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Post by Adrian Clifford on Sept 11, 2006 17:07:26 GMT
If you read this before you leave, have a safe journey.
I'll call you on friday for evening drinks somewhere in town ?
Now to find some bugs and snow domes and long place names and dull postcards, is that it ?
Must remember to tell Dawn that she's got to get up at 3.30 for the ferry on friday he he.
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Post by stu on Sept 11, 2006 18:05:01 GMT
Buggr !!! The good news is the car should be ready on Wednesday, the bad news is the 7am Speedferries crossing on Thursday is now full and I had planned to travel down with JP and his better half ;D I'm unsure at the moment what to do, I've looked at a zip across the tunnel.. They are just crazy £161 one way at that time of the morning no wonder they are going bust. So it's either going to be a Dover- Calais crossing and drive down to meet up with JP at Bologne, or take the later Speedferry one that your on Neil and meet up with JP a bit later in the day. At the moment this option looks more attractive. Stu
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Post by TimM on Sept 11, 2006 18:24:24 GMT
I've had a word with our contact in Angouleme and he reckons we should start our saturday off at the Geant car park just up the road from 0830 - this is where all the classic cars are meeting for a tour of the Dordogne countryside. We can then head off to the Brandy factory from there.
For saturday evening he suggests staying at the Ibis for dinner or go out of town as it will be packed and more than likely fully booked by now. There is a restaurant with an Octagonal dining room in a village nearby which could be appropriate !.
Sunday we'll spend the day in the town with the racing.
Well we're off first thing tomorrow for Day 1 of our trip - see you all down there for drinks Friday Evening at the Ibis.
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Post by John Ponting on Sept 11, 2006 20:28:15 GMT
I can agree with the Geant scene. We went there 2 years ago on the Saturday morning and the atmosphere was excellent - loads of succulent cars and drivers of every nationality, all eager to talk about their cars.
The 'out of town' restaurant sounds good; IBIS is OK and has the advantage of a bar; could eat at IBIS and then walk across to Mercure and have evening drinks around the pool and mix with the other Brits on their package tours; could eat at IBIS and then taxi in to centre ville etc etc
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BarryG
Be nice, i'm new!
Posts: 1
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Post by BarryG on Sept 19, 2006 16:21:35 GMT
Hi to all those of you that I met at Angouleme, who made me very welcome, (I expected no less from an MG crowd) and with whom I spent an enjoyable evening on Sunday after the races had finished. I hope you all enjoyed the remainder of your stay, had a safe journey back, and that Tim's wheel bearing has lasted all the way home. If anyone wants their own copy of the brochure for 'La Vieille Porcherie' please let me have your address, or simply check out the details at www.la-vieille-porcherie.eu See you again, I'm sure - best regards - Barry
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Post by Adrian Clifford on Sept 19, 2006 18:45:47 GMT
Just a write up on our trip to Angouleme Friday 15th – Monday 18th September.
Dawn and I left home at 04.30 on Friday travelling straight to Dover, where we linked up with Simon and Ann for the 07.30 Speed Ferries service to Boulogne. I have never used this service before, the cars are packed in quite tight but with adequate care. We made our way upstairs to the seating area for a nice light breakfast and coffee, the boat left early, just as well we weren’t late and we soon saw Dover rapidly disappearing into the distance amidst a huge swell of water, these boats really get a move on, covering the distance in just 50 minutes and all for a cost of £48.00p return, certainly worth considering for future visits if the destination is to the south.
At Boulogne we both made our way to the nearby A16 Motorway for the 435 mile journey to Angouleme. Before we had even reached Abbeville, the rain became persistent and the top had to go up, damn ! So, this shaped the weekend (wet) and we continued on, determined not to let the weather ruin a much anticipated weekend. The four of us decided on our route and away we went keeping up a very good average speed, despite the ever worsening conditions. We had decided to take a slightly easterly tract to visit Chartres on the way down, still in heavy rain we made good time and stopped at Carrefour for lunch and a bit of shopping.
Heavy traffic due to road works in the town on the main A10, which amazingly goes through the town centre, slowed us down but when clear we were soon back to speed despite the rain. The rain doesn’t seem to drain off from the European Motorways and overtaking was potentially a hazard, especially when passing the never ending columns of lorries trying their best to maintain their speed, at several points you could not even see the front of the lorry for the spray so it was all lights on and plough through the water that could easily take the steering wheel right out of your hand. However, I am really pleased to say that neither Simon or ourselves suffered any mishaps on the way and we arrived safe and wet at 19.10 looking forward to dinner and a beer with the rest of the group who were already there having left the day before or even earlier, we could only get the four days from work so it was a quick weekend for us.
