European Road Trip!
Discussion
Last night I switched off the engine of my 997.1 GT3 and I just sat in the car, listening to the silence and the gentle pinging of metal. I had just completed 100 odd miles of motorway from Portsmouth which was the last run on the back of a 2700 mile trip across Europe with the guys from Petrolhead Nirvana. I sat there in the silence for a few minutes..... until the fan kicked in and the wife shouted at me to come inside 
There have been many threads on the GT3, some of them discuss the value of this car and whether it’s likely to go up or down or remain static, some discuss the technical aspects and how the chassis can be tailored and tweaked and some are buying guides seeking advice on buying and running these amazing machines but the threads I personally like best are the road trip threads. The threads where someone has been out in their car and truly bonded with it.
I hope you enjoy this thread because I loved doing the trip.
Day 1 - Off to France
Bachi has a quote about these trips he runs and it goes something like this "...its a road trip with a bunch of mates you have not met yet" I could not agree more. There was a great bunch of cars setting off on this trip.
On the eurotunnel...
First fuel stop of many....
Day 2 - France to Stelvio
Off into the Black Forest today, then south into Switzerland through Davos and over the Fluelapass towards Bormio, before attacking the Stelvio Pass, hotel was at the top. I had heard horror stories of there being inches of snow in the morning on past trips so I was crossing my fingers for the morning, luckily when we woke up the sun was shining!
Morning you noisy boys.
Taking a break.
Top of Stelvio.
Italian Pork Sandwich.
Stelvio road.
Day 3 - Stelvio to Furka
This was the first “passes day”, via Lake Livigno and St Moritz then onto Julier Pass, followed by San Bernardino, Susten, and Grimsel. Our hotel was at the foot of the Furka pass (convenient
A mate and I got lost and we ended up skipping the Grimsel pass and went over the Nufenen pass instead and caught up with the rest of the guys at the hotel.
Lake Livigno.
Getting lost and finding a great road.
A few issues today, one of the 911's lost its exhaust tips and all the hot gasses were threatening to melt the rear bumper so new exhaust tips were fashioned from two cans of beer
RAC Patrolman eat your heart out
Day 4 - Furka to Bourg St Maurice
Today was the Furka and St Gotthard pass then back over Nufenen before heading down past Sion and then up over Grand St Bernard into Italy, and the Petit St Bernard into France.
St Bernard
Day 5 - Bourg St Maurice to Carpentras
Passing through Val D’Isere we then climbed the Col D L’Iseran, continuing on to the amazing Col Du Galibier before heading cross country to the foot of Mont Ventoux. When we got to the hotel we heard rumours that Mont Ventoux was closed due to a film crew being up there. We were a little concerned because we wanted to take a trip up first thing in the morning to see the sunrise so Bachi and I decided to do a reccee run up.
Col Du Galibier
It turned out that there was a film crew making a movie about cycling and the top would be closed off from 8am onwards, it would be no problem then for us to do a dawn raid at 7am
Mont Ventoux
Day 6 - Carpentras to Carcassonne
Today was a great run through some open countryside off to the Millau Bridge. The roads were amazing with very fast open sections and very clear well-sighted lines. We ended the day at Carcassonne which is an amazing place with some of the walls dating back to Roman times!
Day 7 - Carcassonne to Jaca
Two national parks and a largely deserted Pyrenees!!! Epic epic epic! One of us got stopped for speeding today (luckily they got let off with a warning) but as the police officer that stopped them was a good looking female, there were many jokes about 'getting pulled off in a layby'
In the Pyrenees
To paraphrase Ferris Bueler, 'the scenery moves pretty fast, if you dont stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it'
Day 8 - Jaca to Santander
The fun is over, off to the ferry for the 24 hour trip home
All in all it was an amazing week with some great memories with a great bunch of people, some of them are on here
People talk about the GT3 and say 'if you dont take it on track you dont know what it can do'. I agree with this but also would like to add that if you have a GT3 and dont take it out on the wide and open roads in Europe you are doing the car and yourself a disservice, they really are truly amazing machines and this trip has once again cemented my love for this car. Its a very very capable machine which rewards you when you are smooth and considered with your inputs but also positively encourages you to get stuck in and be agressive on occasions.
It's a very flattering car to drive too and its so much more capable that I will ever be and thats just how I like it!
There have been many threads on the GT3, some of them discuss the value of this car and whether it’s likely to go up or down or remain static, some discuss the technical aspects and how the chassis can be tailored and tweaked and some are buying guides seeking advice on buying and running these amazing machines but the threads I personally like best are the road trip threads. The threads where someone has been out in their car and truly bonded with it.
I hope you enjoy this thread because I loved doing the trip.
Day 1 - Off to France
Bachi has a quote about these trips he runs and it goes something like this "...its a road trip with a bunch of mates you have not met yet" I could not agree more. There was a great bunch of cars setting off on this trip.
On the eurotunnel...
First fuel stop of many....
Day 2 - France to Stelvio
Off into the Black Forest today, then south into Switzerland through Davos and over the Fluelapass towards Bormio, before attacking the Stelvio Pass, hotel was at the top. I had heard horror stories of there being inches of snow in the morning on past trips so I was crossing my fingers for the morning, luckily when we woke up the sun was shining!
Morning you noisy boys.
Taking a break.
Top of Stelvio.
Italian Pork Sandwich.
Stelvio road.
