Speed, History & Spectacle – The Grand Tour – Part 9

The Madness of the 24 Hour of Le Mans

For those of you who are not motorsport fans, then a quick lesson on Le Mans 24 Hour. The Le Mans 24 Hour is one of the most prestigious races in motorsport and is an endurance race for sports cars and along with the Monaco F1 Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500 form The Triple Crown of Motorsport. 2024 is the 92nd running of the race.

In the 2024 Le Mans race there are 3 classes, Hypercar – the fastest class, is made up of sport prototypes with entries from manufacturers such as Ferrari, Toyota, Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, Lamborghini, Alpine and Peugeot and entries from private teams such Hertz Team Jota & Proton Competition in a Porsches. Next there is LMP2 – which are again prototype sports cars, made from a selection of bespoke race car manufacturers, these are entered only by privateer teams rather than manufacturers and they all have the same V8 engine manufactured by British firm Gibson Technology. Finally the LMGT3 cars, which are based on production road car models, such as the Aston Martin Vantage, BMW M4, Ford Mustang, Ferrari 296, McLaren 720S, Lamborghini Huracan, Lexus RC F and Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

Before the race, there is lot of build up both on and off the track with driver parades, practice sessions and qualifying sessions. The race starts at 4pm on the Saturday and finishes at 4 pm on the Sunday. Each car has 3 drivers plus a team of pit crew, mechanics, engineers and support staff. Very little sleep is had by anyone working at Le Mans. For them it is not just 24 hours, it is more like 40 hours!

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and set up our pitch, making sure we had left room for our two friends, Nik & Paul who would be joining us on Thursday afternoon.

The race circuit is 8 miles long and consists of race track and road sections. The area around the start/finish and famed Dunlop Bridge has huge viewing areas and grandstands, along with bars, restaurants, food stands, exhibits and shops by all the major manufacturers. There is a gaming zone, kids zone, and a concert arena where on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights there is music from about 8 pm to midnight. Simple Minds are the top act on Saturday night followed by a firework display.

After we set up we took the opportunity to quickly meet up with Olly, our son, a Systems Engineer, who works for Multimatic who provide support to the private teams that run Porsches and Mustangs. At this race he was supporting Hertz Team Jota’s 2 Porsches and Proton Competition’s Porsche. We had a ten minute catch up before that afternoon’s practice sessions got underway. which we watched from the Grandstand above the pits.

Unfortunately the no 12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche had a major accident during the night practice on Wednesday and the car needed a new chassis. It usually takes 3 weeks to build a car from the chassis up and Jota’s team had to have it rebuilt and ready by 4 pm on Saturday afternoon to take part in the race.

On Thursday we spent time at the circuit watching more of the practice and qualifying runs and then went back to meet Nik & Paul who arrived in the early evening. After a couple of beers and some food, we made our way back to the circuit to watch the night practice from the Grandstand above the pits.

Friday is quiet day on track as the drivers attend a huge parade in old cars in the Le Mans town centre, so we took the opportunity to visit the Le Mans Museum and meet up with Olly for an hour to catch up on all the news from the inside! There was also the opportunity to get out onto the track and into pit lane, which was open to the public. It was just as we were making our way to the pits, that we got a message from Olly to say that Jota had, by the miracle of hard work and determination, had got to the car ready enough to fire up the engine. We quick marched it through the crowds to get there just as the engine roared into life. Huge cheers all round from the crowd and the Jota team. Jota had permission to take the car that night to the neighbouring airfield to give the car a ‘shakedown’, just to make sure everything was working.

