The Italian Job Tour 2013 - A pic heavy road trip report
Discussion
A couple of years ago in May I took a group of friends in three cars on a trip around some parts of Europe that we all wanted to visit. A bit naive at the time, the mountain passes didn’t really work in our favour due to the snow. My old 106 Rallye I had then was tiring to drive that distance in and although we enjoyed our holiday anyway, I learnt some lessons and on my return started planning the second attempt. In September this year The Italian Job Tour became a reality.
We now had an extra car, but each one had two insured drivers. I was now in the S2000 naturally with my cousin Jez as co driver. Ed and Zoe were this time in Zoe’s 1.4 Polo as Ed had taken his car last time and the Polo was much cheaper to do the trip in. Lee came in the Clio 200 again, with Sean as a passenger this time. And the noobs Steff and Davo who had planned to use a diesel Passat to cut costs ended up in a lovely red 2.0 convertible. No, not another S2000, but a £400 306 cabriolet with a knackered exhaust and budget tyres. This was going to be fun!
Day 1 - Dunkerque to Luxembourg
A boring drive to cover the mileage needed to get us to the exciting stuff. Day starts well with the Polo needing a puncture repairing but we then get underway avoiding Brussels on the E42. First stop is near Mons at the Strepy Thieu boat lift, the tallest in the world currently. More interesting than stopping in a services and certainly worth a look if you’re travelling that way. After some torrential rain, causing me to put the roof up while driving along the motorway we then reach Spa and do the usual wandering into the paddock. Final drive of the day is over the border to Luxembourg for some V Power that works out at £1.10 a litre! Dinner tonight in Luxembourg City, found a nice mexican restaurant. Would have been nice to have a look round the place in the light but that wasn’t really what we were there for.
Polo repairs
Steff gets the cab stickered up
Top down on the belgian motorway
Strepy Thieu boat lift
The ‘usual’ Eau Rouge shot
Convoy at Spa
Day 2 - Luxembourg to Fribourg
We head further south today, main point of interest being the Vosges mountains, home of the french WRC stages and a road along the summits called the ‘Route des Cretes’. I’d driven one of the passes here six years ago in my first Rallye though today I got to do all of them. In the fog! Since we got to the start of the route at St Die it didn’t stop being miserable. Up the Col du Bonhomme we had a brief dry spell and some views down the valley but from there it was two hours of nothing. Boring. We dropped roofs at the highest point and headed down off the mountains into sun and across the border into Switzerland. From there an hour on the motorway got us to Fribourg and again a drive into the city centre for dinner.
Col du Bonhomme
Route des Cretes in the fog
Descending the Grand Ballon and into the sun
Suddenly the S2000 feels little
Sandwich time
Steff just popped inside quickly
Day 3 - Fribourg to Annecy
One of the highlights of the trip and the weather for the majority of the day made it special. Down to Martigny on the motorway and then the climb begins up the Grand St Bernard pass. I’m beginning to question the reviews telling me the swiss side is boring but the way down the italian side is spectacular. And the first reference to the film we were paying homage to comes in on this stretch of road, being the part driven by the Lamborghini in the opening credits. Naturally, Matt Munro is on the stereo and I’ve got my sunnies on. Simply magic. Petit St Bernard next, poor road surface so I left the lower cars behind for a bit and enjoyed the series of tight hairpins on my own. Arguably a better drive than the GSB, in my opinion anyway, though the higher of the two wins for scenery. We drove through the tunnel from the film too, no bulldozers today... On the descent, we’re ahead of schedule, so I add another pass to the itinerary, the Cormet du Roselend, another ascent to nearly 2000m, very tight and twisty and great fun on the southern side, however the scenery we were promised around the lake on the northern side was replaced with cloud and drizzle, eventually becoming rain. Not ideal with the tonneau cover on… Tonight’s evening activities took place in Annecy, with dinner along the picturesque canalside.
