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Alpine Grand Prix – Hairpins For Breakfast
ALPINE GRAND PRIX
HAIRPINS FOR BREAKFAST
The Alpine Grand Prix is an indigestion of bends, a binge of hairpin curves devoted to satisfying that deepest desire to tighten a steering wheel and crunch kilometers that you will not easily forget.
Words by Alessandro Marrone / Photos by Giorgia Rossi
This morning the sun has missed the call and as the minutes pass I start to believe that it will get up late. It is from Saturday evening that the autumn air creeps into our thoughts and leaves room for a fresh breeze that does not seem able to sweep away that intense veil of fog over Sestriere. This was not a problem yesterday evening, when a good half of this year’s participants were pampered by the delicious cuisine of the Grange Sax, an exceptional restaurant located in the picturesque village of Grangesises. Specifically opened for us, it has been the ideal meeting place to start receiving an increasingly compact group that welcomes new and dear old friends at each appointment. Almost closed in the intimacy of the main room at the foot of the mountains, it was inevitable that most of the speeches would end up on the topic shared by enthusiasts who do not intend to relegate their passion by keeping their sports cars segregated in a dusty garage.
The following morning the meteorological situation remains stable, with a delicate rain that wets the bodies of the cars starting to gather in front of the imposing Exilles fortress shortly after the first light of dawn (actually it was already 8.00, but tell me that it is not an effective way for introducing the pack). On time as never before, all the crews line up side by side and while the accreditation process continues, there is just enough time to take a sneak peek at the road book of this third edition of the Alpine Grand Prix. As always, the common factors with the previous events are an indefinite quantity of curves, over 250 kilometers up and down the Alps that cross the border between Italy and France, in our opinion the ultimate playground for having fun immersed in a breathtaking landscape.
Quick briefing useful to summarize the main stages and some safety regulations and the convoy begins its climb towards the Col du Mont-Cenis. Leading the group, our official staff car, the new Cupra Ateca that thanks to its all-wheel drive and exceptional maneuverability manages to take advantage of its 300 horses, despite a dense fog envelops the last kilometers to the top of the hill, until we make the first stop on what should have been the banks of the Mont-Cenis lake, absolutely impossible to see as it is hidden by a thick layer of fog. We do not waste more time trying to figure out where the panorama is and we keep going north towards Lanslebourg, finally with the first rays of the sun of the day. Inevitably, the pace increases and, as logic imposes, fun does that as well. Lurking roadside with the photographer, we see the Cupra drive by like a rocket, closely followed by the Alpine A110 (one of the best cars for this kind of event – by name and by nature) and then Maserati Granturismo MC Stradale, Ferrari F12, Mustang, Lotus, Nissan GTR and the inevitable line-up of Porsches, including 997 GT3 RS, 991 GTS, 997, 996 GT3, Boxster, Cayman and 991 Targa, not to mention the aggressive MX-5 RF and Clio RS. The noisiest and fastest snake of the Alps continues penetrating into the French stomach pointing towards the Col du Galibier, then passing the Col du Télégraphe and another generous bunch of hairpin bends.
The road that leads to the summit of the Galibier ascending from Valloire is one of the most scenic sections that can be traveled by car. Immense pristine valleys with rocky walls that rise as far as the eye can see, and in the midst of this incredible wonder of nature, a road that a turn after the other rises up to 2,642 meters. The climb is kissed by a perfect weather, asphalt is dry and traffic is scarce enough to allow participants to remember another good reason why it is worth getting up early on certain mornings. Captured by an almost surreal skyline, the kilometers slip away in a hurry and soon a slight fog makes its way back, less insistent than the one at the start of the day and in fact already descending south and passing the Col du Lautaret it vanishes once again and allows to enjoy the most fast part of the tour in complete ease. It is here that Mother Nature reminds us of how insignificant we are in her presence, creating a sort of halo of clouds around the highest rocky peaks in front of us, right above the valley where the cars launch themselves pulling their engines by the neck. We pass Briancon and then Cervieres and finally the time it comes for one of the most beautiful mountain passes in the world, a natural treasure envied even by the deepest corner of the universe: Col d’Izoard.
It was a matter of choosing the most appropriate period to avoid the intense traffic that characterizes the Izoard during the summer season, so to find the wet asphalt but the road for us is undoubtedly better than having to tackle dozens of bicycles, motorcycles , caravans and other cars. A short stop at the Refuge Napoléon and off to a glorious series of hairpins that have made this famous Tour de France stage a legendary Mecca for cyclists and driving enthusiasts in general. The rocky conformation of the area makes you think you’re landed on Mars, but in moments like this you realize the best thing to do is hold tight on the steering wheel and make the engine echo in such an amazing valley carved by winds and the passing of years. It is therefore up to the last two of the seven mountain passes of today’s adventure, the Col de Vars and the Col de Larche, to represent the final stages that allow us to grant a deserved rest for both cars and drivers, that despite the very rough weather conditions accomplished to stay tight in the pack from start to finish.
It is 4.30 pm and we have not had breakfast or lunch yet, so we look for shelter (in the meantime the fog has come back again) inside the Ristorante del Lago as we are greeted by a delicious typical lunch, featuring some polenta, cheeses, desserts and the renowned sympathy and kindness of the locals. Not to mention the fur mascot, as well as our personal four-legged friend Billy, who has also become a regular at the Alpine Grand Prix. An event that initially should have joined our other driving tours for three years, but given the exceptional feedbacks and the great projects we have for other days like this, find a permanent place on our calendar and will return next year and the following one as well, still with a renewed itinerary, but keeping intact the purest and greatest desire to devour kilometers.
The Alpine Grand Prix is an indigestion of bends, a binge of hairpin curves devoted to satisfying that deepest desire to tighten a steering wheel and crunch kilometers that you will not easily forget, but as always the main ingredient and which makes every edition an appointment to be marked in capital letters on the calendar is brought by the people we are lucky enough to meet here. Each of them with their own car, their own story, their own adventures to tell and thus entering into what – year after year – we see more like a great family reunion, not like a traditional driving tour. And when it’s time to say goodbye, you already think about the next climb, maybe with a more lenient weather, where we’ll have the chance to unleash the horses for more than we were able to do in those parts of day when the sun came out and radiated the picturesque snake of asphalt of this incredible adventure shared with the best people we could have wished for.
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