Hi All,
Just returned from a very enjoyable visit to the Laon Historique Rally.
We initially had it booked for 2020 and we all know what happened there!
We drove down on the Bank Holiday Thursday with my friend in his Mk1 1500GT Cortina. First long run after a lot of prep work. No traffic at all. The longest stop we had was handing the ferry tickets in.
A great run through France on deserted motorways to the Airbnb house. Absolutely cracking place, just restored, and was very reasonable on price.
Saturday saw the meet at Park Foch at 9am. Around 850 classic cars and bikes. 10am start for the 90 mile rally.
Unfortunately, Max had no clue how to read the Tulip road book and we had no trip meter but with so many cars heading off we just joined a pack and stuck with them. The next three hours were spent driving the best roads I have ever driven in my car. Every village and town we went through the residents were on the streets cheering us through. A great atmosphere.
Sunday was spent in the hilltop Cathedral town of Laon. Four main parking areas set aside for the classics and all the roads closed. After a driver briefing, 2.30pm saw us set off for 8Km laps of the town. Again, with very enthusiastic crowds. A short shower just after pulling away made it a bit slippery but dried up within minutes.
I used the club sourced rain cover every night, just in case. Easy to use and fitted perfectly.
There was another rally on the Monday, but we had opted to return home. (Back to work!)
Met a few people over there who know Mr.Darniche and they forwarded him photos. He did reply with a thumbs up on Facebook!
The run back also saw no traffic. We all had a surprisingly good lunch on the ferry, and then another good run around the M25.
A total of 860 miles with no mechanical problems and just half a litre of oil used in my old eBay 12v lump.
A great trip in our cars to a very enjoyable, well-organized event.
Look forward to the next one.