That night we went back into the circuit for a few drinks and then headed back to our camp, for a couple more drinks and late night snack whilst listening to the music coming from the concert area. Trust me, we were close enough to hear and didn’t miss out on anything apart from getting wet, as we sat in our comfy chairs, under the awning out of the rain. We knew Saturday was going to be a long day, so we went to bed sometime after midnight, as the concert was ending, however the campsite had other ideas. The campsite had a couple of competing DJ’s who tried to outdo each other with the bass and volume, plus fireworks, and engines revving. One set of fireworks were set off 3ft from my motorhome windows, they were not bright, sparkly fireworks, they were more like heavy artillery, the ground shook, bits of firework/earth fell on the roof. Paul was watching out of his window and some poor guy in a campervan, shot out of his van looking stunned and dazed as we reckon he was about 1 foot away from the launch zone. Quiet fell over the campsite around 4 am which didn’t last long as the first helicopter hovered overhead around 6 am on its way to the airport. The helicopter was the first of what seemed like a thousand.

It was an easy start on Saturday, a large cooked breakfast for the boys and then it was time to load up with camping chairs, smuggled beer and snacks to find our place to watch the first few hours of the race. The weather was changeable, dark clouds, blue skies and sunshine… the rain held off for most of the day.

Zinedine Zidane was the man chosen to wave the start flag, after it had been delivered by an abseiling French soldier from a helicopter and after the PAF (French Red Arrows) had screamed overhead trailing blue, white and red smoke. Then the 62 car grid started its formation lap to arrive for a rolling start at 4 pm! As Zidane waved the flag, 62 cars screamed over the start line and the race was on….

The race had thrills and spills, it had boring bits, where there were long periods of safety car. We watched for a few hours and then went back to the camp for some food, then as darkness fell along with some light rain, we walked out to Tertres Rouge and to the Essess to watch. There was racing, then an accident which required the arnco to be repaired so a long safety car stint, exacerbated by a loose dog on the track. The rain got heavier and it got colder. The race started again but then more drama, another slow zone and the rain got heavier. Sometime in the early hours we headed back to the campsite and to a lovely night’s sleep. The campsite was quiet, the rain which was now really heavy had dampened the party spirits. During the night due to the extreme weather, there was a 4-hour safety car session, so we were glad we went to bed.

The next morning was Charlie’s birthday so we had a slow morning, whilst Nik & Paul went out to watch more racing. We caught up with them around 11.30 am, after having booked a table at a circuit restaurant to celebrate Charlie’s birthday. As the morning progressed into afternoon, the clouds gathered and the rain started again.

We had lunch booked for 2 pm and as we arrived to sit down at our table, the heavens opened. Due to a couple of bottles of wine and the ability to get the race coverage live on my phone, we watched the last 2 hours from the comfort of the restaurant, where we could hear the action but were in the dry with wine!

Congratulations to Ferrari for winning for the 2nd year running and huge congrats to Hertz Team Jota who came 8th and 9th, not the result they wanted but an amazing result for the no 12, as it had been put back together in record time and completed the most grueling road race in the world.

Following the race the circuit began to shut down, bars were shut, stalls were being dismantled, teams started packing up their garages and the weary but happy fans made their way back to their campsites, some having packed up in the morning to start the long drive home, others to collapse in a bed for good night’s sleep before travelling the next day.

On Monday morning we said goodbye to Nik & Paul as they headed for the Channel Tunnel, whilst we had a leisurely morning, feeding some stray puppies that appeared out of nearby woods and then drove into Le Mans town centre to pick up Olly from his hotel. We were heading home on Wednesday but on the Monday afternoon and Tuesday were returning to Normandy with Olly to visit some of the D-Day sites. Olly had a couple of days off with us, then we were dropping him at Ashford to collect his car to drive home so he could do a quick turnaround before heading out to Spa in Belgium on Monday 24 June for another 24 hour race.

So that is the end of our motorhome adventure and by a miracle, both of us have come back, speaking to each other.

All that’s left to say is a bientôt.

Speed, History & Spectacle – The Grand Tour – Part 8

The Road to Le Mans

We have two days on the road before we are due at the Le Mans 24 Hour on Wednesday 12th June. Looking at the map, we decide to make our way to Brittany to a campsite just outside of Dinan.

The campsite is above the River Rance and only a short 30 minute walk along its banks to the river port of Dinan, and the ancient walled city that sits on top of the hillside. Steep cobbled streets connect the port to the town.

