At one point it looked liked the whole weekend was over before it even started. Sitting at work on Thursday, van loaded and ready, I opened an email at 2pm from Brittany Ferries to say my overnight ferry from Portsmouth had been cancelled due to dockers' strikes at the other end! My last two trips to France where derailed by strikes and airport bomb alerts so perhaps this trend is set to continue...
British invasion; Charlie sets up in Hebecrevon
Thankfully they got me onto the 7:45am crossing to Cherbourg so I set off to Portsmouth as planned and set up for the night, ready to be first in line the next morning. In the end I was refunded the cost of the cabin and had fish'n'chips for dinner at the seaside - glass half full is how I roll!
Less than an hour from the port I rolled into Hebecrevon on a sunny afternoon to the sight of race cars being rolled around the little village and gazebos popping up on any free bit of tarmac. My friend Greg Guille from Guernsey was there with a group of UK drivers and he showed me around. I parked up on a quiet cul de sac and unloaded, before following Greg for a tour of the village on my moblilette followed by a few runs up the hill.
I then met my second challenge of the weekend - missing parts from my suspension. I'd noticed some play in the front left the day I loaded the car and thought I'd just deal with it in France. Didier Potet, who runs a Formula Renault and helps organise the event, kindly offered to look. To cut a long story short there was about an inch of play between the hub and lower wishbone due to a missing circlip. I'd like to thank Didier and the mechanics from various teams who helped me as without them the car would have been a non-runner.
Scooters and friendly faces helped acclimatisation
I rose early the next morning for scrutineering, pushing the car to the centre of the village with the help of Greg and the birds chirping their dawn chorus. Jacques Tanguy, who kindly advised me on entry rules FR's by email last year, passed the car without a hitch so we wheeled it back and I went for a shower. I think I may be the first person to use a generator at a race meeting to run a hair drier but life is too short for bad hair.
The lower section of Hebecrevon is a very narrow tunnel, with some tight corners and a chicane fenced in either side by armco the whole way. I'd driven it around eight times on the scooter and it felt pretty tight; the idea of a wet first run didn't really appeal but I had a chance to fit the wets before I was up. Lined up at two abreast on the main road that runs through the heart of the village, you wait before being sent down the hill to the start line. With crowds gathered either side and children waving as you drive by it's very different to the hillclimbing I'm used to back home. The first run flew by, my enthusiasm tempered by the slippy conditions. I concentrated on being smooth - start slow/finish faster is how I always approach racing.
Suspension issue sorted with FR friends
At 2km it was an ideal hill to start on. The second section is quite steep - flat out on the approach as you climb through series of wide and fast left right, left right, corners. As it started to dry out I found a good rhythm while adjusting to not having to turn in as early as I'm used to. The FR corners and turns in aggressively and the instinct to get the car tucked into the apex early is a difficult one to counter. Time after time I found myself committing too soon - the last corner on my penultimate run saw me run right out of tarmac while flat in fourth and I only just held it. I'll have to work on this.
I'd posted some encouraging times so things were looking good ahead of practice on Sunday morning. Julien Potet was the man to beat, lying six seconds ahead and running on his home hill. We were all looking at a hot and sunny day for competition - time to get the Avons working!
French hillclimbs a big step up from UK ones
I started the day with a quick scooter ride to the bakery before fixing coffee on the hob in the back of the van. Zipping around the paddock like this is really fun and adds to the atmosphere. I did some checks on the car and had by now worked out it was using a litre and a half of fuel per run. Free practice went well, I pushed the car much harder this time and it just soaked it up, the back sliding out gently on a few of the faster corners but all feeling nice and neutral.
Premiere montee went well with four seconds between the three of us and me right in the middle; thanks to duff batteries I desperately missed having the camera footage to take a closer look at my lines as I really relied on this at St Goueno last year. The second run came and I really went for it, taking 1.5 seconds off but nearly losing it altogether at the final corner!
The speed you can carry is unreal. Not that I could sense the downforce but you're just aware of the car finding grip. With less than a second to first place and one final run I felt I might have a chance; sadly Julien had to withdraw with a mechanical failure so I knew what time I had to beat. Estelle Bouche was very close in third so I knew that one slip could mean losing a position. And then disaster - I stalled at the start! All I can say in defence is that the bite point on the FR is quite tricky to master.
On the podium first race - not a bad start!
Nonetheless to have such a great start was a massive high - the car had felt solid, predictable and really confidence inspiring. As I pulled up to parc ferme outside the main stage I was told that as the fastest lady I would get a prize. Martine Hubert gifted me a glass trophy that came in its own presentation box, along with a bouquet of flowers and box of snails that are customary for Hebecrevon. When the time came to speak I kicked myself for not thanking Didier and the guys who got me running on Friday but managed to evade most of the champagne that got sprayed afterwards!
As I raced back to Cherbourg for the overnight ferry it all seemed slightly surreal, the sun setting over the harbour a picture perfect memory to complete what had been an unforgettable weekend. I had to chuckle when I was stopped at customs before boarding and asked what was in my van. "Une voiture de course," I said casually, as the douanier raised an eyebrow. I showed him my trophy and flowers. "Ah oui, Hebecrevon!" he said with a big grin, and waved me through.
The sun sets over a fabulous weekend
Arriving back in Portsmouth for 6:50am I drove straight to work. There are jobs to do to the car and van, number one being to take some negative camber off as it's not getting anywhere near the edge of the front tyres. I'll be packing up at the weekend again, ready for a trip to combine La Pommeraye and St Goueno where I'll meet up with team Redline Performance for the first time. Fingers crossed there are no more strikes or bomb alerts!
Charlie Martin - Hébécrevon 2015
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