About to head up the GSB
GSB Swiss side
GSB Swiss side
GSB Summit
Cab repairs
GSB Italian side
GSB Italian side
Opening scene from The Italian Job
Mont Blanc scene from The Italian Job
PSB Summit with my added sticker
Descent from the Cormet du Roselend in the rain
Annecy at night
Day 4 - Annecy to Nice
A first taste of the french toll motorways, I’d avoided as much as possible after being stung last time and soon we’re off onto the Route Napoleon. Not quite what I was expecting, given the mountainous area I thought it would be a day of passes, but it was more of A road cruising. Quite leisurely and relaxing anyway with the sun out and we stopped for lunch atop the Col du Bayard. We had a detour around Digne thanks to the sat nav, a poorly maintained single track road with short steep climbs and hairpins. I treated it as a rally stage, again the lower cars took their time, the cab drove through a field… Onwards towards Castellane was the highlight for me, Col des Leques. Following a local is always good if they know the road. Even if they’re in a Yaris. Having a nutter on your tail is less good, though amusing if they’re in a 306 cab. And even after passing the Yaris, we had a good dogfight over and down the other side until I yielded to the brake fade. At this point, the cab’s brakes were on fire. From Castellane it was down through Grasse to Antibes to complete the Route Napoleon and refuel. Final hour was spent crawling 5 miles towards Nice in Friday rush hour traffic. Evening spent in Villeneuve Loubet walking along the beach and finding a nice bar on the harbour side. €9 a beer though, we made sure we took a load of glasses home for that price!
Route Napoleon north of Gap
Lunch at Col du Bayard
That detour...
Cooling the brakes
River through Castellane
On the beach at Villeneuve Loubet
Pearl white yacht to match your Maserati?
Villeneuve Loubet harbour
Day 5 - Nice to Monaco to Nice
A day off from major driving, just to tackle a way through Nice and out the other side. That took a while! Arriving above Casino Square we drive down the hill to St Devote and do a u-turn to drive the complete lap. I then miss Casino Square altogether so we go round and do another. VTEC up the hill makes everybody look around (big grin!) and likewise through the tunnel. And then we’re off to find the car park and explore on foot. McDonalds first for lunch, then the beach where Davo looks after our clothes and kit and everyone else takes a dip, given that it’s sunny and boiling. I think we spent about three hours in the sea, but it was worth it. Next, up to Casino Square on foot, past the Bentley, Rolls Royce and McLaren showrooms and then down to the pit lane exit for an evening meal. The waiter warned me against the cheeseburger, I had it anyway, I won’t do next time. Just to drive back to the hotel again at which point I hear the classic S2000 timing chain tensioner failure noise. I’m equipped with a spare and a bag of tools, including sandpaper, so that’s the rest of my night sorted fixing it up to be swapped over.
Loews Hairpin
Approaching Rascasse
Monaco harbour
Inviting clear water
McLaren showroom
Bentley dealership
Loews Hairpin again
St Devote
Coolest car in Monaco
Found in the multi storey...
Day 6 - Nice to Como
Cold, wet and miserable. We were in Monaco on the right day as there wasn’t a break from the rain and drizzle for the whole day. Autostrada dei Fiori first, costs about £30 in tolls to drive through Italy but this stretch is almost worth it. Tunnel, viaduct, tunnel, viaduct, repeat for about 50 miles and then we turn north and head to Turin. It’s the Italian Job connection here again at Lingotto, the old Fiat factory from the film being a shopping mall these days. We reached the north ramp where the Minis are seen going up to the rooftop, but the track was out of bounds. Closest we managed was the art gallery lobby giving a good view of the banking. The rest of Turin seemed a dump, it was dead, possibly being a Sunday and we were then on towards Milan and next stop at Monza. We found the old (very steep) banking next to T1, which we climbed and then got onto the track for some photos. Still wet, we didn’t hang around. Paid €2.07 a litre for V Power down the road. Ouch! Headed to Como and stopped in a DIY store (still open at 7pm on a Sunday!) for a bolt I needed for my repair. We had dinner out on the lakeside in a restaurant we’d been at two years ago. Pizza, of course, being in Italy.
Rampa Nord, Lingotto
Lingotto rooftop test track
Monza old banking
Steeper than it looks!
Monza T1
TCT repairs in the Ibis
Day 7 - Como to Chur
A bit brighter today, first things first I swapped the TCT over and cured the S2000. Happy days. Little in the way of motorway driving, it’s all main roads as we head east. Nipped across into Switzerland (actually 5 metres over the border) to a Shell that was much more reasonably priced! Carried on to Bormio then it got serious. This is the western edge of Stelvio Pass and what really stands out is how quickly you climb once it starts. Even with less hairpins on this side, it’s ridiculously steep. At the top, Steff (who passengered on the way up) disappeared to re-drive the section we’d just come up. We had a convoy of supercars meet us at the top, unexpected, but quite welcome, as the summit was again, wet and cold. The eastern side is just madness. As every review says, it’s not a driving road in the sense that Top Gear made it out and I already knew that. It’s stunning, it has to be driven to be seen properly but other than that it’s a second gear crawl. And it leaves you in the middle of nowhere. So we head north west, back into Switzerland over the Ofen Pass and onto Fluela Pass. Fluela has the ingredients to be one of the very best passes, open, wide, smooth and flowing. But it was wet again… So, on to Chur, which we didn’t see much of in the wet. Our hotel was a giant white pyramid with a McDonalds underneath, so that was dinner sorted. Stayed in and watch Dumm and Dummer (in German) instead.
