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Alpine Grand Prix II: EPIC
ALPINE GRAND PRIX
EPIC
Words by Alessandro Marrone
Photos by Giorgia Rossi
After all these days at the wheel up and down the mountains, I have not yet understood the reason that bring me at the end of the day with a much lighter wallet than I had plan. The same goes to the timetables, since the departure always happens on time, but that of the arrival at destination comes earlier than what the sat-nav says. These two things have a connection, it’s clear, but what fault do we have if out there there are roads that are pure instigation to violence on the throttle? Every time you leave home with a thousand good intentions – this time we just cruise nice and easy – but tell me how you could possibly be calm when you have a GranTurismo MC Stradale that dusts your rear bumper and cry out loud in every tunnel, so hard that you’re forced to cover your ears. No, I’m joking, actually I opened all the windows just to let the sound of that V8 come in and keep it stuck in my head as the ideal soundtrack of a driving day of those that you do not easily forget.
The weather forecast predicted rain and in fact the sky above Montecarlo was not even remotely bright as usual. Looking towards the mountains, a blanket of black clouds threatened to put us travelling the 290km tour under a storm that would have undermined fun and success of the event itself. In short, those who were enjoying breakfast during the accreditation were a bunch of pigeons that seemed preferring chocolate croissants instead of those with jam. For this second appointment of the Alpine Grand Prix we decided to welcome a number of cars suitable for the type of journey, duration of the tour and suitable for the development of the various stages planned. As always there was some last minute forfait, but on time and ready to face what was expecting to us beyond the border, we lined up one after the other, ready to unload the desire to drive in one of the last events of the season – ‘cause the arrival of autumn coincides with the closure of several alpine passes and where there are no curves, we do not have fun. A very simple equation that leads us to prefer roads winding like guts, steep climbs that flank ridges of rock ready to punish the slightest mistake, as to reward the arrival on top.
After driving a handful of motorway kilometers heading for Nice, maintaining a maximum speed of 110 kph due to the numerous speed cameras, we finally reach the Vallée du Var, not yet in the heart of the tour, but already attracted by the landscape that stands out on the horizon. The road, at least in the very first stretch, is still a bit busy (even if less than usual) and we proceed calmly, almost as if we were all aware of the fact that shortly thereafter there would be a hellish cocktail of petrol and burner rubber. Meanwhile the sky has decided to assist us and the clouds that have made us worry a few half an hour before have finally left room for a beautiful late summer sun. The road seems tightening up, but in reality it is right here that the proper fun begins, a little bit like someone had given the go – nobody hesitates, the game starts now. Perfectly ordered and facilitating each other overtaking, the cars alternate in favor of some photographic shot and after a few kilometers at some sort of moderate pace we are ready for war.
Now the landscape seems to be borrowed from one of the most beautiful postcards born from your imagination, the road surface is perfect and even if the roadway is not extremely generous, the excellent visibility on the opposite lane allows us to take advantage of these cars for what they have been conceived: entertain. Today there are representatives of every philosophy, from the lightweight Lotus Exige Sport 350, to the powerful and noisy Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale. Then, a good bunch of Porsche, including a 964 that has given moments of authentic soundporn thanks to its air-cooled flat-six, and still younger sports cars such as the Subaru WRX STI and the Peugeot 208 GTI, at ease on these roads rich in changes of direction and tight bends. Nobody got lost and the snake of spirited drivers who seemed coming out of the craziest episode of the “Wacky Races” has also come across a caravan of diesel Jaguar, a steam train leaving for who knows where and at least a couple of convoys of French Porsche coming from the opposite direction. No conflict of interest, but signs of approval and head down through the wonderful Gorges de Daluis, where we decided to devote a few more minutes to those crazy tunnels, going back and forth until resuming the drive for Valberg.
Our tires have also bitten the asphalt of the Gorges du Cians, before returning to wider roads and more or less irresponsible speeds. Petrol stop at Isola and then the long awaited moment of the climb on the highest asphalt road in Europe, that of the Col de la Bonette and its 2,715 meters, which become 2,802 next to the monolith, obligatory checkpoint before the final tug. If the way up has been a succession of hairpins, the descent along the Col du Restefonde offered one of the most unforgettable views you can ever find on this planet. The yellowed mountains under naked peaks of rock pointing as far as the eye can reach into these giant valleys have made this stage one of the most exciting moments of the whole day, which has seen us drive in any possible location, from the fascinating Montecarlo streets to the fast straights of the Valley of the Var, up to the epic red rocks road and again on these hairpin bends, which have something special that is really difficult to explain to those who do not have petrol in their blood. A couple of gears down, set the curve and open the gas by bringing the tachometer’s needle up, it has a different flavor if done with a gang like this. Up there the cavalry is someway cut from the altitude and the margin of error is reduced to the minimum, but it is a bit ‘as if you are at a crossroads, once made the decision to push hard you can’t go back.
Down to Jausiers and then we aimed once again for the mountains, this time in direction of the Colle della Maddalena (Col de Larche for the French people), where the impeccable road surface and heavy foot prevailed on every calculation, making us reach the restaurant forty minutes before the plan – that says a lot. A lunch/snack that turned out to be a fantastic surprise, not only for the friendliness of the owners of the Bar del Lago, where we will definitely come back soon – but for the quality of a meal that has satisified an appetite made even more insistent by the adrenaline of an exceptional adventure. When you reach the end of the day you have time to relax, to chat with more serenity and to notice how a group of people is able to become friends thanks to those pieces of metal parked outside, a few steps from the lake and finally enjoying their deserved rest. Last year’s Alpine Grand Prix has been one of the most epic moments ever, but this edition gave even more excitement. Surely the itinerary, studied in detail to enhance driving pleasure like no other driving tour had ever done, played an important role, but the fundamental ingredients were the people here. People that after a few minutes you see as a group of friends and not as participants, a group of friends who do not bother burning petrol as if there was no tomorrow. And the beauty is that during the return trip – along the Italian side of the Colle della Maddalena, we were already thinking about what to organize for the next year.
Auto Class would like to thank the sponsors: Astoria, Capristo Exhaust, Euroimport Pneumatici, RacetrackArt and Peugeot Italia and Subaru Italia for giving us the safety cars, impeccable weapons for this high-altitude outburst.
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