Editorial
Hello good evening and welcome to the first edition of the RAOC magazine. My intention is to provide its readership with an informative, interesting and hopefully amusing insight into what’s going on within the club and around the country, relevant to Renault Alpine and Renault Sport vehicles. I’m aiming to produce 5 issues a year bi-monthly over the busy March to September period with just the one at Christmas time when most of the cars are tucked away for the bad weather.
A little bit about myself for those who don’t know me. I’ve been involved with fast Renaults and Alpines for over 20 years. Have owned literally dozens including 5 GT and Gordini Turbos, 19 and Clio 16 Valves, 21 Turbos, 3.5 Vel Satis, Alpine A310 V6 and many GTAs. Currently run a GTA fitted with a 3.0 Turbo lump (owned 21 years!), a Clio 182 Cup and 2 project GTAs. Lots of these cars have been modified to various extents so I feel I’m well placed to talk about and understand most aspects of buying, running and modifying the eclectic range of cars this club serves.
I’m hoping everyone will like the format and content of this first issue but constructive criticism is welcomed, anything you want included let me know. I’ll be relying on other members for some of the events write ups, it’s impossible for me to get to it all so volunteers are very very welcome.
If you would like to be considered as a featured member drop me a line with a few details about you and your car, equally if you would like to recommend a business catering for the marque let me know and they may be in line for a feature too. Guest columnists on a regular or ad-hoc basis also welcomed.
Great Adventures will need consistent contributions as well so if you have a vivid memory of a great driving adventure please get your creative cap on and send me the story of your memorable journey.
I’ll be using the News and What’s Happening pages to keep you up to date with current and forthcoming events and have included a couple of at a glance guides at the back end with useful technical information about the cars.
Conveniently I’m about to embark on an interesting GTA project myself so I’ll be keeping everybody abreast of that with regular updates. If anybody else is about to start a project let me know and we’ll include that as well.
Hope you enjoy.
News
Renault Slashes UK Lineup
Renault UK announced this month that it was slashing its UK line-up due to poor sales. The Laguna, Espace, Modus and Wind models will be withdrawn from sale from February, the cynical marketing ploy which was the Gordini sub-brand will also go (owners of ‘proper’ Gordinis rejoice) . Not too much to depress the enthusiast although the Laguna Coupe looks a decent tourer. A third of Renault dealerships will also go.
It’s not all bad news though (tongue firmly in cheek!) as later in the year Renault will be launching it’s first batch of electric cars, with possibly the campest set of names ever seen in automotive history. The Twizy, Zoe and Fluence (yes really!) will hit the UK later in the year. Full electric – not range extender hybrids that most of the motor industry seem to think is the way forward, these will really make or break the Renault (and Nissan) brand. With over 1 Billion invested in development they can’t afford them to fail!
One shred of actual good news is that the Renaultsport arm is still profitable so we should still see some interesting Clio and Megane models
Laguna Coupe - Sad to see it go.
Twingo Gordini - Glad to see it leave.
Member Profile No. 1 – Stephen Dell
Name : Steve Dell
Age 44
Lives: London SE16
Cars: 07 Silver Trafic, 02 Silver Clio V6, 02 Blue Avantime 2.0 Turbo, 97 Blue Spider, 95 Spider Cup, 94 Red A610, 93 Burgundy GTA Cabrio (50%), 92 Yellow A610, 90 White GTA, 87 Black R21T GpN, 84 Blue R5 GD T, 83 White R5 GD T (x2), 82 Purple R5 Turbo, 00 Yellow Smart
The first time I ever met Steve he was driving a Porsche 968 and had just purchased his 1st Alpine – the white GTA Atmo he still owns today. The car obviously made an impression as 10 years on he has not just a great collection of classic Renaults and Alpines, but has seen the internet forum he started blossom into one of the countries leading French car clubs. The RAOC is now a part time job; running the website, hunting spares and remanufacturing and designing parts, dealing with Renault and generally helping out fellow enthusiasts all takes time.
