Take five Classics to Monte Carlo up and down the cols on the 1964
Monte Carlo Rally route, then join the Menton car club and thrash back up 1750
metres to the top of the Turini in a thunderstorm. That was Trans Alpina 2009.
The 8 day escapade started with all crews descending on Reims from all points in the UK,
Rosyth, Newcastle, Hull, Dover and the Tunnel. Simon and I
enjoyed the luxury of the sail from Rosyth, which at 20 hours is
the longest. Strong winds were of some concern but we slept well
on the crossing, despite the overnight force 10 gale that the steward
reported the following morning. Perhaps it was the beer the
night before that helped!
A delay of an hour getting off at Zeebrugge put us a little
behind schedule and a blast down the Péage was called for
to make up time. I had planned to drive around Lille, but the
first of many mix-ups between my left and right sent my driver
Simon straight into Lille. Now we were even later...
Last to arrive, but in time for the 1900 gala dinner with all
the starters. There should have been seven classics, but Douglas
and June Andersons' Triumph Herald was about to blow its bottom
end just before the off, and John Stuarts Austin A40 Farina
suffered a major oil leak after the rebuild, again with no time
to repair. John acted as "sweeper" in his day car which was a
comfort to us in thirty year old models!
Day 1 of the event welcomed us with grey clouds
and rain. Even in the wet a visit to the old Reims GP circuit
conjured up the noises and smells of a Grand Prix. The old
buildings and signs held many stories of races in days long
gone, but one could feel the excitement of those days even in
the rain.
The rally then took us on the route to our first overnight at
Mulhouse. We covered some 180 odd miles before we hit the Alps,
and our first col of many, the Col de la Fontaine at 676 metres.
A nice taster for practicing the technique of col bashing, both
up and down hill. This is easy said my driver Simon, but Col du
Haut de la Cote, the Col du Grosse Pierre, and the Col de Oderon
at 799m, 955m, and 884m respectively started to make the arms a
little tired. We were glad to reach our hotel, meet the others
who had all made it, and tell our stories over a beer and a
hearty dinner.
Day 2 and a visit to the
Schlumpf museum to see the largest
single collection of Bugatti's under one roof, before heading up
into the Alps on our way to Aix-les-Bains. Simon's Sprite
started to cough and splutter, which had previously been due to
a sticking rear SU carb. Resetting the needle did little to
solve the problem, and a change of plug leads and cap, and the
coil also failed to clear the problem. The cols were also
getting higher, the Col de la Serra towering to 1049m. Simon
mastered a technique of simply flooring the accelerator, which
appeared to stop the coughing and certainly made us increase our
rate of climb. The net effect was to increase engine temperature
to near the "red line" whilst emptying the fuel tank. By time we
reached Col be Beretin at 1155m we were all but out of fuel.
Thank goodness for the extra 10 litre jerry can, augmenting the
miserly 25 litre tank on the Sprite. However the run into Aix
was longer than we thought and we just made it on an empty tank,
and no fuel in the Jerry can.
Simon didn't help by thrashing the
car along the side of the Lac du Bourget, which has some
stunning tunnels, and chasing the locals, who don't hang about!.
By now David Spence had a knock
coming from the rear of the Rover 3500, and the Porsche was starting
to make a few odd noises at the rear, so we were in good company
as far as car problems were concerned.
Day 3 after our overnight in Chambery took us back to Aix-les-Bains
so we could follow the 1964 Monte route up Col de la Cluse at
1184m, providing spectacular views back down to Aix-les-Bains.
Only seven more cols to go on the route to Gap, and each one
seemed higher than the last, though all were around the 1000m
mark, with the Col de Malissol topping them all at 1153m.
 With the need to keep the Sprite flat to the floorboards the
water temperature started to climb close to the red, even with
the radiator fan and heater blower on, the oil pressure to drop a bit, and the fuel
to disappear at a great rate of knots. I can vouch there are no
petrol stations on the routes we chose up and down the Alps,
finally running out of fuel 10 metres short of the Col de Vilar
summit at 1053m. After a top up of fuel from the jerry can, and a rest to allow the
temperature to settle, we were on our way. Simon was hitting
88mph on the way down, fast enough to jump "Back to the Future", following the French idea of straight
lining the hairpins where possible. We only just made it into Gap about
8.00pm again with the fuel tank reading empty, and nothing in
the jerry can!! Was I glad I fitted a kevlar bypass hose on the
water pump after the original concertina type failed on the
Deeside run in August.
Day 4, the final day and the big one, from Gap to Menton. The
Turini beckoned but the Sprite decided to sulk. A big back fire
after the morning re-start blew a fuse killing the fuel gauge,
tachometer but most importantly stopped the fuel pump and
electric radiator fan. A replacement blew after a few minutes.
Only one more spare..... It had to be one of the "extras" I had
fitted, which proved correct as I took off a cigar lighter
socket set that we used for phone charging and stuff. Off we
went well behind the pack, but found the Porsche crew going the
other way! I have to say that our road book was circa 2004, and
France has not only re-engineered many of the junctions since
then, they have also changed many of the road numbers. Tortoise
and Hare come to mind as Don Webster navigating in the Porsche
threw up his hands in a "Sacré Bleau" moment.
