June 22^nd & 23^rd, 2002

If you have never been to this retrospective, as we hadn't, you'll find it a surprisingly big meeting: France's equivalent of the old International Historic at Silverstone without the funfairs and the driver's hospitality tent. The latter was a regrettable omission … no. I'm not just thinking of my stomach again! It would have provided a good place to relax and meet other competitors away from the burning tarmac of the separate pit zones … as well as a welcome refuelling stop! That aside, there was an autojumble, more than 100 Club stands (apparently), and two days of racing and demonstration runs, with a practice day on the Friday. The race administration was efficient without being officious, and our thanks go to Flavien Marçais for organising the Pre-War class.

Sadly, the Pre-War grid, which was small anyway, was further depleted by five non-arrivals and a couple of mechanical failures: Jean Sage's wonderful Delahaye 135C had terminal engine trouble, and the supercharged Stutz Blackhawk that John Guyatt was driving lost its brakes and all its water after four laps, despite the ministrations of a plumber and every available roadside remedy. I realise that the Montlhéry meeting clashed with the Mont Ventoux Hillclimb, and that the same happens most weekends during the season, but … here comes a gripe! We cannot complain when vintage races are dropped from these events if they remain so under-subscribed. Although the Brits put in a good showing, a dozen cars on the grid is still rather paltry. With the rest of the programme devoted to MGBs (in honour of their 40^th birthday), Austin Healeys, Lotus Sevens, and a variety of other '60's and '70's saloon, touring, and endurance cars, it would have been nice to raise the profile of the older sports-cars at this historic circuit. By way of comparison, the VSCC managed to assemble a spectacular 25 Edwardians for the Dick Baddiley Memorial race at Mallory on July 21^st, all bar one of which completed the course.

As one of the last remaining banked circuits still in use in Europe, Linas-Montlhéry is certainly very impressive and nostalgic. The Editor, Trisha Pilkington, was supposed to be taking a brilliant in-car photo as she spun around the upper levels on a demonstration lap (while her driver ignored the traffic cones and chicane below), but she was too busy holding herself in the car. Trish and Richard then tried to walk up it in the evening, and had to resort to sitting down and inching upwards bum-first … They were rewarded with a splendid view in the sunset … how romantic! Tim Llewellyn made several attempts at reaching the top in his 3/8 Bentley, and, discovering the shortcomings of the road surface there, had to make some adjustments to his bodywork as a result. Tim also left his side-mirror on the track, which all the other drivers diligently avoided, except Richard Pilkington who made a point of running it over in the belief that it belonged to "one of those nasty modern cars". (Tim took the precaution of buying two more in the autojumble: one for each day!)

Pilkington's 1937 Talbot Lago and Tim Llewelyns's 'Bentley'

In Saturday's Pre-War Race, Tim streaked away in the lead, followed by Richard in the Talbot-Lago T150C, although I'm told that on Sunday they made more of a race of it, much to the delight of the crowd. Bob Jones in his L-type Magna did sterling work pursuing Pierre Honegger's Alta, while Stephen Curtis, having regained the cylinder he lost on the drive down from England, put in a fine performance in his Talbot, BGH 22. He only lost to Rettenmaier's 8CM Maserati, but managed to cross the line a split second ahead of Michael Coles' MG Magnette. Clive Temple's Riley Brooklands led the remainder of the field, a couple more MGs and Nicholas d'Hebrecourt's delightful little BNC.

Brits were well-represented in other classes too: I spotted George Edney in his racing overalls, but couldn't figure out what he was driving as he didn't seem to be listed in the programme - an MGB perhaps, or another of Richard's "nasty modern things"?! Flavien Marçais, campaigning the March 75S among the Prototype monsters, forced the race leader into a late-braking error to win his class. He then enjoyed a further 30 minutes' track time demonstrating the Alton-Jaguar with Les Damiers. This fine selection of '50's and early '60's front-engined barquettas, assembled by Christophe Pund, included Baujon's Ermini-Cisitalia, Kevin's Cooper-Jaguar, Marc Hévia's Tojeiro-Climax "Le Mans" and many others in lovely original condition. By all accounts, they had the event admirably arranged with excellent accommodation, good food and wines, as well as generous track-time that allowed for later arrival … thereby missing the entry queues.

Talking of which, access to Montlhéry is somewhat restricted, and like Silverstone in days gone by, one is well advised to arrive early or late. Congestion was allegedly exacerbated by French Tax Inspectors checking ticketing procedures, but even so the N104 and N22 can both supply motorists faster than the series of roundabouts in Linas can disperse them. I was amused to note in our sweltering crawl up the hill that all but 2 of the 50 or more cars "resting" by the wayside were British makes - clearly not designed to cope with the conditions, just like our Jaguar! The police's response was predictably Gallic: they posed about on their motorbikes, chatting up any unaccompanied young ladies in sports cars and doing nothing to ease the traffic-flow.

Being in France, much talk inevitably centred on the relative merits of the various facilities. The pits’ loos, affectionately nicknamed the Louis Chirons, comprised the traditional welly-washers, or 101's as Tim liked to call them, but the best ones (for future reference) are the thrones in the tower, although you need a competitor's pass to access them. It was a truly French meeting in two other respects: the two-hour lunch-break, during which they ran the demos, and the abundance of dogs. Those camping on site tell me that there would have been one less … except that it turned out to be a dirty great rottweiler that barked all night!

Nevertheless, it was a fun and sociable event, if somewhat drawn-out. I have to admit that we ducked out on Sunday: with an overboiled race-car (Stutz), an overheated driver (John) and a Jaguar using more oil than the local chip-shop, the scenic route to the coast via a leisurely lunch (to allow the car to cool off, of course!) proved overwhelmingly enticing. However, I am reliably informed that there was more of the same on Sunday, with even more spectators … and their canine friends.

L.M.