2018 Tour Auto - Competition cars 1966 to 1971 - Etape 1

Fourth placed BMW 2800 CS driving through the wine towm of Nuits-Saint-Georges, with a vine helping frame the car.

The Tour Auto Optic 2000 cars of 1966 to 1971 are really from my era as this was the period when I first became interested in motor racing.  It was lovely to see a couple of Ford GT40 MkIIs lead this category, even if the disappointment was not to see the Matra MS650 turn up as it had blown its engine the week before.  The pictures below are of the top dozen cars in order of classification after the first day.  Pictures were taken on the ES1 Sinotte special stage near Auxerre and in Nuits-Saint-Georges the famous Burgundian wine town.

1st.  272 – Ford GT40 MkII – Patrick Hautot /Sylvian Cantrel

The leading Ford Gt40 MkII on the ES1 special stage.

The Ford Gt40 in Nuits-Saint-Georges.

2^nd.  263 – Ford GT40 MkII – Philippe Vandromme/Frédéric Vivier

Beautiful Ford GT40 negotiating a tight corner on the Special Stage.

Fprd GT40 MkII in Nuits-Saint-George.

3rd.  247 – BMW 2800 CS – Richard Depargneux/Eric Joyeux

BMW under the careful scrutiny of the spectators on ES1.

BMW 2800 CS in Nuits-Saint-Georges.

4th.  257 – BMW 2800 CS – Alexandre Delaye

5^th.  237 – Alfa Romeo 1750 GTAM – Jean-Baptiste Repellin

The Alfa passing a wine shop in Nuits-Saint-George.

Purposeful looking Alfa exits a slow corner on ES1.

6^th.  223 – Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA – Tim Meinrenken/Fynn Schroder

Another Alfa on the special stage.

7^th.  231 – Porsche 911 2.2L S – Ivan Vercoutere/Charles Rupp

The top Porsche in this age category.

A Porsche driving through the tight streets of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

8^th.  178 - Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT – Olivier Pernaut/Margot Laffite

Jacques Laffite's daughter , Margot, was co-driver in this Alfa.

9^th.  168 – Austin Cooper S 1300 – Philippe Belin/Dominique Rosello

Mini-Cooper understeering through a fast corner.

A very fast Mini-Cooper on the special stage.

10^th.  198 – Renault 8 Gordini – Gérard Salat/Jean-Pierre Biggi

The Gordini exits a fast corner on ES1

Nice to see a French Renault Gordini in the top ten.

11^th.  187 – Porsche 911 S 2.2L – David Pastor/Jean-Philippe Braconnier

Porsche braking for a tight right hander.

12th.  227 – BMW 2002 – Jean-Francois Barre/Christophe de Bouet du Portal

The BMW negotiating the tight right hander.

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.

2018 Tour Auto - Compétition VHC - Etape 1

The Grid for the second VHC race at Dijon-Prenois.

Late April means it is the time for me to attend the first day’s running of the Tour Auto Optic 2000 romp around France.  This year I really enjoyed my day chasing the Tour Auto cars around Burgundy.  As usual the most important class is that for the VHC runners who fight for the overall title and it was very nice to see a Shelby Daytona Coupe join the leading bunch this year.

I started my day near Auxerre at the first special stage called Sinotte and placed myself close to a sharp uphill right hander near Bleigny-le-Carreau.  After seeing all the competitive runners make their runs I took the motorway to Dijon-Prenois where I saw a couple of VHC races.  Then it was on to Nuits-Saint-Georges to see the cars make their way around the town and past one of the sponsor’s Optic 2000 outlets.

The twelve cars below were leading after the first day and all are photos I took of them in Burgundy on April 24th 2018.

1st.  203 - Ford GT40 MkI – James Cottingham / Andrew Smith (leading Group TSRC)

The Ford GT40 on the ES1 Special Stage Sinotte.

The Ford GT40 wending its way around the narrow back streets of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

2^nd.  239 – Jaguar E-Type 3.8L – Chris Ward / Andy Elcomb (leading Group GTS)

The lead jaguar on the ES1 Sinotte Special Stage.

The Jaguar after stopping at the Optic 2000 store in Nuits-Saint-Georges.

3rd.  201 – Jaguar E-Type 3.8L – Jean-Pierre Lajournade / Christophe Bouchet

The Jaguar on the first special stage near Auxerre.

The Jaguar receiving hospitality at the Nuits-Saint-Georges Optic 2000.

4th.  206 – Shelby Cobra 289 – Ben Gill / David Didcock

The Shelby Cobra takes the sharp uphill right hander near Bleigny-le-Carreau.

5th.  219 – Shelby Cobra 289 – Frédérick Jousset / Paul Miliotis

The first Special Stage near Auxerre.

6^th.  211 – Lotus Elan 26R – Raphael Favaro / Yves Badan (leading Class GTS/10)

The Lotus accelerating out of the corner.

7^th.  212 – Porsche Carrera 904 GTS – Jean_Marc Bussolini / Patricia Bussolini (leading Group GTP)

The Porsche 904 of the Bussolinis is always a pleasure to see.

The 904 in the backstreets of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

8^th.  216 – Lotus Elan 26R – Damien Kohler / Sylvie Laboisne

The Lotus at speed on the Dijon-Prenois circuit.

9^th.  220 – Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe – Olivier Ellerbrock / Olivier Luisoder

The Shelby Daytona battling it out with a jaguar at Dijon.

Investigating property prices in Nuits-Saint-Georges,

10^th.  215 – Jaguar E-Type 3.8L – Marc-Antoine Falcon / Charles Guyot

Jaguar on the Special Stage.

Jaguar at speed at Dijon.

11^th.  218 – Jaguar E-Type 308L – Jean-Marc Rivet Fusil / Claude Le Jean

Jaguar near Auxerre.

Jaguar racing at Dijon.

12th.  172 – Ferrari 275 GTB – Laurent Desplaces / Marion Desplaces

The Ferrari 275 GTB leading a VHC group at Dijon-Prenois.

Ferrari on the first special stage.

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.