Fuel stop in Switzerland
Looking down the western side of Stelvio
Heading to the summit
The air pressure gets really low up here!
The famous sign
And with S2000 too!
Looking down the famous eastern side
Clio descending Stelvio
S2000 and 306 descending Stelvio
It’s a magnificent road
Fluela Pass in the wet
How not to drive the Fluela Pass
Day 8 - Chur to Mulhouse
Original intention was to go to Zurich, but we had nothing booked in case of snow and road closures. Zurich hotels were fully booked so we changed the plan. First up, Oberalp Pass, a little cloudy but dry and enjoyable, the drop into Andermatt is incredible, you actually don’t see the town below you until you’re almost there. Great view into the Urseren Valley. We didn’t stop in the town as we had ground to make up and we’d stopped there on the previous trip, so we went straight for Furka Pass and the rest of the Andermatt loop. Closed. Bugger! We had a snowball fight and lunch instead until some bikers came down over the pass, told us it was all clear and we went for it, through the barriers! So glad we did, absolute highlight of the trip, dry, clear, empty, snow covering everything in sight except the road and the best view of the fortnight from the Rhone glacier out over the valley to Gletsch. Grimsel Pass was closed, so the loop was out of the question, we could only go south west from this point and ended up miles out of our way. Sat nav then told us to board a train. Tired and wary of this, given that we had at least another two hours of motorway ahead, we weren’t sure at first. I tried a bit of German and got the answer we wanted. 22 Francs later and we were onboard and being dragged through ten miles of mountain at 40mph! It was an experience if nothing else, and it put us on the northern side of the Alps heading back up the other side of the motorway we’d travelled down to Fribourg. We checked in at Mulhouse, with our last long day over and took the hotel receptionist’s recommendation of a quiet restaurant down the road.
Oberalp Pass
Andermatt
View east from Furka Pass
Lunch stop half way up Furka Pass
Carrying on regardless
Furka Pass summit
Looking back along Furka Pass
Clio descending Furka Pass
View of the Rhone from Furka Pass
Lotschberg railway
Day 9 - Mulhouse to Mannheim
Not much driving today, so the morning was spent with an unplanned visit to the Schlumpf Collection, France’s national motor museum. And for something unexpected we were all quite pleased, a reasonably priced and very interesting museum, the two original Bugatti Royales were a real sight to see, plus a Veyron and a hall full of classic GP cars. A quick drive over the border saw us in Germany for the first time where we would spent the next couple of days. We cut across country to join our intended route from Zurich although once again the weather was coming in and as we climbed again it got cold and miserable. The top of the Black Forest high road wasn’t the best place for lunch but we stopped there anyway before continuing. Probably unfair to say, given the weather, but Germany’s proclaimed ‘best biking road’ seemed a little dull with a convoy of cars and before long we were plodding along motorways again. Until the derestricted sign that is… At which point I thought I’d see where VTEC kicks in in 6th. That’ll be 112mph then, or there abouts. Further up the motorway, one of my regular stop offs is Hockenheim. We couldn’t get on track here, but we did get into the paddock to watch the end of the track day. Afterwards it was a short stint to Mannheim for the night.