The walk up to the town is very steep and lined with old buildings, some dating back to the 13th Century. After a short wander, as most of the town was shut, we treated ourselves to icecream and then walked back down to the port, where there were several lively riverside bars. Here we met a Dutch couple and spent the next hour chatting about everything and nothing.

The next day we decided to take the moped into Dinard, on the Brittany coast about 20 minutes away. Dinard is just around the bay from St Malo. Dinard is a seaside holiday destination and many of the hotels and houses datefrom the Belle Epoque, a period of French history that began after the Franco-Prussian War ended in 1871 and the start of World War 1 in 1914.

It was a time when arts and culture flourished and Dinard became a fashionable holiday resort frequented by the wealthy, including Americans and British aristocrats. Today there is a sense of faded glamour about the town.

The town overlooks the Rance Estuary and out towards St Malo. The bay is filled with boats and a couple of large cruise ships are moored up. Small ferries and the cruise ships’ own tenders are constantly buzzing about. The view to St Malo feels like looking back into the past when St Malo was a haven for corsairs, privateers and pirates.

It was really, really windy so after a walk, we found a small quayside restaurant with outside tables sheltered from the wind, where it actually felt like Summer. We decided to have a small lunch and drink before heading back to the campsite for a swim in their outdoor heated pool.

The menu had a couple of ‘small plates’, great for sharing, so we ordered Rillettes de la Mer, pain grille (Fish rillette with toasted bread) and Sardines Millesimees, pain et beurre Bordier (sardines with bread and butter). A perfect lunch accompanied by a glass of cider for me and glass of wine for him.

About 15 minutes later, our drinks arrived closely followed by our food. We could barely contain ourselves when the sardines arrived.

The Chef had opened a tin! Apparently millesimees means Vintage, I think rather than old sardines out of a tin, it was meant to be this is how people ate sardines in the ‘old days’. But it did seem a bit much to charge 12 Euros for them!

Very beautiful part of France but watch out for vintage sardines!

Next stop the madness that is Le Mans and a chance to catch up with our son, Olly.

Speed, History & Spectacle – A Grand Tour – Part 6

The Majestic Loire Valley and its Enchanting Chateaux

We have arrived in the Loire Valley for just 3 nights, our first stop is at Blois, situated right on the banks of the Loire, the medieval streets dominated by the Cathedral and its famous Chateau.

The Chateau was a stronghold of the Kings of France for a century but the most interesting feature of the Chateau is its architecturally development from the Middle Ages to the 17th Century. The Chateau now is a mixture of medieval, Classical and Renaissance architecture, according to the whims and fashions of the times and the owner. Some of the change in architectural style from one to another looks like ‘Bodge it & Scarper’ had the main contract. The Renaissance outer spiral staircase is a thing of beauty.

Check out the middle photo where 2 architectural styles collide!

Whole wings of the Chateau and gardens have been demolished, built over and demolished again throughout its history. In 1843 Felix Duban being a project of restoration and was the first historical monument outside of Paris to undergo restoration by the French state. During the 20th Century the Chateau has been subject to numerous restoration programmes.

Aside from the Chateau there are quaint medieval streets to wander through and the gardens at the Bishop’s Palace. Across the square from the Chateau is the ‘Maison de Magie’ or ‘House of Magic’, we didn’t visit this but if you have children, it could be a hit! By accident, we arrived in the square on the hour and the Maison de Magie, puts on an animatronics performance, huge robotic golden salamanders appear out of the windows of the house. Salamanders were the personal emblem of King Francis I. Strange little show, but an entertaining five minutes for children.

Strange but a little mesmerising…

Our next stop is Amboise, where we are meeting our friends, Iain & Kerry, who are on the way to a wedding. Our campsite is on the island in the middle of the Loire and looks towards the Chateau d’Amboise. The Chateau has been a royal residence since around 1434 when Charles VII seized it from the owner who was suspected of plotting against the monarchy. Charles VIII died there after hitting his head on a door lintel, Francis 1 was raised there and Henry II and Catherine de’ Medici raised their children there, along with Mary Stuart, who had been promised in marriage to Francis II.

