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French Alps 2023 ?


Darren Sharp

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As some of you will know I was planning to arrange a CT tour of Ypres and the Normandy beaches through Scenic and Continental car tours before the spectre of Covid raised its ugly head . Time has moved on and we are getting perilously close to the 100yrs of Triumph anniversary in 2023 . Whilst I’m still keen to visit the Memorial sites, my thinking has changed along the lines of marking the anniversary as the next outing with a trip to the French Alps .. sometime in the mid summer. Together with my lovely girlfriend Wendy we are preparing a 12/50 Herald, principally with this trip in mind to commemorate the amazing success of the Herald in the Alpine Rallies of the late fifties and early sixties where many Coupe des Alps were earned. Nothing so taxing as thrashing the Herald up snow covered mountains but rather a summer trip ( with hopefully a nice snowy backdrop) and plenty of hotels and restaurants along the way . Maybe finishing off in the riviera ( or at least beautiful Provence) . Plans and prices are being drawn up and I’m hoping to have more news soon . I’m receiving great advice from Club members in the know and hopefully plans will advance in the new year . Now that the 10CR has been announced and is fully subscribed. The Tour will not clash with the RBRR or any other CT event  . Dates will reflect this so July and August are favourite . 

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10 minutes ago, mikeyb said:

Sounds good!  Is this going to be a CT organised "keen budget" event or a more expensive 3rd party organised tour?  

Most Likely it will be organised by Scenic and Continental Mike . They have all the contacts and get discounts that we couldn’t hope to achieve . We have some control over the standard that we want and can vary it for the travelling part and the staying over bit . They tend to use Accor group or private hotels but these give secure parking which has always been a plus . You can do anything cheaper if you shop around of course . 

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Update . Run will take place in July or August of 2023 , certainly after July 20th and probably mid week to keep the travel cost as low as possible. Route will start at Calais (or Dover ) and will use the A.26 /A.6 to traverse the country over two days with rest stops including the Grandstand at Reims ( done it before but it breaks the journey nicely and it’s been further restored since I last went) . And overnights at Dijon and near the route of the 1959 alpine rally route probably around Barcelonette . In the interests of old Herald preservation only the French part of the route will be undertaken with stops including 4 of the Alpine passes for photo shoots . The end of the day will include a drive down the Route Napoleon ( very pretty) to the next hotel around Frejus on the French Riviera. There will be a free day here so that people can visit Cannes , or Monaco and maybe an extra mountain drive for the keen ones . The route home will be broken up over two days with some interesting stops . More later 

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59 minutes ago, DVD3500 said:

I doubt my car will be road legal by then but I don't live far from the Alps, about 2-3 hour drive so I would love to at least meet up if possible..

Lucky devil!

Mind you I live less than an hour from Les Alpes mancelle 🙄

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I love the area I live in... an hour from France and Switzerland (Autobahn has basically no speed limit down that way). Hills, streams, rivers, lakes (more like ponds to me being from Michigan originally), Hockenheimring... If the local dialect weren't so obtuse...

 

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8 minutes ago, Clive said:

virtually all Brits, 

As I said damned foreigners but at least they help the Gendarmes boost their quota of speeding fines. 😃

Seriously though, not really my thing other than maybe a day visit to wonder round the car park.

Fingers crossed for you all that it does go ahead with the public there. Yesterday's annual Traverse de Paris was cancelled at a week's notice by the Préfet and February's RetroMobile show has been rescheduled for mid March.

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1 hour ago, Rosbif said:

As I said damned foreigners but at least they help the Gendarmes boost their quota of speeding fines. 😃

Seriously though, not really my thing other than maybe a day visit to wonder round the car park.

Fingers crossed for you all that it does go ahead with the public there. Yesterday's annual Traverse de Paris was cancelled at a week's notice by the Préfet and February's RetroMobile show has been rescheduled for mid March.

What could possibly go wrong? Ah, hang on, Macron may have a cunning plan to "piss off" the English? I think that was the term he used about the unvaccinated French, so it may be a bit mild for the Brits.

I have found that after the racing has finished on Sunday, the plod have left and the roads are open again, that it is a good time to have a spirited drive. We usually get a few cheers from the locals (French I reckon) who appreciate a little British sports car. Do that in the UK and fists would be waved. I actually rather like the French 🙂

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2 hours ago, Clive said:

Sunday, the plod have left and the roads are open again, that it is a good time to have a spirited drive. 🙂

They may have left the area around the circuit but they hang about in the Orne to catch a few, always a few cases on the N12 around Mortagne au Perche on the dual carriageway section. Don't forget that the penalties very according to how much over the limit the car is clocked at, the 'top' level is immediate immobilisation of the car.

Once when I was still working I had to go to a town some 45 minutes away to collect a Brit who was coming to see the company on business, he had been pinched in a hire car and had to follow the Gendarmes to the station. They gave the car keys to me on the clear understanding that he couldn't drive. He was worried how he was going to explain the fine to his boss and hire company plus recover the car

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