250 KM Rally: Home Is Where The Mountains Roar

29 July 2019 Redazione Events, Lifestyle, News

250 KM RALLY

HOME IS WHERE THE MOUNTAINS ROAR

Words by Alessandro Marrone / Photos by Giorgia Rossi

Believe it or not, but some drivers don’t want to spend hours having lunch. We are here to drive so we’re gonna drive, and if we’ll live close to the red line, that’ll be even better.

Waking up at 6 am is always hard – let’s face it – that’s why setting the alarm at 5 o’clock should be considered illegal. However, like it or not, jumping off bed before the rooster has its good reasons, and applying this to our job means a day at the edge of madness. The rules of the 250 KM RALLY are very simple: take a very small group of sports cars driven by people who don’t like to leave them collecting dust in the garage, bring ‘em on a carefully designed itinerary in order to enhance driving pleasure and live some of the most borderline 250 kilometers of your life. Very simple we said, but the second edition of this exclusive tour that peeps out every two years has seen a journey of 310 kilometers. Assuming math is not an opinion, the answer to any doubts about the extra 60 km is all in the epic factor of the 2019 map, a sort of list of the best driving roads touching the Maritime Alps, all blunt and ready to make unforgettable what will not remain a Sunday like many others.

THE ROAD, THE PEOPLE, THE ADVENTURE.

Those same places that bewitch and to which no photos and no videos will ever be enough, because of their depth, those sounds that are dispersed in the air all around and in those valleys that allow themselves to be admired until the eye is no longer able to distinguish the outline of the peaks trying to catch the horizon. When you find yourself in those rare moments of calm, of almost surreal silence, you observe that the most beautiful thing in the world is nature itself. You really realize how lucky you are to pay your personal tribute with what is our great passion: cars. And since there is no car without a road and no road makes sense without a car, the group that this year joined us in Antibes is aware that the kilometers ahead will not be those of a simple driving tour – there’s plenty of them. What makes the 250 KM RALLY special, like all the other events that Auto Class periodically organizes, is the fact that we are ready to give up any kind of comfort, because here everything revolves around the road, authentic and undisputed fulcrum of these crazy Sundays spent together.

We leave Antibes and the increasing chaos of the sunny seaside town heading towards Grasse, the International perfume capital. It is a pity that the only fragrance that will keep us company throughout the day will be that of good old petrol, mixed with strong tips of abused brakes and battered tires. Soon the road becomes wider though, freer from sporadic tourists and it’s easy to notice how nothing has been left to chance. We drive the first kilometers immersed in what can be defined as the most spectacular stretch of the legendary Route Napoleon (iconic driving road that develops from Cannes to Grenoble) for turning onto the Route de Thorenc and then let yourself be enchanted by the erosive creations of the Route de Gentelly, a rather short but sensational stretch, with tunnels carved into the rock overhanging the gorge to the right. Alternating with some brief pauses, we top the Col de Vence and rapidly descend along the valley alongside the river Var, so as to pass Entrevaux and Daluis. It is here that we expect the so-called red rocks, topographically known as the Gorges de Daluis, another masterpiece created by mother nature, that between tunnels and winding curves made from balconies left hanging on the steep red stone gorges, give us moments of pure driving and of constant heartbeat. Every time the sunlight gives way to the dark holes in the rock, the roar of the engines is accentuated as we enter into this incredible piece of our planet. Moments of relax in that of Valberg and then down along the Col de la Couillole, a succession of hairpins that despite a significantly narrow road compared to the rest of the tour does not create any kind of problem, also because of an almost absent traffic on the entire stretch that takes us to Isola, for what will be the second and last refueling stop.

Time to let the many Porsches to drink more petrol, not to mention the perennially thirsty Gran Turismo MC Stradale that has awakened the mountains all day long and we climb towards Isola 2000 and then ready to cross the Colle della Lombarda – one of our absolute favorites in terms of scenery – heading to the final checkpoint at the Birra Anima something like 3 hours later than expected. 9 hours, we drove for 9 hours and without even covering one meter of boring motorway. A day to say the least intense, steeped in kilometers along exceptional roads, through valleys whose silence has been broken by the cavalcade of thousands of wild horses and by that innate need to throw the throttle to the metal, curve after curve.

The 250 KM RALLY maintains its magic, that ability to make a group of people even more close than usual and at the same time allows you to emphasize a feeling that becomes so strong that it seems to burst out of the chest. Passing through those places scouted months before, treading the roads that have been marked dozens and dozens of times on digital and paper maps, with the intention of creating an unforgettable itinerary, at times even unbeatable. All in the name of driving pleasure. Those curves, those cars and those people have created a unique event, and believe it or not, some drivers don’t want to spend hours having lunch. We are here to drive so we’re gonna drive, and if we’ll live close to the red line, that’ll be even better. Try to argue the opposite with any of these lunatics, from those who periodically come back crunching at least 600 kilometers at the wheel of their Porsche 911 964 Carrera 2, a pure car with no frills and that does not forgive even the slightest mistake, passing through each single participant who, with his presence and enthusiasm, has contributed to repaying every effort made to create this edition of the Rally.

One day you can come back on your own, just to enjoy that landscape at times gone by too quickly to be fully appreciated. And when you’ll approach and breathe in the silence of these enchanted valleys, I am sure that in your ears you can still hear the sounds, the voices, the emotions of this magical day. At that point the relaxed smile on your face will be tinged with a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that only those who have personally experienced this experience can understand. You will observe the road, that thief of hearts that amaze you with a simple look and you will have to find a good excuse not to restart the journey like a bandit. Maybe you will manage to hold back the desire to end your tires, maybe not, but what is certain is that in the complete peace of a place lost in the wildest Maritime Alps, you will not be able not to think about this long and exhausting day of driving spent together, made more special than usual thanks to you who made extraordinary an office day where the mountains roar.

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