We wondered; is it possible to tire of driving through non-stop beautiful scenery? Well, after just over 850 km and three days we were still soaking it up and enjoying every motoring minute.
Four pre-war Aston-Martins were amongst the 235 competitors this year, with two Mk II cars under the care of Ecurie Bertelli's event support team. The cars didn't miss a beat although they were most certainly put through their paces. The route wound through mountain passes with steep climbs and descents which tested both cooling ability and brakes, some high altitude driving through the Gross-Glockner pass at 8,000 ft and plenty of typical alpine
switchback roads with hairpins aplenty.
The roads were silky smooth but never straight. The competition itself comprised a mix of average speed sections, timed sections, timed hill climbs, timed track laps and tulip navigation. The navigation book caused some head-scratching at first until the teams realized the notes must be read from the bottom of the page up! Who ever heard of that?
The event was well-organized and a lot of fun. Apparently the final results are published somewhere but no-one can find out where! Somehow this does not seem to bother anyone; the only question is whether the entries are open to sign up for next year.
Pictured:
Back row L-R: Robert Blakemore, Fred Blakemore, Gary Feger, Steve Birt
Front row L-R: Ecurie Bertelli's Callum Staff & Simon Boreham
Photo credit: Ecurie Bertelli Ltd