Whilst our splutter had not cleared we were still keeping up a
fast clip as they say. Col St. Jean at 1332m was our toughest
climb yet, but the Col de Fanget at 1459m seemed to go on
forever, with the Col du Defend at 1230m offering a little
respite. On the way down we spotted a black squirrel crossing
the road, before we all stopped for coffee at Annot. All
classics and sweeper intact. This was it, the final run for the
Col du Turini at 1700m the highest and toughest climb. The route
wound up and up, with some sections having no armco or outside
barrier, just a great view straight down (eek!). The spluttering
was getting worse and the collective knowledge of all the crews
was put to good use at the summit, where we all pulled in for a
rest. Lots of things tried, but none of them worked until on the
road down from the Turini another almighty "pop" after which the
Sprite ran faultlessly. Simon thought it was like a cat spitting
out a fur ball.
 We all made it into Menton after some 950 miles of Col bashing,
over a thousand if you include the run from the channel to Reims.
A hearty meal into the early hours of the next day, with plenty
of wine, celebrated the victory of our venture.
Friday was a rest day, time to check and repair our problems.
Dave Spence and Roddie Main were under the Rover fixing the
knock and Joe Norman and Don Webster took off in search of the
local Porsche dealer to check out their noises. The Campbell
Ferrari and the Bird Spitfire however seemed to have managed
relatively unscathed.
Simon and I headed for Monte Carlo and drove the GP circuit. The
Sprite is quite "rorty" with its straight through exhaust, and a
policeman at Casino had a smile on his face, expecting a
supercar to appear up the hill only to see the tiny Sprite.
Saturday was the Nuit du Mentonnais, and a quick look at the
roadbook confirmed our worst fears. We were routing up to Sospel
and the Turini again. Baking sunshine as we waited for the start
at 3.00pm would turn to the worst thunderstorm I have ever
encountered by time we reached the summit of the Col du Turini.
If you think the rain in Skye is bad, just drive to the Turini.
Not so much raining on us more raining around us as we were now
inside the cloud with lightning going off everywhere. We tried
on one occasion to drop the top, as it failed to keep much of
the downpour out anyway, but that proved more than foolish, but
the Sprite never faltered once.
The Porsche was also letting in
water, as we met Joe and Don, gaffer taping the front
windscreen. Water was pouring in and sizzling on the electrics
behind the dashboard. Fortunately nothing blew or caught fire!
We did manage to drop the top on the way down as we left the
thunder behind us, and made it back
to Menton after giving some of the local Fiat 500 Arbath crews a
run for their money. These guys simply fly up and down the mountains,
absolutely fearless.
We were given a big cup as a our prize and are welcome back
anytime. Perhaps in a few years time maybe!
We had reached the end of our fantastic journey, something we
will all remember for a long time. After our departing picture
we all set off on our respective ways home. For Simon and
myself, we headed west, toward the Spanish border. But that as
they say is another story, for another day.
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Spawned from a
holiday in Nice a year ago, Douglas and June Anderson spotted a
poster for the 2008 Nuit du Mentonnais along the quayside. After
following up the contact it was decided that CCHMSC offer a trip
down to Monte Carlo, followed by a run on the 2009 Nuit du
Mentonnais. Douglas and June had already
taken part in the Mini's to
Monte event in 2004, celebrating the 40th
anniversary of Paddy Hopkirk and Henry Liddon's win in a mini on
the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally.
With permission from the Mini Cooper Register
to use their roadbook of that event we completed a route that
would take crews through some of the most stunning scenery in
the Alps, over many Cols and visit the towns made famous over
the years in the Monte Carlo rally. We would arrive in time to
join the Club Automobile du Menton for their annual bash up the
Maritime Alps to complete the clubs first major escapade into
mainland Europe.
The roadbook followed much of the 1964 Monte
Carlo route from Reims to Mulhouse, Aix-les-Bain, Gap and into
Monte Carlo. Mostly on D roads and "whites" some of which were
completely unguarded as we climbed high into the Alps.
Basically
the tour was a week long car tour to Monte Carlo
following in the tracks of the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally,
which was won that year by Paddy Hopkirk and Henry Liddon in a Mini Cooper S. It starts in the famous cathedral town of Reims,
leaving entrants to make their own cross channel arrangements, depending on
where they lived.
The
suggested route took us through France to the
Maritime Alps, then down to the warm Mediterranean, in
a leisurely four days to reach Monte Carlo from Reims.
The overnight halts were at Mulhouse, Chambery,
and Gap. This averaged out at just over 220 miles a
day.
After a
rest day on Friday 9th, when most took to a visit
around Monaco, and over to Italy, which was only 1km
from Menton, we joined the 5emé Nuit du Mentonnais on Saturday 10th October.
This event, organised by
Automobile Club Menton, is a 3 stage tour of the
famous mountain passes or ‘Cols’ some of which were
used in the night circuit of the Monte Carlo Rallies
of the 50’s and 60’s.
1st stage: 60 km
Menton, Monti, Col de Castillon, Sospel, Col de Braus, Col du
Turini.
Refreshments at the top of the Turini.
2nd stage: 70 km
Sospel, La Bollene Vésubie, Col St. Rock, Luceram,
L'Escarene, Sospel.
Refreshments at Sospel.
3rd stage:
74 km
Sospel, Col du Castillon, Col Saint Jean Braus, Col de
Braus, Col de Madone, Menton.
The
Ecosse Cup
An end of event dinner was provided by
the Menton Club and also doubled as the Ecosse team
celebration marking the end of what had been an
exciting week. As an appreciation John Stuart brought
along a bottle of whisky to present to the organisers
for their help
and patience over the preceding months to make our
trip enjoyable. The Nuit
du Mentonnais concluded the suggested tour, with only
farewells to be made and the long trip home, with fond memories
of a unique tour.
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