Every now and then we publish blogs from our readers, such as Amaury Laparra’s photographer’s blog and road trip through the South of France. Currently studying Design and Architecture in Paris, Amaury likes to spend his off time photographing cars. In particular, Amaury has a love for the cars of yesteryear; and for this guest blog he and the folk from the Asphalt Heritage Club have decided to focus on the Tour Auto, Spa Classic and L’Age D’or.
Asphalt Heritage Club: During the 1600km journey of the Tour Auto I was overtaken by a Porsche 906…
…And it’s not every day that a Lancia Stratos passes you in the middle of nowhere.
The Tour Auto is a gathering of some iconic racing cars for a race on some of the most beautiful roads.
It’s held in the Basque Country in the South West of France.
At first glance the landscape looks more like something you’d find in Latin America!
The 2011 Tour Auto was dedicated to the Zagato. There were many different models from the Italian design company, but my favourite was the magnificent Alfa Romeo TZ. There were ten of them at the event.
In some ways the Tour Auto is a kind of Panamericana or Mille Miglia rally. Although they are each very different events, they share a similar spirit.
I’ll never forget this moment: 8am on a cold morning and hearing the unique sound of the Porsche 906 reverberating around the mountains.
The Tour Auto is not a regular rally that has stages on closed roads. It also includes competitive races on different tracks, from the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans to Montlhery.
Just a few moments after taking this photo, these two GT40s made some contact. It was the last corner of the last lap, with #205 winning by a narrow margin.
Another event I went to was the Spa Classic, held on the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. This is a race weekend that sees some delicious cars take to the track. But they aren’t here for a parade; they are here to race. There was plenty of diversity too, from a Group C Mercedes-Benz C11 to the Alfa Romeo TZ2.
These classic events don’t get the media coverage they deserve.
I’m sure many of the Speedhunters readers would agree!
These cars were about to find out who was the bravest of late-brakers as they entered the La Source hairpin.
There are only a few race tracks around the world that have such an amazing forest backdrop.
Seeing these old race cars hurtling through the forest at 140mph after Raidillon is so addictive. You can stay here for hours.
Pouhon corner: one of the many challenging corners at Spa. If you’re not convinced, just take a look at the tyre marks!
These are true classic events. Even some 40 years later they still have a special atmosphere in the paddock.
And finally, there is the L’Age D’or held at Dijon-Prenois every June. Here all kinds of vintage car categories race against each other in a friendly environment.
At this event there is no adulation for the drivers. The real stars of the show are the cars.
The Lotus Cortina was an exciting car to see in action.
They were also the fastest in their category, leading the Alfa GTAs and BMW 2002s.
Seeing a 300 SLR coming right at you at full speed made me very emotional.
As did the two original D-Types fighting for first place!
The spirit at events like these are truly fantastic. It’s amazing to see these cars out there racing each other rather than seeing them in a museum.
Words and photos by Asphalt Heritage Club