lap at La Ferme.

The battle for third place.

Historic Tour - Val de Vienne - Youngtimers GTi cup + Maxi 1300 Series - 2021

There were lots on interesting cars in this race.  Here we have NSU vs Autobianchi and VW.

The Maxi 1300 series is a fun historic series that accepts the old Groups 1, 2, 3 & 4  to a maximum of 1,300cc up until 1976 and the modifications accepted at the time.  Thus racing with the Mini Cooper S, Alpine A110, Simca Rallye 2, Honda S800, Mini Marcos, Mini Jem etc etc. I have to say I really enjoyed seeing these cars again.

Running alongside this series is the Youngtimers GTi,  This caters for  sporting touring cars cars homologated up to 1990 in Group N or A of up to 2 litres.  Thus Honaa Civic, Volkswagen Golf, Peugeot 309 etc etc.

In the end a very varied group of cars with some close and spirited racing.

Overall winner and first Youngtimers GTi was this 1990 Honda Civic 1,6 litre driven by Damien Benjamin.

Third was another 1990 Honda Civic 1,6 litre driven by Jean-Francois Gimonet.  Here he leads a Mini and a Mini Jem GT.

Fourth overall and first of the Maxi 1300 cars was this lovely CG 548 Spider of Jean-Pierre Descombes.

Fifth overall and second of the Maxi 1300 cars was this 1960 Austin Mini with 1,275cc engine.  Behind at this stage is the CG 548 Spider.  The Mini was driven by Sébastien Calas.

The battle for sixth and seventh place.  Here Tony Gruelles in a 1970 Mini Marcos leads Adrien Harang in a 1965 Austin Mini Cooper.  They finished in this order.

The Mini on two wheels.

In Eighth place and first in its Youngtime GTi YA2 class was this 1990 Peugeot 309 GTi 1.9 litre driven by Guillaume Mathez.

Other cars racing were :

A 1967 Matra Jet 6 leads an Autobianchi..

A 1976 Fiat X1/9.

1976 Autobianchi A112.

1967 Honda S8000

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.

Yoann Hervé took second place and fastest lap in this 1990 Honda Civic.

The rear engined NSU and typical cooling trick of running with the engine cover opem.

I really enjoyed seeing the NSU 1200TT.

Historic Tour - Val de Vienne - GT Classic + Saloon Cars - 2021

 

1988 Renault Super 5 GT Turbo Maxi leads a 1992 Porsche 964 RSi.

An interesting field of  classic GT and saloon cars from the late sixties onwards were assembled for qualifying on Saturday morning at Val de Vienne during the Historic tour meeting in September.   These pictures were mainly taken from the spectator mound at the exit of the first turn.   I particularly enjoyed seeing sand hearing some big American muscle in the field.

The top 4 qualifiers are shown below:

Fastest Qualifier was this 1996 8 litre Dodge Viper RT10 driven by Julien Grent.

Second fastest was Vincent Delarche in this 1990 2 litre Cateram SuperSeven

This 1996 3.2 litre BMW M3 GTR Evo PTG driven by Sébastien Mathieu was third fastest.

The 1984 2.2 litre Audi Quattro of Fabrice Lefebvre was fourth fastest.

Other interesting cars taking part were:

This 2007 Ferrari F430 Challenge won the 200km of Val de Vienne later in the day.

1996 2 litre Lotus Elise

1969 5.7 litre Chevrolet Camaro.

1996 BMW M3 GTR 3.2 litre.

1980 BMW E21 2 litre.

1968 Alpine Renault A110 1,860cc.

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.

Camaro leads a BMW 2002 Ti.

Historic Tour - Val de Vienne - ASAVE Racing 65 & 75 - 2021

The classic Val de Vienne shot - the start of the ASAVE 65 & 75 race.

Part of the Historic Tour, as the French Historic Car Circuit Racing Championship is called, ASAVE racing has two groups of cars.  One is for GT and Touring Cars (the old Groups 1, 2 ,3 and 4) that were homologated prior to 1966.  The second group is for GT and Touring Cars from 1966 to 1975 and Sports prototypes until 1970. At each meeting they either have one 60 minute race or two 45 minute races.  Each race has a pit stop and thus two pilots can take part in each car.  The groups are further divided into classes.   

This type of racing seems to attract small but interesting fields and it was the case at Val de Vienne where there were only 13 cars but lots of interest for fans of historic sports and GT racing.  The Saturday ASAVE race that I saw was my first ever race at Val de Vienne and it lasted 45 minutes which gave me plenty of time to move around various vantage points.  Many thanks to the official who helped me find some particularly good shots.

The racing was not particularly close or exciting but just seeing Lolas, 910s, 240Zs, Corvettes and Mk1 Escorts driven fast makes my day.

The early leader was the 5.8 litre 1966 Lola T70 Mk2 Spyder.  Unfortunately it retired after 8 laps. It was driven by the team of David & De Murard and took fastest lap with a time 3 seconds faster than anyone else.

The winner was José Beltramelli in this 4.7 litre 1965 TVR Griffith 400.  He was running in ASAVE 65.

This fast TVR Griffith was always the likely winner after the Lola dropped out.

In second place was this 2.4 litre 1967 Porsche 910 driven by Sylvain Regnier.  It was the top ASAVE 75 runner.

Porsche 910 at Virage Le Ferme.

In third place was this 2.8 litre 1975 Datson 240Z driven by Valinho & Mathon.  it led one lap during the pitstops and was quite close to the Porsche 910 by the end of the race.

Fourth was this 2.0 litre 1975 Ford Escort RS1600 of Olivie Dusailly. 

The Ford Escort RS1600 looked quite spectacular at times.

Pierre-Yves Dauxerre was fifth in this 3.0 litre 1975 Porsche 911 SC

Porsche 911 SC speeding past two female marshals at Virage Trop Vite.

Porsche 911 SC.

Sixth was Antoine Benne in a 1.6 litre 1965 Lotus Elan. It led one lap during the pit stops.

This 3.8 litre 1963 Jaguar E-Type came seventh driven by Bernard Wilhelm.

The Jaguar E-Type.

Gaso & Bernard came eighth in this 1.6 litre 1964 Lotus Elan, just beating the Corvette.

This wonderfully growly 6.5 litre 1969 Chevrolet Corvette came ninth driven by the Excoffiers.

1969 Chevrolet Corvette.  It was running third at the start but then fell back to fourth and later to ninth.

Tenth was Alain Lagache in this 2..0 litre 1970 Porsche 914-6 GT.

Porsche 914-6.

This 1.9 litre 1963 MG B came eleventh driven by Romain Guerardelle and finished not far behind the Porsche 914-6.

1963 MG B.

Final finisher was Benjamin Dupuy in this 2 litre 1968 Ford Escort who ran at the back all race.

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.

Lola T70 about to lap an MG B.