Circuit Des Ramperts

[t2pjr]

I spent the weekend before last in the Charante region of France with my folks and went to the annual Circuit Des Ramperts event in Angouleme.

For those that dont know, this is a small event attended in the main by Brits, that involves racing classic cars through the streets of Angouleme. It's a bit like a mini Monaco GP with a far shorter circuit (less than a mile long) and classic cars.

There was a great array of machinery on display and plenty of nice old Porsches for fans of the marque like me.

You can see my pics here

www.flickr.com/photos/94176553@N00/sets/72157594300985334

The racing was great and the cars sounded fantastic racing through the streets. Well worth a visit if you are down that way at that time of year!

Paul

[HiRich]

And you didn't shoot a single 500???

The sad news is that this might be the last competitive event there. Talk is of reducing it to a procession, which is hardly going to get all the British racers down there.

[ettore]

I was in Angouleme last month -lovely place and the event must be fantastically atmospheric. I had heard similar things about its longevity though - the VSCC boys will definitely stop going if it becomes a parade!

[mrs dalesman]

We were there in our Classic TVR for the 8th time and took part in the Rally on the Saturday in the torrential rain. Some of the cars were open to the elements and were very wet by the time we stopped for lunch (a very civilised 4 course affair with Pineau, Wine and Cognac).

Spotted half a dozen 'modern' TVR's following the rally after the lunch stop but didn't get chance to speak with any of them - not sure whether they were french, belgian or dutch. Also spotted someone wearing a Pistonheads Le Mans tee shirt from a distance.

The write up in the pack we were given was very positive about the future of the event and seemed to be making the point that now that the local government had taken an interest it's future was more certain than it had been for a few years.

For anyone who has never been this is a fantastic event, there aren't that many places that you will see 15 type 34/35 Bugatti's in one race and 15 or so Bresicas in another. Clay Reggazoni was also racing and Phil Hooper regularly competes in his TVR.

A great weekend.

[reliant_fr]

mrs dalesman said:

Also spotted someone wearing a Pistonheads Le Mans tee shirt from a distance.

It was me and my Tiv was parked on the market place ! sorry to miss you ! I was only here on sunday and saw the other Tiv's in a public parking, French owners but I already meet one of them and they stay together and aren't comunicatif (even with another French owner like me...)

Otherwise, a good event with beautiful classic cars and this year a great battle between the Grantura and the Reliant Sabre 6 !

[patsy]

ettore said:

I was in Angouleme last month -lovely place and the event must be fantastically atmospheric. I had heard similar things about its longevity though - the VSCC boys will definitely stop going if it becomes a parade!

I went to the C des R this year for the third year running. My parents have a place about 1 hour from Angouleme, and the other half and I have always made a special trip across for it. It's a brilliant event, even if the racing is sometimes a little processional.

According to a (petrol head) friend of my parents that lives nearby, there were question marks over the 2006 event, but due to the resolution of a few disagreements between organisers, councillers, etc, etc, the long term future of the event looks reasonably good. This sounds suitably vague as it's second/third hand information via my folks, but hopefully is correct.

As a footnote - there was an accident in one of the races this year and a Mini was fairly badly knocked about. Was the driver OK? It didn't look a huge one, but there was a bit of concern in the paddock.

[t2pjr]

There is a write up in the programme about the positive outlook for the future of the racing. Fingers crossed.