Monster road trip ,3000+ miles in old FIAT
Discussion
I seemed to have gained a small following on PH for my road trips ,so here's my latest efforts.
Friday 11th May ,I set off for Mettet ,Belgium ,for the third year running for the World RX meeting ,it's an easy drive ,being
only about 160 miles from Calais port ,so easily doable in a weekend away if short on time.
When I arrived Friday afternoon ,practice and qualifying for the support classes had already started so bought my ticket ,
a wristband ,one price for the whole weekend whether you wanted to do all of it or just one day of 70E.
Pics of this are random classes on track and in paddock .
RX8 is surprisingly popular in the Euro Touring car category.
These are RX2 class ,a generic spaceframe ,mid engine 300 BHP ,with a Fiesta shaped body but you can have a Twingo like
front end or as here a Punto shaped front end ,all plastic.
The EKS Audi team ,champions in 2016
Kevin Hansen
His older brother Timmy is quite handy at the wheel too.
Petter Solberg ,twice WRX champion.
Per Eklund team runs 2 of these Beetles in Euro supercar class.
RX for kids.
These Ssanyong pickups race at some WRX meets ,a quite bizarre series ,what other circuit class requires a co driver in the vehicle ?
Solberg quite pleased with his 2nd place trophy ,to winner a certain Sebastien Loeb.
That completes the first weekend ,onto Germany for Monday.
Bare with me as there are so many pics ,it won't be posted all in one go.
Friday 11th May ,I set off for Mettet ,Belgium ,for the third year running for the World RX meeting ,it's an easy drive ,being
only about 160 miles from Calais port ,so easily doable in a weekend away if short on time.
When I arrived Friday afternoon ,practice and qualifying for the support classes had already started so bought my ticket ,
a wristband ,one price for the whole weekend whether you wanted to do all of it or just one day of 70E.
Pics of this are random classes on track and in paddock .
RX8 is surprisingly popular in the Euro Touring car category.
These are RX2 class ,a generic spaceframe ,mid engine 300 BHP ,with a Fiesta shaped body but you can have a Twingo like
front end or as here a Punto shaped front end ,all plastic.
The EKS Audi team ,champions in 2016
Kevin Hansen
His older brother Timmy is quite handy at the wheel too.
Petter Solberg ,twice WRX champion.
Per Eklund team runs 2 of these Beetles in Euro supercar class.
RX for kids.
These Ssanyong pickups race at some WRX meets ,a quite bizarre series ,what other circuit class requires a co driver in the vehicle ?
Solberg quite pleased with his 2nd place trophy ,to winner a certain Sebastien Loeb.
That completes the first weekend ,onto Germany for Monday.
Bare with me as there are so many pics ,it won't be posted all in one go.
I have visited literally dozens of car museums in Europe ,as I have 2 spare days until I need to be in Italy for the main event of this trip
I research one or two to visit on the way south.
I arrive in Uhldingen Muhlhofen Monday morning for the Auto und Traktor museum.
Early version of BMW's propeller badge ,on a motorbike.
A Viktoria Spatz 4 sport roadster.
Zundapp Janus
Capri RS2600......covered in famous signatures of.......
The then ,West German world cup football squad
some more familiar names to petrol heads and Auric Goldfinger...
I research one or two to visit on the way south.
I arrive in Uhldingen Muhlhofen Monday morning for the Auto und Traktor museum.
Early version of BMW's propeller badge ,on a motorbike.
A Viktoria Spatz 4 sport roadster.
Zundapp Janus
Capri RS2600......covered in famous signatures of.......
The then ,West German world cup football squad
some more familiar names to petrol heads and Auric Goldfinger...
The next stop wasn't planned but I picked up the leaflet for a newly opened this year museum in Wolfegg ,not a huge distance away
from the above ,I'm not in any hurry so going there was a no brainer.
more signatures on Porsche this time.
a rare FIAT 850 ,as most didn't have the "Boot" shape ,albeit for the engine.
