#weneverstop – 250Km Rally

29 August 2017 Redazione Events, News

250 KM RALLY

WISH YOU WERE HERE

Words: Alessandro Marrone

Photography: Marco Varano and Federico Vecchio

Every day, at the third morning coffee, I repeat myself that at night we should sleep, but when the Sun gives its place to the Moon, the classic bulb of the brilliant ideas comes on intermittently and so I find myself taking notes that I will show to my colleagues at the office the following day. This happens when your job coincides with a great passion – you can’t pull off the plug, and maybe you do not even intend to. The 250Km Rally was born this way, over a night spent writing notes on my mobile, figuring how a photo shoot could be organized and mixed with a driving tour. It’s not a simple business, because shootings take time, the possibility to move and stop without problems, and therefore practically impossible to deal with a huge number of cars. Here, I solved what seemed the only real obstacle, thinking that the solution would be to open this initiative to a maximum of seven cars, the magnificent seven. We would have involved some of the most representative performance cars, no distinction of brand or age, we would take them on a road that would have been carved into the hearts and memories of each participant and everyone could have kept this adventure not only through this article and to the beautiful photo gallery, but with an individual photo book, each dedicated to every single car – the 250Km Rally was taking shape.

Once transformed from a paper idea to a proper project, it was nothing but finding the ideal path and my head was inexplicably ignited with the name “250 Km”, almost wanting to recall one of the most epic races ever, the legendary Mille Miglia. Everything should have been done on a single day, taking into account photographic stops and the fact that we like to attack some corners. The ideal scenario was only one and I’m talking about the one chosen, taking off from our beloved Montecarlo, developing along the Vars river, going into the scenic Gorges de Daluis, climbing the Col de la Cayolle and then through Barcelonnette for finally approach the Lac de Serre-Ponçon. Once the patrol was over, everything was clear – the magnificent seven would have been excited.

The morning of August 6^th arrives fast and cars ready to drive the 250 kilometers are six instead of seven, due to a failure at a Lotus Elise. Also, at the last moment one of the participants replaces his Toyota GT86 with a Porsche 997 Carrera – some details change, but the recipe remains boiling hot and after having the accreditations, briefing and breakfast at Stars ‘n Bars, we are ready to leave towards Nice. The cars involved represent the crème de la crème in terms of driving pleasure, each with a precise meaning: there is the ultimate roadster, the new Mazda MX-5, one of the most effective front wheels around today, the new 300hp Seat Leon Cupra SC, two Porsche 911s (a 997 Carrera and a 991 GTS Convertible), a Nismo 370Z prepared for a nuclear war and finally the BMW M4 Coupe made available by Gino Luxury & Motorsport. As soon as we leave the Principality we are literally hit by a storm: rain and wind slow down us a bit, but we are not afraid and so we keep going into the valley, being immediately rewarded by a timid sun, which, with the passage of the hours, becomes more and more insistent, creating a meteorologically impeccable day. We grind the first kilometers and after the first stop entering Daluis, we face the Gorges, admiring the breathtaking place that Mother Nature has created over the years. Right here the photographers game starts becoming serious and the participants are literally immersed into a photoshoot, just as if we were on the set of a shooting like those you browse monthly on our magazine – in fact, we are in the heart of an event like any others. Keep rollin’ with dust-covered cars, and as the curves become more accentuated, we start climbing the 2,326 meters of the Col de la Cayolle. Once again the landscape around us plays a fundamental role and alternating tunnels made out of naked rock, perfectly vertical walls on one side and jagged ones on the other, we reach the summit and we are greeted by a cool breeze that keeps us company during the second photographic stop. Time seems to have stopped (despite the enormous delay accumulated on the plan), there are no sounds, and wherever you point your sight you see an immaculate valley, unspoiled peaks and those six sports cars, those creatures of pleasure that are doing exactly what they’re made for: having fun with horsepower.

Again, climbing down from the narrow and insidious north side towards Barcelonnette, just before crossing the Serre-Ponçon lake and driving over the Savines-le-Lac bridge. We arrive in Chorges, at the Amarina restaurant at 4pm (instead of 1pm) and despite that the kind owner prepares us a great lunch. More photos, lots of photos alternating with hot comments, tales and talk between people who seem long time friends, and then other 100km improvised along the Col de Larche. The pace is not like a typical “coming back home trip”, but rather a second small part of the tour and all this is great. Last petrol stop, time for greetings, and personally I realize that we at Auto Class have been the luckiest ones here, since we have been able to share with others what we do (almost) daily when it comes to shoot cars, but doing it with the spirit of a driving tour and above all by sharing it with other driving maniacs, everything has taken on a different flavor. We wanted to make you experience a special occasion and you are the one who has given us a unique gift, to spend such an apparently unrepeatable day, because with a tight group of people you create a strong bond and if it was not for the tiredness and the alarm clock ready to ring the following morning, I’m sure we would have found any excuse to further extend the road back home.

The 250 Km Rally born as an experiment, it could have been an isolated event, or even an appointment to be scheduled every two years, but after having lived it, who knows that next year – changing location – will not be part of the more and more intense events calendar of Auto Class … who knows!

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