12 replies to this topic

[Alan Cox]

The 90th anniversary of the Reims circuit was celebrated with remarkably little publicity on the Sunday 18th September. It did clash with the Spa 6 Hours, Angouleme Circuit des Remparts and HSCC Brands Hatch among other events, so it's not surprising that it has been overshadowed in the press..

There has been very little posted about it on t'interweb, but here is the Facebook page belonging to les Amis de Circuit Gueux which has some photo coverage

https://www.facebook...iscircuitgueux/

[BRG]

I paid my 90th anniversary tribute back in the winter when i finally (after only 20 years or so of good intentions) managed to visit the place en route to my ski-ing holiday.  And then again on the way back.  It was really very atmospheric to stand in the pits just after dawn with the road and all around deserted.  Les Amis are doing a good job preserving this piece of history.

[BrabhamBT21]

It was my blue BT21 in the photos, indeed it took me 12 months to organize the participation in the French Heritage Day (Journees du Patrimoine) on 18 Sept, via Les Amis du Circuit de Gueux, who are a wonderful group dedicated to preserving this unique place. Our focus was the 50th Anniversary of Jack Brabham winning the first GP in a car of his own making, the first (and only) such occasion in history. Three of us brought our 1960s Brabham cars from Australia to race in Europe and the Sunday at Reims-Gueux was the highlight of our escapade. We were joined by a German Brabham owner who travelled from Dusseldorf for this unique occasion.

We also wished to acknowledge Ron Tauranac as the designer of the Brabham cars, particularly the cars which won two World Driver and Manufacturer Championships in 66 and 67. we called Ron from Gueux, and were able to tell him that the starter at the 1966 race had come to the track on Sunday, with his flags to wave us away, and he was a year older than Ron..

To drive our cars at some speed on the main straight of that old circuit was simply magical, we are privileged, and Les Amis and their 4000 guests  thought that we were the highlight of their big day.

Open wheelers on the old track for the first time in 50 years-- someone had to do it.....

 

[ozpata]

[Ray Bell]

I would love to have been there for your fun day...

Unfortunately my visit was back in June. The main straight, however, was still just as inviting:



So I can well understand how it felt driving at some speed along there in a Brabham. But Brabhams never ran in Gueux, of course, they'd be out of place in this setting:



It's so true that the local people are doing a great job of preserving what's left.

[bradbury west]

I always recall the account of Michael Parkes pulling 190mph down there in the 4litre GTO . Of course, the old original hairpin right, at the Soissons end, went some years ago for a roundabout, ISTR
Roger Lund

[john winfield]

Roger, the post-war Muizon hairpin, at the Soissons end of the N31 straight, was lost completely some years ago to, I think, industrial units beside the main road; the fast left-hander leading up to it now peters out in a field, making it impossible to drive a full lap of that later circuit. The Thillois hairpin is now a roundabout but, if you blast over the crest on the N31, check the traffic ahead and to the right, you can still have fun on a tight line, avoiding Phil Hill's spinning Ferrari and outdragging the Porsches to the finish line!  So I am told. 

[bradbury west]

Posted in haste, I meant the Thillois hairpin,  which my old company cars in the late 80s, and at other times,  were happy to approach at around 130 down the hill, and a good speed past the pits. In those days the old auberge was still there, I think.

I am delighted to see what has been done to the environs as I was horrified at my first visit in 1986, at which point I wrote to the varicose Chairmen of Renault, Citroen,  Simca etc plus Total, Michelin, Kleber, etc on a regular basis, drawing their attention to what could be done with making it a local historic place for car clubs etc to meet. Retrospectives were just coming into modest vogue then. The paddock behind the pits was still half decent rough overgrown land which would easily lend itself to renewal at low cost, and the car park behind the Tribunes entered under the tunnel, would make a wonderful centre for displays and the like. I suppose I should have written to the local Prefecture and Mairies

They clearly did not share my enthusiasm or vision as my letters, in good French, elicited the proverbial  five eighths of  rien in response. Hence my delight at what has been achieved.

Interestingly, when we got out of the car alongside the pits on the first occasion, the first vehicle driven past us was a camion owned by Transports Beurlys, which appealed to my sense of coincidence.

Incidentally, in Reims itself there was an excellent museum where they had good detailed maps on the wall of the old circuits plus photos. The museum centred on the designs of the legendary M Charbonneaux, and there was a wonderful display of model pre WW2 Alfas.

Roger Lund

[Paul Hurdsfield]

We called in on our way back from Italy in August.

 

 

 

 

 

We also visited Paul Ricard

 

Dijon Prenois

 

And Monaco

 

Boy oh boy it was HOT.

[Vitesse2]

An unusual 1939 view of Caracciola taking the corner at Gueux during practice, which I believe must have been taken either from the upper storey of the building shown on the right of Ray's picture or from the top of the low wall which connects it to the next building on Rue de la Gare. Note the elaborate crowd protection ...

 

[Alan Cox]

Open wheelers on the old track for the first time in 50 years-- someone had to do it.....

Great to hear your story, 'Brabham BT21', and congratulations on getting the Brabham commemoration organised. However, open-wheelers have appeared in recent years on a number of occasions when the Amis organised a number of Weekends of Excellence. Mercedes supported the early ones and I recall that Jean Alesi appeared with a W196. Here is a report on the 2009 gathering with a number of single-seaters illustrated
http://www.sportscar...-gueux-circuit/

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by john winfield
.....the fast left-hander leading up to it now peters out in a field

The much-widened main road is just over the brow.

[LittleChris]

Pretty certain I've posted this before but there's a small un-named memorial to the left of the road just before the left hander ( Bretelle Nord I think ) that Ray's posted above.
Any ideas who it may be in memory of?