Steves background though isn’t really that of your average car enthusiast. Degrees in computing, statistics and teaching, and a career in education, culminating in being one of the youngest headmasters in the country (I’ll have to ask Sarah if he still uses his cane!) is a far cry from running a car club. Affectionately known by club members as ‘Dellboy’ for his love of a deal (and not just cars) or ‘the Vampire’ for his notorious nocturnal all-nighters getting ready for events when everyone else is tucked up in bed. Steve is a true Alpine enthusiast.
“So Steve, what was it that first attracted you to the Alpine marque?”
“It wasn’t the early cars or the rally history. If I’m honest it was the Autocar roadtest of the GTA that first got me interested.”
“So you have your 1st GTA, what made you start the forum that grew into the RAOC?”
“Er... I need to be a little bit careful what I say here. I felt the existing clubs were more for the earlier Alpines and didn’t really cater for GTAs or the modified scene. There were a few of us who felt the same way – yourself included, so I set up the website.”
“You’ve built up a great selection of cars over the last few years, but if you could only keep one what would it be?”
“My white Atmo GTA for sentimental reasons, the A610 as its such a great GT car and the Clio V6 prototype for investment.”
“You’ve a few too many unfinished projects. What’s going to get priority in the coming year?”
“I’d like to try and get the 21 Turbo Touring car ready for Macon this year so Sarah and the baby have a bit more room. It doesn’t need too much, a couple of bespoke rear suspension parts to get made and the ally tank needs welding. Other than that it’s pretty much trying to remember how it goes back together! The other car I’d like to get sorted is the home-built mid-engined 5. I have a hybrid NG5 (Gordini Turbo) gearbox being built at the moment with Formula Renault internals, and that will be mating up to a 5GT Turbo engine running a ‘dini crossflow head. Not looking for mad power, 200bhp should be plenty.”
“Anything else you’d like to add to the Dell museum?”
“Well I suppose an A110 and A310 would be nice to complete the set but I think I’ve missed the boat with A110 prices now. I always regretted selling the T2 I had, and recently missed out on a T1, and a Venturi 400GT is an awesome bit of kit.”
You’ve gone to a lot of great events in recent years. What events have been your highlights?
“Macon in 2009 in my A610 was a great event, and trying to max the same car at Bruntingthorpe was exciting. There’s been some scary stuff too – especially spinning Keiths 400 GT at Brunty with him in the passenger seat!”
“As a relative latecomer to Alpines , you must have had some decent cars previously. Anything stand out?”
“The Porsche 968 was a really nice car and I had a 3dr Cossie with 300bhp which was dangerously fast. Nearly killed me when a frightened passenger (I’m right there with him Steve :0)) pulled the handbrake on at 60mph. Maybe that’s why I bought a GTA with the handbrake on the right side of the driver! I have some fond memories of my old Alfa Gulietta too.”
“And if you won the lottery?”
“Probably a modern Lambo – Gallardo or Mucielago.”
You’ve had a lot of flak about the website and aspects of the club in recent months. What are your plans for it?
Well, the website will be getting a major makeover and most of the moderation has now been delegated. An online shop is on the agenda and I’d like to spend more time on developing new products and manufacturing spares that are out of production.
When you’re not enjoying your cars, what else do you enjoy doing?
Well I’m a big music fan, I play keyboards and have done a bit of song-writing, but if I’m honest I really don’t get time to do much else now.
Anybody you owe a thank you to?
Too many to list, everyone who has supported, helped or contributed to the club, and of course my long suffering partner Sarah for putting up with it all (you’ve certainly earned that Sarah).
Steve and his long suffering girlfriend Sarah
Steve with his A610
Project Daily Driver GTA 2.9 Injection
Most people think I’m mad, having just finished a long and frustrating project on my 3.0 Turbo GTA I should just sit back and enjoy it, but for the many of you out there who have the same wallet destroying disease you will understand the need to start another one. This one is much less ambitious though, much simpler and less costly (I hope I don’t regret that comment!).
With GTA Atmo prices at rock bottom - £1500 for a shed to £3-4000 for a minter there will never be a better time to buy one. The motoring press always preferred the Atmo GTA to the turbo, lack of turbo lag made for a more responsive and better handling car. The buyers had none of it though with the turbo outselling it by nearly 3 to 1, the standard 160 bhp being deemed a bit weedy and lacking in out right performance. This makes the atmos incredibly rare now with as few as 100 rhd examples still on the road.