It's quite a small set up but proprietor seemed nice and spoke excellent English, well worth a visit as passing.
That was it for Monday ,next stop Austria.
from the above ,I'm not in any hurry so going there was a no brainer.
more signatures on Porsche this time.
a rare FIAT 850 ,as most didn't have the "Boot" shape ,albeit for the engine.
It's quite a small set up but proprietor seemed nice and spoke excellent English, well worth a visit as passing.
That was it for Monday ,next stop Austria.
The weather was awful for the drive to Gmund on Tuesday morning ,I got there 3 hours too early and walked around the town
for a while ,despite the pouring rain.
Couldn't resist doing that before the spaces got filled up later.
a 356 shaped canopy over the entrance door.
walked around the open bits of the castle whilst waiting
it was so wet ,this car required a cover on a presumably leaky Targa or cabriolet
for a while ,despite the pouring rain.
Couldn't resist doing that before the spaces got filled up later.
a 356 shaped canopy over the entrance door.
walked around the open bits of the castle whilst waiting
it was so wet ,this car required a cover on a presumably leaky Targa or cabriolet
Onto Italy ,not a long drive from Gmund, although I used the non motorway all day, entering the country on the Austrian
100 road which becomes the SS49 over the border ,which although signed ,the difference is immediate as the road
surface is far inferior in Italy compared to Austria and of course the driving standard plummeted too.
It really did !
I wanted to drive down the road used in the opening car chase sequence of Quantum of Solace so headed for
Lake Garda.
At one point I was following 2 British reg MX5s ,no idea where they were going but they shamed me having their tops down
but I hadn't done that as although the weather in Italy was way better ,it still wasn't exactly sunny yet.
Had a wander around the rather fancy resort of Limone sul Garda.
I also spotted my first Barchetta on this trip, samr colour as mine ,on the road at north end of Riva del Garda.
100 road which becomes the SS49 over the border ,which although signed ,the difference is immediate as the road
surface is far inferior in Italy compared to Austria and of course the driving standard plummeted too.
It really did !
I wanted to drive down the road used in the opening car chase sequence of Quantum of Solace so headed for
Lake Garda.
At one point I was following 2 British reg MX5s ,no idea where they were going but they shamed me having their tops down
but I hadn't done that as although the weather in Italy was way better ,it still wasn't exactly sunny yet.
Had a wander around the rather fancy resort of Limone sul Garda.
I also spotted my first Barchetta on this trip, samr colour as mine ,on the road at north end of Riva del Garda.
A poor night's sleep was had that night ,so at about 3am I set off for the short drive to Brescia, drove the entire length of the lake
on the west side ,using the road mentioned above ,can't be sure exactly which stretch was used in the film as the tunnels are almost
identical in design and look.
The speed limits are low too ,so not much fun to be had on the tunnel road ,mostly 50 KPH as it is quite narrow and twisty in places
some of it is 70 KPH though.
Found a free parking space not a too long walk from where the Mille Miglia will be commencing in a few hours time.
Weather thankfully on Wednesday is way better and quite hot at times.
Removing a car from the route of the MM.
A Talbot Lago
Mercedes factory has big support for this and brought this along for display ,they had any 300SL Gullwings entered on the event.
looks familiar
serial MM entrant
Walter Rohrl and Christian Geistdorfer's car for the 4 days.
A Veritas
everyone has a smile and having fun
many of these special FIAT based cars enter this ,many by Stanguellini.
entrant for most ridiculous spoiler award
Alfa team pic
This wasn't an entrant ,just randomly parked just outside the main piazza area.
on the west side ,using the road mentioned above ,can't be sure exactly which stretch was used in the film as the tunnels are almost
identical in design and look.
The speed limits are low too ,so not much fun to be had on the tunnel road ,mostly 50 KPH as it is quite narrow and twisty in places
some of it is 70 KPH though.