Leonardo da Vinci came in 1515, lived and worked there until his death in 1519 and is buried at the Chateau. In fact, he’s been buried twice there, once in the Chapel of St Florentin which fell into disrepair over the centuries and sometime in the late 1700’s, some bones that were found whole with extraordinary large skull and fragments of stonework containing some letters of his name were re-interred in the Chapel of St Hubert. You can see the grave in the chapel but it is distinctly underwhelming, although the stonework in the Chapel is exquisite.

We toured the Chateau and the most impressive part of the Chateau was the tower that allowed horse and carriages to make their way from town level up to the heights of the Chateau. The huge towers enclose a circular ramp, wide enough for horse, carriages and carts to ascend the ramparts.

On the Sunday morning, there is a large market held along the banks of the Loire, which we spent an hour wandering through, mostly produce stalls, selling local fruit, veg, wine, cheese, sausage, bread etc. There is the usual amount of clothing and tat, but a nice way to spend a Sunday morning. Some very reasonable plant stalls but I don’t think we have room for the fruit, fig and olive trees that I had my eye on.

We had a lovely evening catching up with Iain and Kerry, despite the cold. The sun hasn’t made an appearance for several days and everyone is wrapped up like it is November. The wind has a real northerly chill about it.

On Monday 3 June, finally there was blue sky and time for us to move further north.

Our next stop is at Merville sur Plage in Normandy for the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. This will be our base until Monday 10th June. We are meeting up with 13 friends, the Redheads/Weeks family, who are 10 in number and my brother-in-law Jim, Jane and Toby.

Speed, History & Spectacle – A Grand Tour – Part 5

A Journey through France’s Volcanic Landscapes

So we have now ventured into the Land of Volcanoes, the Auvergne in the Massif Central, an area dominated by 450 volcanoes, all of which are either dormant (no-one really knows if they could become active) or extinct.

Le Puy, home of the lentil is an ancient medieval city surrounded by high hills and is nestled in the caldera of an ancient volcano. It is the site of religious significance, it is the start of one of the main pilgrimage paths in France that lead to Santiago de Compostella, there are 3 significant religious buildings, The Chapel of St Michel, The Cathedral and a statue of Mary & baby Jesus. Le Puy ranges between 2,000 and 3,000 ft above sea level!

As the city was built in a volcanic region, everything is uphill! The old town is built on a steep hill, the streets paved with cobbles, many made of volcanic rock. These cobbles are no ordinary cobbles, they are not even M&S cobbles, they are big and round and if you are visiting, wear your most sturdy shoes or boots whatever the weather. Flip flops will not cut it, forget it if you have a buggy, you will break it or the baby, forget wheelchairs unless you want to kill Granny! If you hate stairs or steep slopes, don’t venture into the old town, the only way is UP.

On our first night we strolled into town and walked up to the Cathedral entrance, I think it is one of the steepest streets I’ve ever encountered and there are about 60 steps to get the entrance. Once you get through the gate there are more but the Cathedral was closed for the night.

After working all morning and waiting for the rain to pass, our mission was to visit all 3 of the major religious sites in the couple of hours before they closed.

First stop The Chapel Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe – perched on a rocky pinnacle, built in the 10th Century with later bits added. It is a quite a climb and the views are impressive!

From the Chapel Saint Michel, the statue of Mary & Jesus towers above it height wise. So across town, up through the narrow, cobbled streets and we began the second climb of the day. The unique feature of the statue is that it is built out of cannons seized during the Crimean War and given to the town by Napoleon III. Once you have reached the base of the statue, you can climb right to the top, into the head of Mary, above her crown. You start by climbing up stone steps, then a steep spiral staircase until you are in the head, then you can climb a ladder so that your head pops out of the top of Mary’s, above her crown. There is a perspex viewing bubble to stop the more adventurous, paragliding, abseiling or just throwing themselves off. It is not for the faint-hearted, in both senses of being not very good with heights or you have a heart condition. You are now at about 3,000 ft above sea level.