In theory you would think the Atmo a simpler more reliable car to own and maintain than its Turbo sibling but unfortunately this isn’t really the case. Although the GTA has a turbo, ECU and electronic fuel injection, none of these items are usually problematical. The Atmo on the other hand uses the old generation odd fire V6 from the previous generation A310 fitted with a complicated sequential twin carb set up. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this set up the carbs with age become incredibly hard to keep running consistently well. I’m sure most Atmo owners wouldn’t disagree with that (John C will be the exception).
My plan is to take an old Atmo and fit the more modern even fire V6 from a 25 or Espace. The benefit of sourcing an engine from either of these 2 vehicles rather than the Safrane or more commonly Laguna is that it is fitted inline and not transversely in those applications. This means the engine mounts and distributor are in the right place saving time and money, and also means you don’t have to rob bits off your old engine so it can be kept in 1 piece to sell if required. With a few cost effective tweaks the plan is to end up with around 180 bhp, and 35 mpg. Other areas that need attention will be dealt with as required but the overall budget for the project is £5000 including the purchase of the car.
A suitable car has been purchased via Mr Dell for the princely sum of £1100. A silver 1988 Atmo, generally good condition but a scrape along the passenger side. Drove well, except for the engine running poorly (carbs!) A 1991 Espace 3.0 litre with manual gearbox and genuine Renault replacement engine (30k ago) has also been sourced for just £550 courtesy of Paul Sage at Alpine Autos. I have some AZEVs loitering with intent in the garage and a set of GAZ coilovers from my other GTA are also available if I feel the need to drop the suspension a little.
So I have the ingredients they just need combining to make what I’m hoping will be a great daily driver GTA, near on as quick as a turbo, with better economy and better balanced handling.
Project DD in drastic need of TLC
Rare V6 Espace with sweet low mileage engine.
Brands Hatch with Wheeler Dealers.
I’m sure some of the more eagle eyed forum users may have noticed we have been helping out the cult cable TV car show Wheeler Dealers with some parts and info on their recently purchased Alpine A310. This culminated in a hastily organised track day at Brands Hatch for them to meet the club and members and check out some of cars. We tagged onto an existing event organized by Opentrack, who are just starting to make a name for themselves as a track day organizer and its easy to see why. The event ran faultlessly with just the right blend of low key safety versus on the track fun, not overly officious but still very professional.
The day started early with sign–on at 7.30am, but made a little more bearable by the good quality, reasonably priced breakfast available. A quick safety briefing followed and then it was up to you, as many laps as possible, watch, socialize it was all good as they say. Although cold it remained sunny and dry all day. Slippery for the first hour or two, once the ambient temperature creapt up the track was a joy, quick and challenging. An interesting range of cars – various 911’s, a Nissan GTR, a good few Caterhams, a couple of Jade race cars and a mix of standard and modified hot hatchs mingled with a great selection of cars from the RAOC. Steve Dell, Mark Garner and Andy Holt brought their race Spiders along, we had an A610, a couple of GTA Turbo’s, Clio Williams and 182 Cups, a rare 11 Turbo, Phil Garner (The Ringmeister) came along in his road Spider. Paul Sage and Jean Remy brought their stunning A310’s to be filmed with the Wheeler Dealers silver V6 one and Simon Gamblin was having a great time in his GTA Atmo which was behaving itself for a change.
As part of the track day package some track tuition was included which I was more than happy to try. What a revelation – to anybody like myself who has never had any proper track training (despite doing a fair few trackdays and a few sprints)it was invaluable, I would say to anyone contemplating going racing, go and have some proper training, you’ll see a far greater improvement in your lap-time than going and spending a grand on a few more horsepower. Mike Wild was the trainer, a really nice guy and everyone came back reiterating exactly what I thought. Steve Dell’s Spider with Mike at the helm was lapping quicker than virtually any car there!