Rally cars at Schlumpf Collection
Schlumpf Collection main hall
Classic GP cars…
...and some a bit more modern
£10m+ of Bugatti Royale
Schwarzwaldhochstrasse - Black Forest high road
Paddock side at Hockenheim
Above the pit lane at Hockenheim
Day 10 - Mannheim to Adenau
Up early and on the road as soon as possible, arriving at our hotel for 11am! Well, we were all excited to be at the Nurburgring again. We also met up with more friends here, Matt, who had been my passenger on the previous trip and his girlfriend Tamsin. Lunch was standard currywurst, then the afternoon was spent in the visitors centre shop and on the Raceroom simulators before the track opened. First lap I went out in the cab with Jez following in the S2000, then we all swapped over and I did a lap driving my car with Ed as passenger. The rest of the evening session was spent taking it in turns to go out with a 13,000 lap veteran in his ‘standard’ MX-5. This guy knew the track and how to drive it, putting my S2000 laps to shame. I just grinned the whole way round. Now I just want my car to handle like that! And with everyone else white as a sheet from the experience, it was dinner time at my favourite restaurant. In the Pistenklause, nobody looked at the menu. Everybody just nodded in agreement and ten raw steaks soon appeared, served on a boiling hot stone. You just don’t eat anything else here, it’s not the done thing. After dinner, a short walk up the track was taken and a little decoration added to the fresh tarmac at Wehrseifen.
Home for the night
Important supplies
Queuing to refuel
S2000 in action
Fun in the cab
Steak!
Leaving our mark
Day 11 - Adenau to Brussels
20th September. Conveniently, my Birthday. I’d planned this well. Inclusive hotel breakfast to start the day, then a bit of exploration around the Sudschleife area, which included the S2000 and the cab taking to the skidpan for five minutes before official looking people turned up and we quietly left. There was racing on the GP circuit, though no free way in to see anything, so we abandoned that idea and went for lunch. Pinocchio’s pizzeria is infamous for it’s generous portions and the noobs as always ordered the XXL. Which is always funny to see. I had candles added to my birthday margarita, which in turn prompted generosity from the staff, first with a complimentary dessert and then a free bottle of wine. We got moving after lunch, up the road and through the Altenahr tunnels and onto the motorway. Through Holland briefly and then back into the uninteresting void of Belgium, where after successfully keeping the convoy round the ring road interchanges we arrived at our hotel. We stayed in for the night rather than face the drive into the city centre.
Birthdaymobile
Steff’s view of the GP circuit
Interesting M3 pickup
306 cab at Nurburgring
My idea of a birthday cake
Present that Steff acquired for me, we put it up in the hotel that night
Day 12 - Brussels to Dunkerque and Home
Final day was an absolute nothing, which we always knew. It was a lie in, then a short drive to the ferry to be home by early evening. And in those terms it went well. We arrived in Dunkerque early, so spent our remaining Euros on a McDonalds lunch before heading to the port. After the crossing, we said our goodbyes as we all headed off in different directions. Me and Jez prayed for good weather, given that the 306 that had been carrying our kit was now gone and we were left with the tonneau cover fitted and no room in the boot! We reached home just before 8pm, luckily only having a little drizzle to contend with and the S2000 was tucked in under it’s cover for a deserved rest!
Polo and Clio heading for home
Top down in the birthday wagon
Waiting to board
Highlights
Grand St Bernard, Italian side - That road, that scenery and that music
Monaco beach - Best weather of the holiday spent chilling out
Furka Pass - Nobody on it but us, an epic drive
A lap in that MX-5 - It opened my eyes if nothing else, and made me want to faster
Next time?
Before the trip I said this would be the last. But now I’ve got unfinished business. Next year I’ll be doing a weekend or two on the cheap without my car but in 2015 I’ll go back for just over a week. I’m still yet to do the Andermatt loop, I’d like to revisit the Fluela and the Vosges in better weather, perhaps July, and I’d like to do the GSB again too, combined with the highest french passes, Col de L'Iseran and Bonnette. Pins are being pushed into the map as we speak…
We now had an extra car, but each one had two insured drivers. I was now in the S2000 naturally with my cousin Jez as co driver. Ed and Zoe were this time in Zoe’s 1.4 Polo as Ed had taken his car last time and the Polo was much cheaper to do the trip in. Lee came in the Clio 200 again, with Sean as a passenger this time. And the noobs Steff and Davo who had planned to use a diesel Passat to cut costs ended up in a lovely red 2.0 convertible. No, not another S2000, but a £400 306 cabriolet with a knackered exhaust and budget tyres. This was going to be fun!
Day 1 - Dunkerque to Luxembourg
A boring drive to cover the mileage needed to get us to the exciting stuff. Day starts well with the Polo needing a puncture repairing but we then get underway avoiding Brussels on the E42. First stop is near Mons at the Strepy Thieu boat lift, the tallest in the world currently. More interesting than stopping in a services and certainly worth a look if you’re travelling that way. After some torrential rain, causing me to put the roof up while driving along the motorway we then reach Spa and do the usual wandering into the paddock. Final drive of the day is over the border to Luxembourg for some V Power that works out at £1.10 a litre! Dinner tonight in Luxembourg City, found a nice mexican restaurant. Would have been nice to have a look round the place in the light but that wasn’t really what we were there for.
