12 replies to this topic

[karl-th]

Sorry if this is a bit of topic, but my bet is somebody here might have driven some of the classic French circuits.

I'll be traveling to the French GP in June, I've rented a Honda S2000 and would like to drive it on a race track if possible. Does anyone know if there are any open track days on circuits in the center of France(Paris/Dijon)?

Best regards
Karl Thoroddsen http://www.iceinter.net/karl-th/f1news

[Ray Bell]

Clermont-Ferrand in your territory? Why not go there and see one of the best?

Is Rouen too far away? I believe both are accessible.

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Life and love are mixed with pain...

[Barry Lake]

The top end of Rouen has been chopped off by a main road. The rest of it (more than 10 years since I've been there) was pretty much as it was. But it's a public road so you can't go too fast on it.
Reims is still quite original and worth a look - including the pre-war section down through the village of Geux. Very tight for a big German GP car...
I have not been to Clermont-Ferrand but it sounds great. It would be worth checking to see if it is posible to have a run around it.
The only circuit I know of where you can go on and have a blast - for a modest fee - is the old Nurburgring.
I remember once sharing it with the works Jaguar touring cars (1980s) doing serious testing, Kalle Grundel in a works VW Golf rally car also doing serious testing, and several other cars, including a man and his wife, with baby in the car-seat in the rear of their Fiat 1500...
I asked the test drivers did that annoy them when doing serious testing and they said, "This is normal at the Nurburgring; we work around it."
The manager of the place told me I could stop and take photographs - "But not at the places where the skid marks go into the guard rails. They always crash in the same places."

[Psychoman]

Say, how much is the toll for that 14-mile squiggle of road anyways?

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http://mrpsycho61636.tripod.com/home
Pauly Shore--That could have been the smartest thing or the dumbest thing you have ever done.
Stephen Baldwin--Probably both.
--Bio-Dome

[Xrayman]

I have read an article about the Clemont-Ferrant circuit in an issue of MotorSport recently, I think a large proportion of it is still accessable.

Give a day or two and I will post more from the article.

Martin

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Martin.

ICQ 53805151

[karlth]

Thanks Xrayman, that would be appreciated.

Psychoman(where do you people get those names ), a lap of the Nurburgring is very cheap especially compared to a lap of normal racing circuits.

Regards
Karl http://www.iceinter.net/karl-th/f1news

[Darren Galpin]

Last time I drove the Nurburgring it set me back 16DM. Well worth it.

[Xrayman]

Karl,

I've just dug out that article from MotorSport (Jan 2000). I'ts got some superb pictures of the old circuit as well as the pictures of the reporters BMW on the track. The article mentions that it is not possible to drive the full track as some is a shortened race track and the rest public roads. I have included a few of paragraphs from the article to help you decide whether to go to CF or not.

"But do not expect to see the architecture of one of the great race circuits like reims. Go to Clemont and your enjoyment will be doubled if you do your research beforehand and pack you immagination. Know where to look and you will find the odd relic, the occasional slice of the past lurking here or there - but you will have to work at it"

"You only needed one thing to win at Clemont-Ferrand and that was , very simply, to be the greatest driver of your day. Go there and you will see why."

The article does not mention how accessable the circuit is but believe me it should be well worth the visit if you can arrainge it.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Maybe even post your own "Track Test".



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Martin.

ICQ 53805151

[karlth]

>Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Thanks

>Maybe even post your own "Track Test".

Either I or my insurance company will post a detailed report.

Regards
Karl

[404KF2]

If going to Clermont-Ferrand, don't miss the view from the Puy-de-Dôme; it's some distance from the Circuit d'Auvergne near Royat but well worth the detour.

[Ray Bell]

I am personally disappointed by the Motor Sport 'track tests' - though the Rouen one was quite good. Solitude was a disappointment... they have such good material to work with in those, they should be better.

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Life and love are mixed with pain...

[MCH]

Didn't they use the Puy-de-Dôme for hillclimbs before WW2? At least I can remember reading this somewhere.

btw. You're not able to climb the Puy-de-Dôme by car in the summer because it's closed. The tourists are all over the place in that period. You are allowed to go to the top by bike though........or by foot..........

[pinchevs]

Can somebody please tell me in what issue did MotorSport start doing the track tests?