2006
French Revolution Rally – June
2006
"Simply first class; pure enjoyment and adrenalin all the way"
The 6th running of French
Revolution Rally by Conquest Events proved to both exciting
and enormous fun for competitors with overnight stays at the
pretty pastoral village of La Petite Pierre, then the spa
town of Contrexéville and finally
deep in the vineyards of Epernay.
Sampling the local brews
provided some distraction from the sun bathed countryside,
quiet twisting roads and the need to be at a Time Control
10 seconds ago!
The stopwatches started ticking and crews wound their way
through the wooded forests and rolling countryside of the
Lorraine. Dusting down rusty rally skills Edward and Lesley
Behrendt were “Spot On” at the first control but
after 11 sections of interesting regularity Chris and Julie
Rashbrooke’s TR3 headed the field, but only by a mere
6 seconds from Robert and Lauri Frost (1936 Alvis SC Dhc),
whose supplementary trip meter had failed on section 3!
The second day saw a spirited climb up the Col Donon to halt
on the summit and enjoy the view and a well-earned coffee
before heading down a metalled ski run to tackle the next
three sections.
Travelling narrow winding lanes with
numerous junctions and a couple of navigational traps Geoff
and Keitha Insley’s MG was well on song with a couple of zero’s
and they won the Day Award. However, the Jaguar XK150 of Roger
Learmonth and Chris Hunt-Cooke had a cracking day and took
over the lead.
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By the close of play on Day Three, competitors had checked
into a further 9 controls, visited numerous cafés and
most had collected a maximum! Rolling Controls and speed changes
had not fazed the 1943 Derby Bentley of John and Margaret Ball
(who went on to win the Vintage Cars Class), but Chris and Margaret
Osborne had pulled over onto a verge for a local’s car
and as it passed them their Ford Zephyr (nicknamed “The
Raspberry Ripple”) elegantly slipped into the ditch as
the bank gave way. Luckily a farmer pulled them out and they
cut and ran to the next café Time Control to rejoin the
rally.
The penultimate day
and nerves all a jangle, and with just a few seconds separating
the top 5 it was important for crews to self start from the
hotel on time. Ahead of them lay 3 Secret Controls, one on the
crest of a climb that Joan of Arc travelled, several Rolling
Controls to reset stopwatches and trips at as the seconds ticked
by and a couple of well placed Time Controls before lunch at
Lac Der. Unfortunately, the Sunbeam Tiger of Ken Chisholm and
Kate Stanley sheared 3 wheel studs, and despite winning Wednesday’s
Day Award, they missed today’s action. After an un-timed
blast across the plains to Vertus the rally route twisted through
the champagne vineyards for three short, sharp sections. Paul
and Margaret Marshall (BMW 2002) had scored only single figures
at each control and won the Day Award, but Peter and Rayna Jackson
now headed the leader board in their Jaguar E Type.
Ten sections tested teams with some exacting navigation, and
the results changed dramatically as only 3 crews found SC34A
and several cars missed the next TC, but not Hugh and Judi Mayes
(MGA) who won the Day Award. A couple of fiendish speed changes
before the final control and an easily missed slot allowed last
year’s winners Gerald and Carol Westcott (Healey 3000)
to win again and at Château Pierry Champagne House the
corks popped as Roger Learmonth and Chris Hunt-Cooke celebrated
their second overall with Robert and Lauri Frost, who finished
third. At the final Gala Dinner, magician Boris Wild astounded
everyone with his sleight of hand and as organiser John Walsh
said, “I just wish my trickery with the rally routes was
that amazing!”
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