Polo repairs
Steff gets the cab stickered up
Top down on the belgian motorway
Strepy Thieu boat lift
The ‘usual’ Eau Rouge shot
Convoy at Spa
Day 2 - Luxembourg to Fribourg
We head further south today, main point of interest being the Vosges mountains, home of the french WRC stages and a road along the summits called the ‘Route des Cretes’. I’d driven one of the passes here six years ago in my first Rallye though today I got to do all of them. In the fog! Since we got to the start of the route at St Die it didn’t stop being miserable. Up the Col du Bonhomme we had a brief dry spell and some views down the valley but from there it was two hours of nothing. Boring. We dropped roofs at the highest point and headed down off the mountains into sun and across the border into Switzerland. From there an hour on the motorway got us to Fribourg and again a drive into the city centre for dinner.
Col du Bonhomme
Route des Cretes in the fog
Descending the Grand Ballon and into the sun
Suddenly the S2000 feels little
Sandwich time
Steff just popped inside quickly
Day 3 - Fribourg to Annecy
One of the highlights of the trip and the weather for the majority of the day made it special. Down to Martigny on the motorway and then the climb begins up the Grand St Bernard pass. I’m beginning to question the reviews telling me the swiss side is boring but the way down the italian side is spectacular. And the first reference to the film we were paying homage to comes in on this stretch of road, being the part driven by the Lamborghini in the opening credits. Naturally, Matt Munro is on the stereo and I’ve got my sunnies on. Simply magic. Petit St Bernard next, poor road surface so I left the lower cars behind for a bit and enjoyed the series of tight hairpins on my own. Arguably a better drive than the GSB, in my opinion anyway, though the higher of the two wins for scenery. We drove through the tunnel from the film too, no bulldozers today... On the descent, we’re ahead of schedule, so I add another pass to the itinerary, the Cormet du Roselend, another ascent to nearly 2000m, very tight and twisty and great fun on the southern side, however the scenery we were promised around the lake on the northern side was replaced with cloud and drizzle, eventually becoming rain. Not ideal with the tonneau cover on… Tonight’s evening activities took place in Annecy, with dinner along the picturesque canalside.
About to head up the GSB
GSB Swiss side
GSB Swiss side
GSB Summit
Cab repairs
GSB Italian side
GSB Italian side
Opening scene from The Italian Job
Mont Blanc scene from The Italian Job
PSB Summit with my added sticker
Descent from the Cormet du Roselend in the rain
Annecy at night
Day 4 - Annecy to Nice
A first taste of the french toll motorways, I’d avoided as much as possible after being stung last time and soon we’re off onto the Route Napoleon. Not quite what I was expecting, given the mountainous area I thought it would be a day of passes, but it was more of A road cruising. Quite leisurely and relaxing anyway with the sun out and we stopped for lunch atop the Col du Bayard. We had a detour around Digne thanks to the sat nav, a poorly maintained single track road with short steep climbs and hairpins. I treated it as a rally stage, again the lower cars took their time, the cab drove through a field… Onwards towards Castellane was the highlight for me, Col des Leques. Following a local is always good if they know the road. Even if they’re in a Yaris. Having a nutter on your tail is less good, though amusing if they’re in a 306 cab. And even after passing the Yaris, we had a good dogfight over and down the other side until I yielded to the brake fade. At this point, the cab’s brakes were on fire. From Castellane it was down through Grasse to Antibes to complete the Route Napoleon and refuel. Final hour was spent crawling 5 miles towards Nice in Friday rush hour traffic. Evening spent in Villeneuve Loubet walking along the beach and finding a nice bar on the harbour side. €9 a beer though, we made sure we took a load of glasses home for that price!
Route Napoleon north of Gap
Lunch at Col du Bayard
That detour...
Cooling the brakes
River through Castellane
On the beach at Villeneuve Loubet
Pearl white yacht to match your Maserati?