Found a free parking space not a too long walk from where the Mille Miglia will be commencing in a few hours time.
Weather thankfully on Wednesday is way better and quite hot at times.
Removing a car from the route of the MM.
A Talbot Lago
Mercedes factory has big support for this and brought this along for display ,they had any 300SL Gullwings entered on the event.
looks familiar
serial MM entrant
Walter Rohrl and Christian Geistdorfer's car for the 4 days.
A Veritas
everyone has a smile and having fun
many of these special FIAT based cars enter this ,many by Stanguellini.
entrant for most ridiculous spoiler award
Alfa team pic
This wasn't an entrant ,just randomly parked just outside the main piazza area.
At just after midday ,time to head out of the centre and find a vantage point for the start ,just a mile or so away.
The cars randomly pass all day ,heading to the lunch point at the Mille Miglia museum at San Euphemia .
Although some organise their own lunch ,you don't get a car park like this at Pizza Hut.
Cisitalia
Not going to see so many Bugattis on the road ,apart from parked in Mulhouse.
The media know a good car to use.
bizarre looking thing but I bet it's "slippery"
Jaguar support this event too ,with many C and D types and XK 120,140,150s on the list
That's all from Brescia ,I have many more pics but some are poor quality and I can't post them all.
The cars randomly pass all day ,heading to the lunch point at the Mille Miglia museum at San Euphemia .
Although some organise their own lunch ,you don't get a car park like this at Pizza Hut.
Cisitalia
Not going to see so many Bugattis on the road ,apart from parked in Mulhouse.
The media know a good car to use.
bizarre looking thing but I bet it's "slippery"
Jaguar support this event too ,with many C and D types and XK 120,140,150s on the list
That's all from Brescia ,I have many more pics but some are poor quality and I can't post them all.
I actually did nothing on the Thursday, I didn't want to chase the event down to Rome ,after the day in Brescia I had a 2.5 hour drive down to my
sister's holiday home near Lucca where I stayed for the next 7 nights.
I did go to the supermarket in Marlia for provisions and in the afternoon there was a big thunder storm ,which remained
a theme for most of my time in Italy.
So on Friday morning I travel further south originally intending to go to somewhere just north of Siena ,near where the crews would
stop for lunch but as I got within 20 miles the modern Mercedes' tour supporting the main event were now going past me the other way
so I found a layby suitable to stop in for the afternoon, which was just outside Certaldo.
Then the Ferrari tour came through.....
Followed by the lowest numbers ,the earliest eligible cars in the event ,from 1927.
Multipla team just having fun
My most favourite pic I took in 2 weeks...^^^^
Polizia accompany some of the crews ,blocking roundabouts and keeping public away from the cars ,and getting in the way of my pics.
sister's holiday home near Lucca where I stayed for the next 7 nights.
I did go to the supermarket in Marlia for provisions and in the afternoon there was a big thunder storm ,which remained
a theme for most of my time in Italy.
So on Friday morning I travel further south originally intending to go to somewhere just north of Siena ,near where the crews would
stop for lunch but as I got within 20 miles the modern Mercedes' tour supporting the main event were now going past me the other way
so I found a layby suitable to stop in for the afternoon, which was just outside Certaldo.
Then the Ferrari tour came through.....
Followed by the lowest numbers ,the earliest eligible cars in the event ,from 1927.
Multipla team just having fun
My most favourite pic I took in 2 weeks...^^^^
Polizia accompany some of the crews ,blocking roundabouts and keeping public away from the cars ,and getting in the way of my pics.
On Saturday I was going to travel up to just outside Parma to see the cars again but would have needed me to get out of bed at 4am.
Changed my mind and went to Pisa instead.
The art on this building is stunning.
Typical Italy scene.
Then I drove out to Marina de Pisa and Porto Pisa ,a really nice ,peaceful place ,where the river Arno meets the Meditteranean.