Mid-morning the film crew turned up with the legendary Mike Brewer and Ed China. They spent ages chatting with us about the show and the cars. Apparently Wheeler Dealers is now the 2nd most watched car based show in the UK behind Top Gear and you could tell they were genuinely chuffed about how popular the show had become and really had time for the fans of the programme. Many of our members were filmed with their cars chatting to Mike so hopefully a few will make it on to the telly when the programme airs.
After a break for lunch it was back out on the track in the glorious afternoon sun. I’m sure I speak for everyone who attended when I say it was a top top event. I really can’t think of anyway it could have been improved.
The only question remaining is did Mike Brewer do a deal with our own wheeler dealer Mr Dell to buy their A310. My guess is Steve’s bid was probably a bit lower than they were looking for!
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Renault Sport V6 Clio But Were Afraid To Ask!
Rumour has it that when Volkswagen caught wind of Renaults plan to build a 3 litre Clio they immediately started work on a Polo to challenge it. A Polo that could sip just 3 litres of fuel every 100km (an industry target at the time). This pretty much sums up the difference between Renault and pretty much every other car maker. What the rest of the world thought of their patently loopy spiritual successor to the mid engine Renault 5 was overwhelmingly positive – and then they drove it! Road testers loved the cartoonish styling and the noise, but found the handling, shall we say ‘challenging’. An acquaintance of mine took one to a track day and span it 4 times in a couple of laps, and he was no novice driver.
The Phase 1 was launched in 2000 but was considerably watered-down from the pre-production versions which were running substantially more power. Based on the Phase 2 Clio, the cars were shipped to Tom Walkinshaw Racing to be extensively modified, body-kitted and the 24v V6 from the Laguna shoehorned in the back. The interior was virtually a direct carry over from the 172 Clio and while fine in a FWD hatch was a little disappointing in what was perceived as a rival to cars costing twice as much. Add to that the poorly fitted bodykits, issues with certain paint colours and gearbox problems meant many of the early owners were very disappointed. In light of these issues it’s easy to see why Renault gave the legendary Dieppe factory the job of building the Phase 2.
With 230bhp to pull the 1400+ kilo kerb weight, the Phase 1 is quick enough in a straight line for most people but hasn’t really got the power to back up those miniature supercar looks. Despite all the criticism I’ve just ladled over the car, it is incredibly likeable. It’s great to look at, the seats comfy and when you fire up the V6 it sounds fantastic. To drive at moderate speeds in the dry it’s fine, firm well-weighted steering which is pleasantly direct, the ride is good and the handling tidy. Unfortunately it all falls apart the harder you try, which for a sporting car is a major drawback.
With the launch of the face-lifted Clio in 2003, Renault took production back in-house and the result was the drastically improved Phase 2. The hawkeye lights, which arguably look a bit gawky on the shopping Clios, really suit the wider bespoilered front end of the 255, the body kit is smoother and bonded rather than bolted on too, and with wheel diameter up from 17” to 18” the appearance of the car was much improved. Major alterations to the track width, geometry, spring rates and shock absorbers solved most of the handling issues. The engine saw some small changes to the heads, cams and ECU which yielded an extra 29 bhp. Unfortunately the phase 2 has put on a little weight too so the difference in power to weight ratios is nominal. The addition of optional Recaro seats lifts the interior no end. Basically it’s the car it should have been when it was first put on sale. Motoring journos fell over themselves to praise it. The editor of Evo owns one. It even beat a Ferrari to finish 3rd in their car of the year - ‘it feels as special and charismatic as any car we can think of under £40K’ they said – praise indeed. I drove a 255 for the Macon rally a couple of years back and it was a great companion (if a little thirsty), the engine providing a good combination of low down response and top end bite, and the handling never caused me any heart-stopping moments – although its widowmaker reputation was always in the back of my mind! It was comfortable on the motorway too. The only downside was the fuel consumption which fell well short of an A610 we were in convoy with and the non-existent luggage space – oh and don’t mention the turning circle.