Villeneuve Loubet harbour
Day 5 - Nice to Monaco to Nice
A day off from major driving, just to tackle a way through Nice and out the other side. That took a while! Arriving above Casino Square we drive down the hill to St Devote and do a u-turn to drive the complete lap. I then miss Casino Square altogether so we go round and do another. VTEC up the hill makes everybody look around (big grin!) and likewise through the tunnel. And then we’re off to find the car park and explore on foot. McDonalds first for lunch, then the beach where Davo looks after our clothes and kit and everyone else takes a dip, given that it’s sunny and boiling. I think we spent about three hours in the sea, but it was worth it. Next, up to Casino Square on foot, past the Bentley, Rolls Royce and McLaren showrooms and then down to the pit lane exit for an evening meal. The waiter warned me against the cheeseburger, I had it anyway, I won’t do next time. Just to drive back to the hotel again at which point I hear the classic S2000 timing chain tensioner failure noise. I’m equipped with a spare and a bag of tools, including sandpaper, so that’s the rest of my night sorted fixing it up to be swapped over.
Loews Hairpin
Approaching Rascasse
Monaco harbour
Inviting clear water
McLaren showroom
Bentley dealership
Loews Hairpin again
St Devote
Coolest car in Monaco
Found in the multi storey...
Day 6 - Nice to Como
Cold, wet and miserable. We were in Monaco on the right day as there wasn’t a break from the rain and drizzle for the whole day. Autostrada dei Fiori first, costs about £30 in tolls to drive through Italy but this stretch is almost worth it. Tunnel, viaduct, tunnel, viaduct, repeat for about 50 miles and then we turn north and head to Turin. It’s the Italian Job connection here again at Lingotto, the old Fiat factory from the film being a shopping mall these days. We reached the north ramp where the Minis are seen going up to the rooftop, but the track was out of bounds. Closest we managed was the art gallery lobby giving a good view of the banking. The rest of Turin seemed a dump, it was dead, possibly being a Sunday and we were then on towards Milan and next stop at Monza. We found the old (very steep) banking next to T1, which we climbed and then got onto the track for some photos. Still wet, we didn’t hang around. Paid €2.07 a litre for V Power down the road. Ouch! Headed to Como and stopped in a DIY store (still open at 7pm on a Sunday!) for a bolt I needed for my repair. We had dinner out on the lakeside in a restaurant we’d been at two years ago. Pizza, of course, being in Italy.
Rampa Nord, Lingotto
Lingotto rooftop test track
Monza old banking
Steeper than it looks!
Monza T1
TCT repairs in the Ibis
Day 7 - Como to Chur
A bit brighter today, first things first I swapped the TCT over and cured the S2000. Happy days. Little in the way of motorway driving, it’s all main roads as we head east. Nipped across into Switzerland (actually 5 metres over the border) to a Shell that was much more reasonably priced! Carried on to Bormio then it got serious. This is the western edge of Stelvio Pass and what really stands out is how quickly you climb once it starts. Even with less hairpins on this side, it’s ridiculously steep. At the top, Steff (who passengered on the way up) disappeared to re-drive the section we’d just come up. We had a convoy of supercars meet us at the top, unexpected, but quite welcome, as the summit was again, wet and cold. The eastern side is just madness. As every review says, it’s not a driving road in the sense that Top Gear made it out and I already knew that. It’s stunning, it has to be driven to be seen properly but other than that it’s a second gear crawl. And it leaves you in the middle of nowhere. So we head north west, back into Switzerland over the Ofen Pass and onto Fluela Pass. Fluela has the ingredients to be one of the very best passes, open, wide, smooth and flowing. But it was wet again… So, on to Chur, which we didn’t see much of in the wet. Our hotel was a giant white pyramid with a McDonalds underneath, so that was dinner sorted. Stayed in and watch Dumm and Dummer (in German) instead.
Fuel stop in Switzerland
Looking down the western side of Stelvio
Heading to the summit
The air pressure gets really low up here!
The famous sign
And with S2000 too!