We stayed at the Hotel Ibis in Angouleme North, at a modest cost of €44 per night (£30.00p), it should have been €64 for the Friday but they only charged us at the weekend rate for the whole three nights, nice ! It was a lovely hotel, about 5 miles from the town centre and two miles from the Geant Hyper-market where the Saturday rally was to start from. We decided to eat in the hotel that night, the menu wasn’t enormous but the service was good, as was the food, all prices were pretty fair too.
We found out later that the concours event which was to be held on the Friday night was cancelled to the heavy rain, the first time this had ever happened, apparently the floodlighting failed.
So, after a few beers it was off to bed ready for the Saturday.
By now, it had been raining all night, the car park was awash but we stuck to our plans and went to see the cars at the start of the run. It was clear this was a large gathering of about 350 cars, many of which I have only ever read about but never seen, the list really would go on for pages if I attempted to describe them all, but there really was over 70 years of European motoring history on display, we all felt sorry for many of them as they made their way on to the ceremonial ramp to be called out one by one for their moment of fame, by the very knowledgeable MC, several had no side windows, many had no demisters, some had no roofs, the passengers sitting under umbrellas, I think you can picture the scene with the rain coming down in torrents. There were a number of newer cars accepted by special invite, as the cut off date was pre 1982, a 2006 Morgan, a DB9 of the same year and a Ferrari 550 Maranello were seen. Many French cars, as you can imagine, but the British were very well represented, about 60% at a guess, not bad considering the distance some had travelled at speeds we would find frustratingly slow.
As the last car set off for the tour of the surrounding area, we looked at ourselves, absolutely soaked, at least Neil kept his camera dry under his brolly, so it was in to the shops where Neil and Tim purchased some snazzy new shoes that were hopefully water resistant, as the rain seemed set for the day (maybe even the weekend) not a bad idea, I had bought plenty with me anyway. We then checked with the organisers to establish a point on route where we could see the cars driving by as we had missed the earliest starters who, we think, wanted to get it over and done with. It was established that the area around Cognac was a good point so it was back to the hotel to change in to dry clothes and plan the rest of the day. Tim and Liz, along with Neil decided to head to Cognac, as this was part of Tim’s original plan anyway for a little tasting treat, the rest of us decided to visit the town of Oradour-sur-Glane about 50 miles east along the N141. This town was heavily damaged by the Nazi’s on June 10th 1944 and the inhabitants massacred in very gruesome circumstances which I don’t want to repeat on here. It was decided to keep the town exactly as it was left as a tribute and the new town built nearby, strange enough that as we arrived it actually stopped raining for the fist time since Boulogne so we enjoyed our day there with a nice cafeteria lunch, as we departed it started raining again. Sympathies go out to John who picked up a €90 speeding ticket and our journey back to the hotel in the driving rain was slowed by a flooded road and several accidents, none involving us I am pleased to report.
We left at separate times for the return journey to the hotel, Dawn and I decided to brave the rain and head for the Victor Hugo centre where the cars were going to return to after the run, surprisingly, we found somewhere to park and witnessed the bedraggled veterans returning from their adventures. Many of these cars are in concours condition (on a good day) we can only imagine how they felt and how much work had gone in to the preparation for this event, we looked at our cars and the state they were in rather lamely.
Soon after Tim, Liz and Neil joined us and the rain stopped again for a brief spell, we could really see these beautiful cars and talk to the owners.
I found out that the GT40 was a real one (number 1006) and had been racing in Australia before the owner bought it back to the UK, the huge wheels on the 5 litre super-charged Bugatti were actually solid cast metal with the brake drums an integral fitment. Once again, an endless list of observations and information to absorb.
The Saturday evening meal was at a local restaurant found by Simon, it had two octagonal dining areas, Tim was impressed by this, and a long table for fourteen running between the two was arranged. After splashing through the flooded car park we seated ourselves along the table, however as last to sit Tim had his back to the grill and a warm glow soon enveloped him as logs were thrown in to the pit beneath the grill. We had a very pleasant meal with good drinks and the Natter that Mattered was successfully concluded with no less than fourteen people and eight F/TF’s making the trip, all without mishap as I am aware.