[
Where some big yachts are parked.
Changed my mind and went to Pisa instead.
The art on this building is stunning.
Typical Italy scene.
Then I drove out to Marina de Pisa and Porto Pisa ,a really nice ,peaceful place ,where the river Arno meets the Meditteranean.
[Where some big yachts are parked.
Just a couple of weeks before I left for this trip I searched for something to do on the Sunday.
And found a race meeting at Franciacorta circuit or Autodromo as the signs say as you approach ,a little known circuit near
Brescia ,of all places ,so back on the Autostrada early on Sunday morning for me.
First race I see is for the Italia Lotus Elise cup.
Main event of the weekend is the Euro NASCAR series.
These cars are a spaceframe under plastic panels and seem to be able to shed much of their panels during a race.
lunchtime entertainment provided by the local American car owners.
The Polizia locale were there to pace the parade laps ,rubbish ,they just wanted a hoon !
The pits were also open for public to walk around and a grid walk and autograph session was laid on too.
This lovely lady won the afternoon race for these ,despite multiple safety car interruptions.
Stunt air display too.
Then they allowed some Abarths out for a quick parade display hoon.
and lastly a one make race for Twingos
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And found a race meeting at Franciacorta circuit or Autodromo as the signs say as you approach ,a little known circuit near
Brescia ,of all places ,so back on the Autostrada early on Sunday morning for me.
First race I see is for the Italia Lotus Elise cup.
Main event of the weekend is the Euro NASCAR series.
These cars are a spaceframe under plastic panels and seem to be able to shed much of their panels during a race.
lunchtime entertainment provided by the local American car owners.
The Polizia locale were there to pace the parade laps ,rubbish ,they just wanted a hoon !
The pits were also open for public to walk around and a grid walk and autograph session was laid on too.
This lovely lady won the afternoon race for these ,despite multiple safety car interruptions.
Stunt air display too.
Then they allowed some Abarths out for a quick parade display hoon.
and lastly a one make race for Twingos
More free time on Monday so I just take a walk by the local Fiume ,river ,the Serchio.
random dwelling scatter the mountain sides.
Wednesday and it's time to depart for the long drive home but via some more stuff to see.
Maranello ,we all know who lives here.
I got there with 1/2 hour till opening ,10 minutes later the place was rammed with a coach load of bored looking teens.
The fullsize clay model of the special styled 458 for Clapton ,the SP12 EC
Enzo with Batista "Pinin" Farina
This was my 5th time at Galleria Ferrari and I was sceptical whether it was worth coming for a 5th time.
Oh yes it was ,the last time was 2013 and it's so much different and IMO way better than I remember it being.
random dwelling scatter the mountain sides.
Wednesday and it's time to depart for the long drive home but via some more stuff to see.
Maranello ,we all know who lives here.
I got there with 1/2 hour till opening ,10 minutes later the place was rammed with a coach load of bored looking teens.
The fullsize clay model of the special styled 458 for Clapton ,the SP12 EC
Enzo with Batista "Pinin" Farina
This was my 5th time at Galleria Ferrari and I was sceptical whether it was worth coming for a 5th time.
Oh yes it was ,the last time was 2013 and it's so much different and IMO way better than I remember it being.
I paid for the dual ticket which gats me into the Cassa museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena too ,my 4th time here too.
A short drive ,had a look at......
but it's never open ,presumably by previous booking only.
Enzo keeping an eye on his flying boat creation.
I spotted the unusual concave rear window on this ,turns out it's a unique feature to this car.
and in the other building ,which currently only contains engines.
The F40 engine and box out of the car.
A short drive ,had a look at......
but it's never open ,presumably by previous booking only.
Enzo keeping an eye on his flying boat creation.
I spotted the unusual concave rear window on this ,turns out it's a unique feature to this car.
and in the other building ,which currently only contains engines.
The F40 engine and box out of the car.
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