Looking down the famous eastern side
Clio descending Stelvio
S2000 and 306 descending Stelvio
It’s a magnificent road
Fluela Pass in the wet
How not to drive the Fluela Pass
Day 8 - Chur to Mulhouse
Original intention was to go to Zurich, but we had nothing booked in case of snow and road closures. Zurich hotels were fully booked so we changed the plan. First up, Oberalp Pass, a little cloudy but dry and enjoyable, the drop into Andermatt is incredible, you actually don’t see the town below you until you’re almost there. Great view into the Urseren Valley. We didn’t stop in the town as we had ground to make up and we’d stopped there on the previous trip, so we went straight for Furka Pass and the rest of the Andermatt loop. Closed. Bugger! We had a snowball fight and lunch instead until some bikers came down over the pass, told us it was all clear and we went for it, through the barriers! So glad we did, absolute highlight of the trip, dry, clear, empty, snow covering everything in sight except the road and the best view of the fortnight from the Rhone glacier out over the valley to Gletsch. Grimsel Pass was closed, so the loop was out of the question, we could only go south west from this point and ended up miles out of our way. Sat nav then told us to board a train. Tired and wary of this, given that we had at least another two hours of motorway ahead, we weren’t sure at first. I tried a bit of German and got the answer we wanted. 22 Francs later and we were onboard and being dragged through ten miles of mountain at 40mph! It was an experience if nothing else, and it put us on the northern side of the Alps heading back up the other side of the motorway we’d travelled down to Fribourg. We checked in at Mulhouse, with our last long day over and took the hotel receptionist’s recommendation of a quiet restaurant down the road.
Oberalp Pass
Andermatt
View east from Furka Pass
Lunch stop half way up Furka Pass
Carrying on regardless
Furka Pass summit
Looking back along Furka Pass
Clio descending Furka Pass
View of the Rhone from Furka Pass
Lotschberg railway
Day 9 - Mulhouse to Mannheim
Not much driving today, so the morning was spent with an unplanned visit to the Schlumpf Collection, France’s national motor museum. And for something unexpected we were all quite pleased, a reasonably priced and very interesting museum, the two original Bugatti Royales were a real sight to see, plus a Veyron and a hall full of classic GP cars. A quick drive over the border saw us in Germany for the first time where we would spent the next couple of days. We cut across country to join our intended route from Zurich although once again the weather was coming in and as we climbed again it got cold and miserable. The top of the Black Forest high road wasn’t the best place for lunch but we stopped there anyway before continuing. Probably unfair to say, given the weather, but Germany’s proclaimed ‘best biking road’ seemed a little dull with a convoy of cars and before long we were plodding along motorways again. Until the derestricted sign that is… At which point I thought I’d see where VTEC kicks in in 6th. That’ll be 112mph then, or there abouts. Further up the motorway, one of my regular stop offs is Hockenheim. We couldn’t get on track here, but we did get into the paddock to watch the end of the track day. Afterwards it was a short stint to Mannheim for the night.
Rally cars at Schlumpf Collection
Schlumpf Collection main hall
Classic GP cars…
...and some a bit more modern
£10m+ of Bugatti Royale
Schwarzwaldhochstrasse - Black Forest high road
Paddock side at Hockenheim
Above the pit lane at Hockenheim
Day 10 - Mannheim to Adenau
Up early and on the road as soon as possible, arriving at our hotel for 11am! Well, we were all excited to be at the Nurburgring again. We also met up with more friends here, Matt, who had been my passenger on the previous trip and his girlfriend Tamsin. Lunch was standard currywurst, then the afternoon was spent in the visitors centre shop and on the Raceroom simulators before the track opened. First lap I went out in the cab with Jez following in the S2000, then we all swapped over and I did a lap driving my car with Ed as passenger. The rest of the evening session was spent taking it in turns to go out with a 13,000 lap veteran in his ‘standard’ MX-5. This guy knew the track and how to drive it, putting my S2000 laps to shame. I just grinned the whole way round. Now I just want my car to handle like that! And with everyone else white as a sheet from the experience, it was dinner time at my favourite restaurant. In the Pistenklause, nobody looked at the menu. Everybody just nodded in agreement and ten raw steaks soon appeared, served on a boiling hot stone. You just don’t eat anything else here, it’s not the done thing. After dinner, a short walk up the track was taken and a little decoration added to the fresh tarmac at Wehrseifen.
Home for the night
Important supplies
Queuing to refuel
S2000 in action
Fun in the cab
Steak!
Leaving our mark
Day 11 - Adenau to Brussels
20th September. Conveniently, my Birthday. I’d planned this well. Inclusive hotel breakfast to start the day, then a bit of exploration around the Sudschleife area, which included the S2000 and the cab taking to the skidpan for five minutes before official looking people turned up and we quietly left. There was racing on the GP circuit, though no free way in to see anything, so we abandoned that idea and went for lunch. Pinocchio’s pizzeria is infamous for it’s generous portions and the noobs as always ordered the XXL. Which is always funny to see. I had candles added to my birthday margarita, which in turn prompted generosity from the staff, first with a complimentary dessert and then a free bottle of wine. We got moving after lunch, up the road and through the Altenahr tunnels and onto the motorway. Through Holland briefly and then back into the uninteresting void of Belgium, where after successfully keeping the convoy round the ring road interchanges we arrived at our hotel. We stayed in for the night rather than face the drive into the city centre.
