Course de Côte de la Vallée du Loir à Mazangé, 2019

Freddy Cadot, the winner of the 2019 Course de Côte de la Vallée du Loir in his Norma M20F.

This was my first time in Mazangé for the Course de Cote de la Valleé du Loir but I hope it will not be my last.   This is a lovely little hillclimb, of 1.3km, that is a quite recent addition to the calendar as this was only the fifth running of this event.  I say "little" as it only had about forty cars entered but there was enough of interest to keep someone like me and the locals happy. The battle for fastest time was expected to be between last year’s winner Julien Bost and Freddy Cadot in their Normas and as expected they finished 1-2.  What was not expected was the amazing sub-40 second time that took Freddy to the win and a new hill record.  Well done Freddy!  I have seen him come second twice this year so good to see him take a win.  Certainly, it was impressive to see the two Normas being driven so fast.

C’était la première fois que j’allais à Mazangé pour la Course de Côte de la Vallée du Loir, mais j’espère que ce ne sera pas la dernière. Il s’agit d’une beau petit  événemnt de 1,3 km qui s’ajoute très récemment au calendrier car c’était la cinquième fois que cet événement se déroulait. Je dis "petit" car il n'y a qu'une quarantaine de voitures engagées, mais il y avait suffisamment d'intérêt pour contenter quelqu'un comme moi et les locaux. La bataille pour le meilleur temps était entre le vainqueur de l’année dernière, Julien Bost, et Freddy Cadot dans leurs Normas et, comme prévu, ils ont terminé 1-2. Ce qui n’était pas attendu, c’est l’impressionnante sous-40 seconde chrono qui a permis à Freddy de remporter la victoire et un nouveau record. Bien joué Freddy!  C'était vraiment impressionnant de voir les deux Norma rouler si vite.

The unusual feature of this hillclimb is that it actually starts in the town and runs past the town hall before turning sharp left over a narrow bridge and then exiting the town up a relatively steep hill past a number of houses.   This means that at the bottom of the hill you get some interesting backgrounds for the photographs, such as the old girls school.  It was also interesting to see some of the competitors drive this first section more like a rally stage and really throwing their cars into the corners.

La particularité de cette course de côte est qu’elle commence dans la ville et passe devant la mairie, puis tourne à gauche sur un pont étroit, puis quitte la ville pour monter une colline relativement escarpée et dépasser plusieurs maisons. Au bas de la colline, vous trouverez des vues intéressants pour les photographies, tels que la vieille école de filles. Il était également intéressant de voir certains concurrents conduire cette première section plus comme une étape de rallye et jeter vraiment leurs voitures dans les virages.

After exiting the town there is a long fast right hander that seems to tighten up before the final stretch to the finish line.  Here there are fields and vineyards but one can still see the town below.  Thus after my last couple of hillclimbs in Normandy where the access was rather restricted and it was difficult to get very close to the cars, Mazangé was very refreshing and welcoming.  For spectators it was easy to find some parking and there were ample refreshments available.

Après avoir quitté la ville, il y a un long virage à droit rapide. Ici, il y a des champs et des vignes, mais on peut encore voir la ville en dessous.  Mazangé était très rafraîchissant et accueillant. Pour les spectateurs, il était facile de trouver un parking et de nombreux rafraîchissements étaient disponibles.

The Tatuus of Bruno Beauvoir during practice.

In this little French village and its local hillclimb we were a world away from the happenings at Spa-Franchorchamps but the sad death of young Antoine Hubert in the F2 race was obviously a topic of conversation with other spectators, and a tragic loss for his family and French motorsport in general.  Motor racing has always been this double edged sword of joy and tragedy and thankfully the tragedy is now quite rare.    For us the joy was watching the cars race up the hill on a beautiful sunny day and then getting home to find out that Charles Leclerc had won his first F1 GP.

Last time out I was having problems with my 70-300 lens, which after some testing I ascertained was due to a lack of focus quality at maximum focal length and aperture.  I solved this at Mazangé by setting an f11 maximum aperture and thus I haven’t had to go the immediate expense of a repair or new lens. The pictures at the top of the hill were all taken with this lens and I got good sharp results.   In any case, at the bottom of the hill a wide angle lens was a must and I made good use of a 17-55 lens on my half frame DSLR.

1st - 7 - Freddy Cadot - Norma M20F

Freddy Climbs up the hill whilst the marshalls appreciate his speed.

2nd - 6 - Julien Bost - Norma M20FC

Julien Bost, last year's winner, had no answer to the speed of Freddy Cadot, but he was still impressively fast.

3rd - 3 - Mickaël France - Dallara F304

Last place on the podium went to Mickaël France in his F3 car.

4th - 9 - Tony Pasteau - Silver Car S2

Tony Pasteau's very fast Silver Car S2 won the class for motor cycle engined sports cars.

5th - 10 - Marc-Antoine Blanchemain - TracKing RC01

Another fast motor cycle engined car was this TracKing RC01.

6th - 8 - Jean-Pierre Picault - JP SFC Barquette

The homebuilt special of Jean-Pierre Picault.

7th - 43 - Geoffray Carcreff - Scora Maxi

The lovely and fast Scora Maxi of Geoffray Carcreff.

8th - 32 - Cédric Bouffeteau - Honda Civic

Straw bales much in evidence as Cédric does well to get into the top ten.

9th - 14 - Gabriel Coste - Opel Speedster 

The Opel Speedster rounds the long right hander in the middle of the hill.

10th - 2 - Jean-Paul Hoyau - JPH

Jean-Paul Hoyau finished off the top ten.

11th - 18 - Stéphane Robin - Peugeot 306

The top FA Group car was the Peugeot of Stéphane Robin.

12th - 25 - Olivier Hronik - Renault Clio 16S

Top FN Group car was this Renault Clio

Fastest lady competitor was Joëlle Aulong in this Renault 5.

The Paddock

The Tatuus of Bruno Beasuvoir gets delivered back to the paddock after practice.  He didn't complete a timed run.

Donkeys showing an interest in the rear bodywork of a Silver-Car

Changing the wheel on the TracKing RC01

Work ongoing on the Silver Car in the paddock.

The Hillclimb Course

The Maxi Scora opposite locks out of the first corner.

The Simca Rallye 2 of Philippe Bodinier powers along the short straight in the town.

A Citroën Saxo VTS takes the tight second corner onto the bridge.

A Renault 5 Alpine crosses the stone bridge.

An Alpine A310 starts the ascent out of town after crossing the bridge.

The Alpine continues as the course goes in to the long right hander.

The JPSFC heads up the hill past a farm.

The Renault 5 of Dominique Aulong heads into the section by the vines.

Wending its way past the vines is the 25th placed Peugeot of jean-Francois Cavallier.

The Simca 1000 Rallye 2 continues up the hill.

The Renault of Jean-Claude Viegue heads past the colza fields.

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 fifteenth placed Alpine A310 of Michel Mabilleau, the last car to dip under 50 seconds for its best run.

The Renault Clio RS of Philippe Mamy.