The tasks that had been set were as follows :
1.. To photograph the longest place name, won by Tim (who had an advantage as they had been touring the area in dry weather). 2.. To purchase the best snow dome, this was won by Mike and Jan (Tim tried to convince us his was best, it was good, however it didn’t have any snow in it, it had coloured glitter, so Mike won). 3.. The dullest post card, hotly contested but Liz took the first place certificate with a magnificent black & white scribble of a Monet painting (truly outstanding Liz). 4.. The most bugs on the front bumper, Tim also had his eye on this, however as the rain had been so persistent not one car had a single bug on it so the prize went to Stu as his car, now on 167,000 miles, had the most stone chips, well done Stu.
After the meal the cars were bought to the steps of the restaurant to enable the ladies to get in without having to wade across the car park ahh!
Sunday morning, it wasn’t raining whoopee ! Neil and Stu were the first to depart for Angouleme to watch the race practice sessions, the expected traffic chaos was not apparent and the rest of us concluded a nice breakfast, again, before departing for the town, Simon, Neil R and ourselves found a nice parking space alongside the main road opposite the station, about 10 minutes from the action, we parked up and left Dawn, Ann and Barbara to go off around the town while we paid our €20 and purchased our wrist bands, programmes and went inside. We were allowed to wander along the pit lane, jostling with car drivers, pit crews and cars travelling everywhere, we then walked the route alongside the track, eventually finding our way to the cathedral high above the track, from this point we could see the fast straight (130 mph possible) three uphill hairpin bends and the start finish area. There was plenty of space, plenty of refreshment and all reasonably priced. The locals were hanging out of windows and even sitting on roofs to watch the action.
To put you in the picture, this is a tight street circuit run on normal tarmac roads with Armco and tyres protecting the buildings and the public, who are very close to the action. The cars are really being pushed to the limit by the more competitive drivers, and the slower, more cautious ones add to the spectacle as overtaking was frequent and entertaining. To see 70 year old Buggati’s and similar aged Lagonda tourers racing around a track is indeed a sight and a decree has been passed that the Circuit de Ramparts will be an annual event for years to come, it has been going for a long time and in it’s present form since 1990. Not all of the cars were ancient, there were Porsche 911’s from the 70’s, Lotus Cortinas, RS1600 Escorts, a Triumph Herald, a couple of Minis, a 2.6 litre Capri and a number of Renault Alpines etc. Cars from the 40’s and 50’s made up a large amount, even a couple of MG’s,an NA and a Midget Monaco, although the NA had the acute embarrassment of having his N/S front wheel come adrift and had to retire. There were a few incidents, such as accidents and a 1930’s Lagonda blew his head gasket.
During the period between practice and racing the crowd were kept entertained by the sight and sound of a BMW M3 being driven around the circuit, surely by a professional, this is what happened : Driver and passenger roars off from a standing start with rear wheels smoking, he attacks every corner, handbrake turns at the hairpins in a cloud of tyre smoke and screeches up to the finish line and stops, every lap, every time was 62 seconds, the marshals throw open the passenger door, one pulls out the passenger another pushes another one in and the driver roars off again, all inside four seconds, no harnesses, no crash helmets and we observed the passengers still holding on to the dashboard with fright on their faces at the first corner as they were not even wearing seat belts unless they managed to get it on themselves, I don’t think many did as they were riveted to the seat by the acceleration and the cornering.
But on to the racing, in fact it should be mentioned that by now the sun was quite hot on our faces. Each race was 17 laps, taking between 23 and 26 minutes to complete, it was fast, it was furious and with just two races to go, it started raining again, the cars that were on the track were Bugatti Type 13’s from the 1920’s with skinny 4 inch wide tyres, a few backed off but the leaders went for it with no let up at all, in fact the second place went to a lady, bear in mind these cars are real seat of the pants driving with outside gear change levers, the winning driver was so fast, I could not believe how he kept this car on the track, he was fighting the steering, pulling it left and right on the corners to control his direction in a power slide. By now the cars are in the pit lane to come out for the last race with the rain still pouring, pit crews were dashing around changing tyres from slicks to wets on the team cars, most were privateers who even drove their cars to and from Angouleme. The last race was the most powerful, the Porsches had to come out in the pouring rain, inches from the barriers at speeds that bordered on insanity, how many times did we see two cars side by side at 100 mph heading in to a 90 degree corner with the rain lashing down ?