Birthdaymobile
Steff’s view of the GP circuit
Interesting M3 pickup
306 cab at Nurburgring
My idea of a birthday cake
Present that Steff acquired for me, we put it up in the hotel that night
Day 12 - Brussels to Dunkerque and Home
Final day was an absolute nothing, which we always knew. It was a lie in, then a short drive to the ferry to be home by early evening. And in those terms it went well. We arrived in Dunkerque early, so spent our remaining Euros on a McDonalds lunch before heading to the port. After the crossing, we said our goodbyes as we all headed off in different directions. Me and Jez prayed for good weather, given that the 306 that had been carrying our kit was now gone and we were left with the tonneau cover fitted and no room in the boot! We reached home just before 8pm, luckily only having a little drizzle to contend with and the S2000 was tucked in under it’s cover for a deserved rest!
Polo and Clio heading for home
Top down in the birthday wagon
Waiting to board
Highlights
Grand St Bernard, Italian side - That road, that scenery and that music
Monaco beach - Best weather of the holiday spent chilling out
Furka Pass - Nobody on it but us, an epic drive
A lap in that MX-5 - It opened my eyes if nothing else, and made me want to faster
Next time?
Before the trip I said this would be the last. But now I’ve got unfinished business. Next year I’ll be doing a weekend or two on the cheap without my car but in 2015 I’ll go back for just over a week. I’m still yet to do the Andermatt loop, I’d like to revisit the Fluela and the Vosges in better weather, perhaps July, and I’d like to do the GSB again too, combined with the highest french passes, Col de L'Iseran and Bonnette. Pins are being pushed into the map as we speak…
Epic, a great read with superb photos, and so much better/more interesting than this effort :
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Thankyou
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Thankyou
Great trip by the looks of it! I enjoyed skimming through that while I should be working 
Isn't Switzerland beautiful? We didn't see a huge amount of it when we went, but we visited Lake Constance and the Rhine Falls etc. and it was amazing.
I'd definitely love to do another one next year, funds permitting. As for the Pistenklause..... those steaks!!! Bloody lovely. We also went to Pinocchio's, as is tradition, and I had a delicious, huge, pizza! My OH had a pasta dish, and once she started it she discovered that it contained blue cheese, which makes her feel a bit ill. It was that nice she ate it anyway!
Thanks for sharing!
Isn't Switzerland beautiful? We didn't see a huge amount of it when we went, but we visited Lake Constance and the Rhine Falls etc. and it was amazing.
I'd definitely love to do another one next year, funds permitting. As for the Pistenklause..... those steaks!!! Bloody lovely. We also went to Pinocchio's, as is tradition, and I had a delicious, huge, pizza! My OH had a pasta dish, and once she started it she discovered that it contained blue cheese, which makes her feel a bit ill. It was that nice she ate it anyway!
Thanks for sharing!
Great pics and story there. Looks like you were unlucky with the weather.
We did similar over 8 days in early September and only had 1 bad day of weather, 3 nights in Wilderswil,Suisse and 3 in Tirano,Italy. Did the Black Forest in Germany each way.
Did the Susten,Grimsel,Furka,Simplon,Oberlapass,Splugen,Gotthard,Aprica,Gavia,Stelvio,Foscagno, Fluela, Bernina, Albula and Julierpasses. Few more I can't remember ! 2788 miles in total.
Best hol of my life. Thinking of doing either Basque region of Spain (ferry from Portsmouth)or Dolomites next year.
We did similar over 8 days in early September and only had 1 bad day of weather, 3 nights in Wilderswil,Suisse and 3 in Tirano,Italy. Did the Black Forest in Germany each way.
Did the Susten,Grimsel,Furka,Simplon,Oberlapass,Splugen,Gotthard,Aprica,Gavia,Stelvio,Foscagno, Fluela, Bernina, Albula and Julierpasses. Few more I can't remember ! 2788 miles in total.
Best hol of my life. Thinking of doing either Basque region of Spain (ferry from Portsmouth)or Dolomites next year.
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