We stopped for a well-deserved ice cream before making our way to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy. The previous evening we had walked up to the front door of the Cathedral, but it was late and the gates were closed, so we entered by the back door, as the Cathedral is just below the statue.

The interesting feature of the front entrance is that because the Cathedral is built on such a steep hill, when you enter, the steps come up through the floor. So when we came in via a back door, we thought that the entrance was in fact steps down to the crypt!

The next day we ventured further into the Auvergne region to Le Mont-Dore. The reason for visiting is in 1975, at the tender age of 11, Charlie went to Le Mont-Dore on a school ski trip and wanted to see if he remembered anything in the area. It is unlikely that the hotel they stayed at in La Bourboule, a little way down the valley was still standing, as when he stayed, they could see stars through their bedroom roof! He did remember that the hotel overlooked the river, the Dordogne, which runs through both towns.

The weather worsened the higher we travelled and on arriving at our campsite in Le Mont Dore, we knew we had a short window to get the moped out and ride up the valley to the ski area. We were hoping a couple of lifts might be open for visitors to access the summit but no luck. We aren’t carrying any proper walking gear with us, which you would need as the conditions were not ideal, with rain sweeping in and low cloud obscuring visibility. We had a brief look and then made our way further down the valley to La Bourboule. Both towns have an air of faded grandeur and the population in the area has declined enormously since the 1970’s. La Barboule is a 19th C spa town with thermal baths, grand, faded houses and a rather run-down looking Casino. We had a walk around and found the area where Charlie’s hotel was probably located but it didn’t spark any particular memories.

As we walked through the town, a group of young French school children on a outward bound holiday, stopped to chat to us, took photos and insisted that we took one of them!

After stopping at a supermarket, we arrived back at the motorhome, just as the heavens truly opened!

We woke to yet another wet day and started to move north, leaving behind the high, mountain meadows of the Auvergne region and began to head into the Loire. It has to be said the weather has been particularly repetitive, grey skies, heavy showers and the occasional burst of sunshine, usually about an hour or two before it sets.

Our stop for the night is Argenton-sur-Creuse, a very ancient town with the remains of a Roman bridge, some very pretty houses and streets, but as dead as dead. We walked into town from the campsite at about 3 pm, purposely giving the French time to return from their 2-hour lunch break! It was deserted, a zombie town. This picture was taken at 3 ish on Thursday afternoon in the main shopping street!

Half the shops weren’t open. There was a recruitment/job agency that was open for a spectacular 2 days a week and still shut between 12 and 2 pm for lunch! As the heavens opened again, we dived into the only cafe that was open and sat out the downpour and then returned for a BBQ of steak, potatoes and salad, in the golden hour, when another thunderstorm had passed and the sunshine appeared, which then set, just as you were enjoying its warmth! Our campsite is on the banks of the River Creuse, but many of the pitches are roped off, as the ground is so wet but we will be lulled to sleep by the sound of the water tumbling over the weir.

Tomorrow, deep into the Loire Valley, to Blois!

Speed, History & Spectacle – A Grand Tour – Part 1

We have embarked on a 6-week road trip where we will be working from our motorhome whilst travelling, we have 4 destinations where we are meeting friends and attending events but in between we are going where the wind blows us, or to be honest, after the winter we have had, where the SUN is!

We left the UK on Monday 6 May and our first port of call was Menton, on the French/Italian border just east of Monaco. We were meeting eight friends who were arriving in Menton on Thursday 9th May for the Monaco Historic Grand Prix – a 3 day extravaganza of historic motorsport which takes place every 2 years.

Our plan was to go South as quickly as possible to escape the awful weather but France has been having awful weather too! We drove 486 miles on day 1 and the weather remained as miserable, grey and rainy as Kent. We arrived in a tiny village, Bois-de-Gand in the Jura region in the early evening.