Fantastic, I’m sure Neil will put up some of his pictures of the racing when he returns so you can really get the feel of what we witnessed on Sunday. When I have the time, I shall put some pictures up of the weekend.
The evening meal was at the hotel again, this time with another really nice F ( Reg MG2564) in attendance and in the company of Barry Goodman (who has just registered with us, hi Barry) he has lived near to Angouleme for five years, he owns a small guest house there. He informs us that in the time he has lived there he has never know it to rain for 72 hours and leave 5 inches of water behind, it was also only the second time it had ever rained on race Sunday.
Monday morning we said our goodbyes to all, along with the customary photo line up in the hotel car park this time, Dawn and I set off on our own for the run to Boulogne for the 20.25 ferry, the others had the benefit of having an extra day or more to make the journey. We decided to go back via Le Mans and leaving at 9.30 this gave us sufficient time for some shopping also, we took the N10 to the A28, which is now open all the way from just north of Tours to Abbeville, coming off on to the old N138 at Maulsanne where we drove around the circuit, stopping for pictures on the way. We made a visit to the Museum at Le Mans then stopped for lunch and shopping at the Auchan super market just north of town. Back on to the road and with good weather all the way we made it to Boulogne at 19.00 (in time to do some more shopping at Leclerc’s just outside the harbour).
The ferry, once again, left early and made it to Dover in it’s customary hurry, straight on to the M20 and hey ho, we are back in England the motorway, was shut for bridge repairs so we were in a traffic jam while we followed the diversion. Further along the M20 there were three more sets of road works, some allowing us to travel at 20mph before the M25 and Dartford, where the bridge was closed so only one tunnel was in operation for our direction instead of the usual two. With all of this we arrived home at 22.30 having covered 1115 miles, probably (for a change) the least of the group.
Thanks to John and Lyn for the initial idea and planning, Tim and Liz for the organisation and promotion and Mike & Jan, Neil & Barbara, Simon & Ann, Neil, Stu and Barry for their fantastic company.
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Post by ianhunter on Sept 19, 2006 21:18:15 GMT
Adrian, Your description of the racing is easy to imagine being there, pity about the rain. Sounds as though you all had a great time and got back safely, can't wait to see the pics.
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Post by Nigel H on Sept 20, 2006 11:56:46 GMT
I really enjoyed reading your report, Adrian. I'm glad you all had a good time, despite the rain, and thanks for taking the time to type up the report - much appreciated.
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Post by John Ponting on Sept 20, 2006 14:31:17 GMT
Good run home, hardly used any fuel.
Filled up in Angouleme on Sunday and filled up again outside Abbeyville 419 miles later. Took 47.3Lt to give 40.1 mpg. A couple of mpg lower than before I fitted the XPOWER exhaust but also different road and weather conditions.
I suspect I used a bit more fuel on the way down to Angouleme but I also got a €90 speeding ticket that time.
Actually, I've re-read the ticket - it's not a €90 fine, it's a DEPOSIT!!! Maybe the magistrate will decide that I wasn't realy that naughty and refund some of my deposit ...
... That will be the same day when we can drive round the M25 without any road works or lane restrictions.
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Post by Mike H on Sept 20, 2006 16:03:27 GMT
Like John, we also used hardly any fuel. The car averaged 40.7 over the whole 1188 mile we covered - very good (for me ;D ) and similar to John's figure. What was even more impressive though was the 46.7 it returned from home to near La Rochelle where we stayed for the first few days (especially for those who know how much luggage we have to carry ;D ;D ;D ). An enjoyable weekend in excellent company, just a pity about the appalling weather . In fact if it hadn't been for the good company we would probably have left for home earlier than we did. Thanks to one and all for making the weekend what it was, and here's to the next one
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Post by Adrian Clifford on Sept 20, 2006 23:10:17 GMT
Glad to see everybody seems to be getting home OK. I have a few pics as a taster until I get time to put the whole album up, Neil, I'm sure will give us the racing shots when he gets home. The destroyed village of Oradour-sur-Glane Lamborghini Countach S at the end of the run Bugatti Type 13 about to race, how basic is this for 1923, outside handbake and gear lever 1936 MG Midget Monaco, finished third in it's race class. Good vantage points were at a premium, I didn't trust that ballustrade though. Looking along and down the track from the cathedral, the first two hairpin bends. Le Mans, on the way home.
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Post by Mike H on Sept 23, 2006 10:27:55 GMT
Excellent pics Neil. It's amazing what you can do with a decent piece of kit and a histogram
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