Buying Used
Although generally pretty reliable, the V6 Clios rarity means some of the parts to fix them when they do go wrong are astronomical, so it’s important to buy the best car you can find – and obviously a main dealer service history is a big bonus. A lot of Phase 1 cars have been damaged and it’s essential to make sure the repairs have been carried out to a high standard. Replacement panels are very expensive, so double check for substandard body repairs – rear arches are the most likely culprit. The soft paint used due to the plastic panels can also be prone to stone chipping. It’s easy to catch the front spoiler on kerbs so check that too.
Mechanically the 3.0 24 valve engine is pretty robust but cam-belt changes are an engine out affair so cars with the belts recently changed are worth paying that bit extra for. Early cars suffered from some gearbox maladies, and even in later cars they have been known to strip gears. It’s essential to use the recommended gearbox oil too.
Keeping the tracking and alignment spot-on makes a big difference to the way these Clios drive, so check for uneven tyre wear at the rear. The fronts tend to wear slightly more on the inside due to the camber set up and is nothing to worry about.
Lastly make sure you get a full HPI check – there are a fair few Cat C and D cars around and while this isn’t the end of the world if the car has been properly repaired, the price does need to reflect this.
Talking of price, what should you be paying? Well it’s certainly a buyers market at the moment but Clio V6 prices for both models seem to have bottomed out in the last 6 months or so. I’ve seen Phase 1’s as cheap as £5k, but many of the cars out there have very low mileage and it’s not unusual to see £10K plus asked for a pristine low mileage car. The Phase 2’s generally seem to hold their value better and there are fewer rough cars out there. If you can buy a sensible mileage car for under £10K you’re doing well. Prices for low mileage mint condition cars can still reach £16-17K. The good news is that if you look after it you’re going to suffer very little further depreciation as it’s a sure-fire future classic.
Modifying
Unfortunately the V6 Clios rarity means it’s not as well catered for in this department as many main stream cars. Coil over kits and big brake conversions are available. Engine-wise, exhausts and induction kits are very popular and some other engine parts are starting to become available. Cams and ECU upgrades give decent power gains, but any internal engine work will mean the engine has to come out adding substantially to the cost. A few supercharged examples are lurking on the forums making a reported 350 bhp so that would look to be the way to go if you have the money. Bear in mind you’ll almost certainly need an uprated clutch and gearbox if you go much beyond 300bhp though.
At a Glance
Phase 1
Layout Mid engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine V6, 2946cc
Max power 226bhp @ 6000rpm
Max torque 221lb ft @ 3750rpm
Weight 1335kg
Power/weight 175bhp/ton
0-62mph 6.4sec (claimed)
Top speed 145mph (claimed)
Price new £25,995
Price now £8,000
On sale 1999-2002
Number built 1513 (256 UK sales)
Phase 2
Layout Mid engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine V6, 2946cc
Max power 255bhp @ 7150rpm
Max torque 221lb ft @ 4650rpm
Weight 1400kg
Power/weight 182bhp/ton
0-62mph 5.9sec (claimed)
Top speed 153mph (claimed)
Price new £26,995
Price now £15,000
On sale 2003-2005
Number built 1309 (354 UK sales)
RAOC RECOMMENDED – ASTRAL AUTOMOTIVE
First in line for a free and well deserved plug is Andy Fieldhouse, northern based painter and Alpine enthusiast and owner. Andy recently painted my GTA Turbo and I can vouch 1st hand to the quality of Andy’s work. I’m a fussy git when it comes to paint and Andy’s determination to get the car perfect for me was great to see, a few other club members had spoken highly of Andy’s work (Martin told me he had done a great job on his A610 repairs after he took it off roading) so I took the long journey oop north. I’m really glad I did, great job, great price and no grimness in site!
Astral Automotive boasts a great location too, alongside a picturesque weir in a quiet area close to Halifax, it certainly looks a more relaxing place to work than the usual industrial estates in the Urban decay of the big cities we are so used to here in London.
I’ll let Andy fill you in on his background.
“Unlike a lot of people who work in the motor trade, I didn’t enter in to painting cars straight from school. In the early days I worked for a company that sold paint and body shop materials. Later after painting cars as a hobby, side-line, I started painting full time for a couple of small body shops. I joined Renault Bradford and after 18 months moved to Renault UK Leeds which was a sport dealership. Whilst working there I first saw an Alpine and as time went by I carried out repairs and paintwork on a Le Mans, GTA and all the great 90’s Renault models.