We travel without much advance planning and pitch up where we can. As we didn’t have an idea of how much progress we would make on day 1, we had not booked a spot anywhere. However, we have joined France Passion, which allows motorhomes to stay at hundreds of farms, vineyards and rural businesses for free, but you are encouraged to purchase local produce from your hosts. We have never been disappointed, sometimes the pitches are amazing and sometimes you are in the farmyard next to a tractor and the pigs but the produce is always delicious and provided many a lovely meal.

On this occasion, the nearest France Passion stop was at a ‘ranch’, down a windy rural road. The listing promised an American style ranch with a restaurant serving roast chicken and chilli next to paddocks full of horses. What’s not to like…? We maneuvered carefully down a narrow, private track to arrive in a farmyard with around 8-9 horses milling in the paddock. We didn’t want to pull onto the grassy area, as we knew from the amount of rain we had driven through, that would not be a good idea.

I jumped out to find the host. I found him carrying logs indoors for his fire (that’s how cold it still is) and I noticed he had limited mobility but he welcomed us and said just park in the yard and that we could plug into the electric, which was a bonus. Charlie parked the motorhome in a small space between a car, a tree and a big log pile and our host then returned in an electric wheelchair to tell us the restaurant was no longer open as he had become extremely ill and disabled and basically had to shut his business, but he was happy for us to stay. Luckily we had food on board and after a quick meal, we turned in, as we had been up since 4 am that morning and it was now getting on for 9pm.

The only sounds during the night were the snuffles of the horses and the hoots of owls. We woke early the next morning and quietly left as our host had not stirred, leaving a generous contribution towards the electricity.

The weather did not improve, driving rain and low cloud dogged our drive south to Annecy. We arrived early afternoon. We located several proper campsites just outside the town, the 3rd campsite had a space for us. This time, the site owner, Gilbert was not worried about his grass and parked us, alongside a couple of other motorhomes,, where we made similar deep ruts in the muddy, soaked field, but Gilbert just shrugged in a Gallic way and said it hadn’t stopped raining for months ,what could he do! We unloaded our scooter and headed the 20 minutes into the town for a well-deserved lunch.

Annecy is beautiful, even in the rain. We joined other lunch goers, sat under cover and under blankets by the picturesque ‘canal’, eating tartiflette – it felt like we were in a ski resort. Even the ducks looked miffed with the weather. We headed back to camp early evening and decided to have a walk along the lake shore, just across the road from our campsite, but rain put an end to more than a ten minute stroll so we had another early night!

Driving around 450km further south, we headed to Saint-Andre-les-Alpes, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region, and at last we spotted some blue sky. We had driven through Le Verdon Gorge, which has spectacular scenery, windy roads, steep drops into steely blue rivers and lakes. We have driven this way before so made a decision to take the shorter route, which is not as spectacular. We may return to a campsite up in the heart of the Gorge later on in this trip, it just depends on that weather.

Saint-Andre-les-Alpes is a paragliders’ paradise and our campsite, set in pines under the steep hills was mainly populated by adventuring young men, who were either cycling or paragliding. We finally got to sit in the sun which was a relief after the cold and grey. We walked into the village, had a drink in the square that soon filled up, as people queued for oysters at a street vendors or sat in the bars. We had booked a table at a lovely restaurant, just off the square and finally began to relax. It’s amazing what a change in weather can do for your spirits.

Thursday saw the final push to Menton, the road became straighter as we left Le Verdon area behind. There was a huge traffic jam on the motorway that took you inland past Nice, and the city traffic looked smoother. Well, that was a wrong move as everyone had had the same idea. Nice had massive roadworks and diversions in place, but once clear of Nice, we rejoined the motorway, passing Monaco and then dropped into Menton and then took the very tricky drive up the steep, mostly u-bend road to our campsite, on the hill above Menton. We were parking the motorhome until Monday and we were de-camping to a hotel in the town, where our friends were staying. Luckily, Anita and Greg who live in France, were arriving at the same time and offered to come and pick us and our luggage up, saving several trips on the scooter!

By 8 pm that evening, we had a complement of 10, as the others arrived via Nice airport and the weekend could truly begin…