Day 3 - Stelvio to Furka
This was the first “passes day”, via Lake Livigno and St Moritz then onto Julier Pass, followed by San Bernardino, Susten, and Grimsel. Our hotel was at the foot of the Furka pass (convenient
A mate and I got lost and we ended up skipping the Grimsel pass and went over the Nufenen pass instead and caught up with the rest of the guys at the hotel.Lake Livigno.
Getting lost and finding a great road.
A few issues today, one of the 911's lost its exhaust tips and all the hot gasses were threatening to melt the rear bumper so new exhaust tips were fashioned from two cans of beer
RAC Patrolman eat your heart out
Day 4 - Furka to Bourg St Maurice
Today was the Furka and St Gotthard pass then back over Nufenen before heading down past Sion and then up over Grand St Bernard into Italy, and the Petit St Bernard into France.
St Bernard
Day 5 - Bourg St Maurice to Carpentras
Passing through Val D’Isere we then climbed the Col D L’Iseran, continuing on to the amazing Col Du Galibier before heading cross country to the foot of Mont Ventoux. When we got to the hotel we heard rumours that Mont Ventoux was closed due to a film crew being up there. We were a little concerned because we wanted to take a trip up first thing in the morning to see the sunrise so Bachi and I decided to do a reccee run up.
Col Du Galibier
It turned out that there was a film crew making a movie about cycling and the top would be closed off from 8am onwards, it would be no problem then for us to do a dawn raid at 7am
Mont Ventoux
Day 6 - Carpentras to Carcassonne
Today was a great run through some open countryside off to the Millau Bridge. The roads were amazing with very fast open sections and very clear well-sighted lines. We ended the day at Carcassonne which is an amazing place with some of the walls dating back to Roman times!
Day 7 - Carcassonne to Jaca
Two national parks and a largely deserted Pyrenees!!! Epic epic epic! One of us got stopped for speeding today (luckily they got let off with a warning) but as the police officer that stopped them was a good looking female, there were many jokes about 'getting pulled off in a layby'
In the Pyrenees
To paraphrase Ferris Bueler, 'the scenery moves pretty fast, if you dont stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it'
Day 8 - Jaca to Santander
The fun is over, off to the ferry for the 24 hour trip home
All in all it was an amazing week with some great memories with a great bunch of people, some of them are on here
People talk about the GT3 and say 'if you dont take it on track you dont know what it can do'. I agree with this but also would like to add that if you have a GT3 and dont take it out on the wide and open roads in Europe you are doing the car and yourself a disservice, they really are truly amazing machines and this trip has once again cemented my love for this car. Its a very very capable machine which rewards you when you are smooth and considered with your inputs but also positively encourages you to get stuck in and be agressive on occasions.
It's a very flattering car to drive too and its so much more capable that I will ever be and thats just how I like it!
jackal said:
Fabulous .... take it you did the collada de toses + N260 on the way to Jaca ?
Not sure to be honest, most of the roads blurred into one long stretch 
We went up two col's that had loads of cyclists on and one of them were were being 'encouraged' to go a little quicker by the motorcyclists, who then cheered and gave us all thumbs up when we got to the top
When we went over the top of the Pyrenees, there was a road going down towards Jaca that looked like a massive scalextric track!
"People talk about the GT3 and say 'if you dont take it on track you dont know what it can do'. I agree with this but also would like to add that if you have a GT3 and dont take it out on the wide and open roads in Europe you are doing the car and yourself a disservice, they really are truly amazing machines and this trip has once again cemented my love for this car. Its a very very capable machine which rewards you when you are smooth and considered with your inputs but also positively encourages you to get stuck in and be agressive on occasions."
Excellent post and could not agree more with your comments. Having done the Alpine Assault 2014 and signed up for it again 2015 an epic road trip and adventure.
The GT3 is a beautiful car in all it's version.
Excellent post and could not agree more with your comments. Having done the Alpine Assault 2014 and signed up for it again 2015 an epic road trip and adventure.
The GT3 is a beautiful car in all it's version.
Only one day in the Pyrenees? Blimey.
Lokks like you had a great trip though
If you do it again, and want a good route back to Santander from Jaca, head to Logronno (bypassing south of Pamplona on the NA234 and NA601).
Use the old road from Logronno (the N232 not the autoroute) to ONA and then alongside the Rio Ebro (Do not turn off right, signposed Santander after ONA). Stunning scenery and finally brings you out by Embalse de Ebro (Its a lake).
Clear empty stunning roads. From there, north for Santander on the N623, another fantastic road.
Lokks like you had a great trip though
If you do it again, and want a good route back to Santander from Jaca, head to Logronno (bypassing south of Pamplona on the NA234 and NA601).
Use the old road from Logronno (the N232 not the autoroute) to ONA and then alongside the Rio Ebro (Do not turn off right, signposed Santander after ONA). Stunning scenery and finally brings you out by Embalse de Ebro (Its a lake).
Clear empty stunning roads. From there, north for Santander on the N623, another fantastic road.
stef1808 said:
sagarich said:
Great write up OP.
But how on earth did the 911 lose its exhaust tips? Were they pinched?
my money is on that they fell off due to vibration and corroded boltsBut how on earth did the 911 lose its exhaust tips? Were they pinched?
Some new tips were created by a very helpful French man who understood exactly what was needed and grabbed a sheet of metal and got to work
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