I bought my first Alpine in 1998, a 1989 GTA V6 turbo and at that time it was totally trashed. There wasn’t one good thing about the car; it needed a full re-spray, complete new carpet set and countless faults sorting out. Over time all these repairs were done and I have never regretted buying it, in fact I now have two GTA V6GT cars as well. Strange but until joining RAOC, I had never heard the term atmo not even while I was at Renault.
After spending 20 years working for main dealership body shops and accident repair centres I was able to setup Astral Automotive. My main focus was to offer high quality resprays and repairs to classic sports cars, primarily Alpines and Lotus. The high cost of paint work from most body shops sadly makes it unviable and so I set out to try and change that by cutting the price down to about half of what a large body shop would charge. The only way I can do this is by keeping overheads and operating costs to a minimum, I do all the work myself and keep to ballpark figures. My main concern is always the car and not the balance sheet, if one car needs an extra 20 hours then so be it. Somebody said to me many years ago “When you paint a car you paint your name all over it” and this is true, therefore I never send a car back to its owner until I’m sure it’s the best it can ever be.
At the age of 51 I sometimes tell myself …. You’re getting too old for this….but I can’t see myself doing anything else. It’s a great feeling to look at a finished Alpine and know that it can be put on display alongside an Aston Martin, Ferrari or Lamborghini and look just as good, I know I’ve painted them all.”
So if your Alpine needs a freshen up, some repairs or a full repaint why not give Andy a call.
Astral Automotive 07999295665.
Great Adventures - Macon 2009
Over 25 years or so (damn I’m getting old!) there’s bound to be numerous memories of fantastic car journeys, track days and races for any long time car enthusiast. Many of my earlier recollections are in non-Renaults, and of street racing, some of which I was lucky to survive with my license intact. Try getting away from the police in a 5GT Turbo to get the adrenalin pumping! Nevertheless, my license, myself and most of the time the cars survived unscathed.
Trying to pick one great road trip didn’t prove hard at all if I’m honest. Those members who have made the long trip south to Macon in the French wine region will agree I’m sure. The only other contender was this years’ trip to the WSR event at the Nurburgring which was fantastic - but a Clio 182 Cup while great fun is never going to serve up the thrills of a properly sorted 300bhp GTA on coilovers and track rubber that was my companion for the Macon rally in 2009. In subsequent years I’ve tried the event in a V6 Clio and the 182 and while thoroughly enjoyable haven’t made quite the impression of that first year.
With such a long journey an early start is key and I met up with several other RAOC members at the Shuttle terminal for a quick coffee before most people are out of bed. On this occasion everybody made it (not always a given!) and we made the painless 30 minute journey across the channel. Stage two of the journey has become something of a ritual now, a relaxed drive down to Reims for lunch, followed by pictures at the old Reims grand prix circuit, the old back straight of which is now public road. It’s a great place to stop and take a few pictures and drink in the atmosphere.
The remainder of the trip down was not as uneventful as we would have liked with Tony Law’s GTA Turbo having gear linkage issues, that luckily his resourceful co-driver (son John) was able to temporarily rectify well enough to limp to Macon.
First night is always the welcome party at the Escatel Hotel (a relic straight out of the 70’s) where all the entrants mingle and the Brits try their best to communicate in pigeon French. Luckily Steve Dell, ex-pat Andy Holt and a few others are fluent and try to make sure too much doesn’t get lost in translation. There is a real sense of camaraderie amongst the drivers, whom for many this has become an annual pilgrimage since its inauguration over 20 years ago. Us Brits are made to feel very welcome – our choice of vehicle and the appreciation of the effort we have made to attend being obvious.
The rally starts the next morning in the main town square where somewhere in the region of a 100 Alpines and classic sporting Renaults vie for your attention. Stunning A310’s, 8 Gordinis in abundance, A610’s, dozens of GTA’s, many A110’s in full rally garb and an eclectic mix of Renaults finest. Wandering around admiring the cars entered is a great way to spend an hour whether you are competing or not – and many of the locals take full advantage coming out to admire the cars and cheer off the entrants when the rally starts.
The rally itself is brilliantly organized by the AMAC car club and involves ‘spirited’ driving and navigation through the beautiful countryside and towns to the West of Macon (one of France’s biggest wine regions) in an annual celebration of the rally glory days of the A110.
Cars are waved out one at a time and you then either take a gamble and follow the car in front or preferably have your co-driver do some proper navigating. After a few miles you are out of the town, the traffic thins and you are presented with some of the finest driving roads you will ever see. Virtual tunnels of trees, turn instantly to stunning views of the multi-layered countryside as you climb and wind your way through the hills. Every turn presents a different challenge on the road and another breathtaking view.
After an hour or so you reach the first stop of the day – a wine tasting stop – only in France! Next it’s back on the road for another hour or so until lunch (with free wine of course). It quickly becomes apparent that the entrants drive pretty much flat out between villages and we start to up the pace, trying to dispatch some of the slower cars as you come across them. I’m astounded by the speed of some of the Renault 8’s as they weave their way through the narrow lanes where I’m struggling just to stay with them, let alone pass!
Lunch is at a big Renault truck stop nearby, rough and ready but the food is good. We enjoy the break with recollections of the mornings driving, the near misses and how the cars are holding up. Mechanically my GTA was going fantastically well, but the coilovers are set too low and I’m getting some serious arch (I said arch!) chaffage.
The after lunch section is flatter and on more open roads and my co-driver Steve is doing amazingly well to stay relaxed as I hit some seriously big speeds on these roads, the consensus being the local police are pretty happy to turn a blind eye. After an hour or so we reach the afternoon stop and this time it’s at a picturesque cherry orchard where we stop for cherry brandy tasting. Lee Metters has unfortunately had the same problem as the Lawmans car and takes no further part.
The last section of the day is back to the Escatel Hotel which we take at a more relaxed pace. It’s been a great day, I’ve driven faster for longer than ever in my life, around the most challenging and beautiful roads I can remember. Dinner at the Escatel and some drinks sat out in the warm moonlit night air regaling the adventures of the day with some old friends and a great bunch of new ones perfectly topped off the day.
The rest of the trip was great too. I let my friend Steve drive most of the Sunday route which ended with another big group lunch for the competitors. The evening dinner for the British contingent at Pizza Cine has become a fitting way to end the weekend before the long drive home.
Anybody who hasn’t done this event really needs to before they stop running it. Yes it’s expensive but why not make a weeks holiday of it like some of us did last year? The region as a whole has so much to offer – especially for food and drink lovers. Day two of the trip though for me was my all time favourite driving adventure – and I think it could stay that way for a very long time.
ALPINE PARTS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS
Alpine Autos
Address - 27 Greenhurst Rd, South Norwood, London SE27.
Phone - 0203 241 2065
psage@alpinerenaultrestoration.com
http://www.alpinerenaultrestoration.com
Service maintenance and repair and parts for all Renault vehicles, specialist in all Alpines.
Astral Automotive
Unit G5 Tenterfields Business Park, Burnley Rd, Halifax, HX2 6EQ
Phone - 07999295665.
http://www.astralautomotive.co.uk
Body work and paint for all vehicles, GTAs a speciality
EFI Parts
Phone – 0151 324 0478
sales@efi-parts.co.uk
http://www.efi-parts.co.uk
Tuning, and ECU mapping, performance parts, rolling road.
JL Autos
Phone - 07840459381
Rotherhithe SE16
Service maintenance and repair for all Renault vehicles
Mecaparts
mecaparts@mecaparts.com
http://www.mecaparts.com
European based parts provider.
Renault Alpine Tuning Services (RATS)
17 Smeeton St, Heanor, DE75 7HP
Phone - 07974493002
lee.crowston@sky.com
http://www.renaultalpinetuningservices.co.uk
Maintenance service and repair. GTA’s a speciality, performance parts.
Simon Autos
info@simon-auto.de
http://www.simonautos.de
European based parts provider
I'm still happy to do this next year if someone can help with printing or a proper online format, let me know what you guys think.
