PAU CLASSIC GRAND PRIX #2: ON THE ROAD TO GLORY
Following in the footsteps of the greatest automobile champions of the last century, the drivers of the Pau Classic Grand Prix battled without reserve in the streets of Pau. The best way for them to show their attachment to this urban circuit steeped in such a long history.
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HGPCA F1 PRE 61 AND PRE 66
A Cooper quadruple!
For the second time this weekend, spectators at the Pau Classic GP were able to enjoy the sight (and sound!) of pre-1966 F1 cars and even some pre-war Grand Prix cars. In a field immediately led by Saturday's winner Will Nuthall (Cooper T53), the start of the race was marred by Peter Horsman's exit from the track, the driver of the Lotus 18/21 trying to move up in the hierarchy due to his retirement in race 1. A decidedly black weekend for the Briton! On the other hand, the race will once again smile to the Coopers, the comeback of Rod Jolley and Tony Lees behind Will Nuthall and Charlie Martin allowing the former firm of John Cooper to sign an exceptional quadruple! Behind them John Spiers put in quite a performance, taking the fastest of the three Maserati 250Fs to fifth place. Three places further back we find the only Frenchman present on this grid: Philippe Bonny, aboard a Brabham BT2 which had taken part in the GP of Pau 1963 in the hands of Jo Schlesser.
The top 5 : 1.Nuthall (Cooper T53), 2.Martin (Cooper T53), 3.Jolley (Cooper T45/51), 4.Lees (Cooper T53), 5.Spiers (Maserati 250F).
LEGENDS OF THE HISTORIC GP DE PAU (F1/F2)
9/1000 of a second for a victory!
Former F1 or F2 drivers from the 70s, these "legends" of the Grand Prix de Pau naturally returned to the stage this Sunday afternoon for a second performance in the heart of the Béarn city. The hero of Saturday's race, Manfredo Rossi set off again at the same pace in his 1976 March 2-litre engine, gradually widening the gap over the other F2s of Christopher Lillingston-Price (Tecno T70) and Laurent Vallery-Masson (March 77B). The Italian driver, the very active heir of Martini Racing, seemed to be on his way to an indisputable victory... before he crashed out with one lap to go! However, Christopher Lillingston-Price had a narrow escape from defeat when Laurent Vallery-Masson attacked him at the end of the race, the Englishman managing to keep his lead for only 9/1000 of a second! Manfredo Rossi's mistake and his overtaking of James King also gave Robert Simac a place on the podium.
The top 5: 1.Lillingston-Price (Tecno T70 F2), 2.Vallery-Masson (March 77B), 3.Simac (March 712M), 4.King (March 712), 5.Wood (March 73B).
HISTORIC FORMULA JUNIOR
A one-sided Lotus, Brabham battle
The Lotus 22s dominated Formula Junior at the time of their reign (in 1962/1963) and have lost none of their glory almost sixty years later! On Sunday morning, Clive Richards and Chris Goodwin combined their efforts to prove it to the public of Palois by signing an implacable double. Leader from start to finish, the former repeated his victory of Saturday. The Brabham BT6s from the same period were this time relegated to a good distance with, in order of passage under the chequered flag, Mark Shaw, Roberto Tonetti and Richard Wilson "in the driving seat". The first front-engined Formula Junior, Ray Mallock's curious U2 MK2, was seventh.
The top five: 1.Richards (Lotus 22), 2.Goodwin (Lotus 22), 3.Shaw (Brabham BT6), 4.Tonetti (Brabham BT6), 5.Wilson (Brabham BT6).
F3 AND FORMULA RENAULT CLASSIC
Lajoux remains the boss
After a superb duel on Saturday, Frédéric Lajoux and Frédéric Rouvier resumed their battle on Sunday afternoon, before a slight contact between them upset the balance. The after-effects of this incident led to the second rider to give up halfway through the race, whereas Frédéric Lajoux had already taken his distance in the lead. Shortly before, the bad luck had also hit Alain Girardet, who came back like a flash to third place before being stopped again by his gearbox. Despite a substantial lead, Frédéric Lajoux never slackened his effort and took the best place in his penultimate loop. Laurent Vallery-Masson finished second, as he had done a short time before in F2, while the British driver Rob Moores completed the Sunday trifecta. In Formula Renault, Antoine and Lionel Robert took another one-two in front of "Nelson", with the luxury of slipping into the top 5 of the general classification.
The top 5: 1.Lajoux (March 793), 2.Vallery-Masson (Ralt RT3), 3.Moores (Chevron B38), 4.A.Robert (Martini MK48), 5.L.Robert (Martini MK44).
FORMULA FORD HISTORIC CHALLENGE
The Merlyns as if on parade
Early in the morning, the drivers of the Formula Ford Historic Challenge started the second day of the race with a result that looked like revenge for the previous day's confrontation. Beaten by a small margin on Saturday, the British driver Rory Smith succeeded this time in containing the assaults of his compatriot Callum Grant until the chequered flag. At the end of a race that was first interrupted following a run-off, then neutralised on two other occasions, the two Merlyn Mk20A (a 1972 vintage) crossed the finish line wheel-to-wheel, separated by only 3/10 of a second. Just like the result of race 1, the Swiss Alain Girardet once again had the honour of joining them on the podium. Frenchmen Adrien Laissac and François Belle completed the top 5 for the second time this weekend.
The top 5: 1.Smith (Merlyn MK20A), 2.Grant (Merlyn MK20A), 3.Girardet (Crosslé 25F), 4.Laissac (Van Diemen RF81), 5.Belle (Lola T540E).
HISTORIC ENDURANCE PRE 76 GT
Eternal Lotus Seven
This Sunday, as the day before, the Lotus cars did not only shine in F1 and Formula Junior. In this 45-minute endurance race for pre-1976 GT/Tourism cars, the company created by Colin Chapman was also in the limelight, with many Lotus Elans and Lotus Sevens taking the lead. At the wheel of one of the latter, Florent Cazalot from Toulouse dominated the first part of the race, before it was momentarily neutralised after a Porsche went off the track. The race was restarted at the beginning of the last quarter of an hour, and Florent Cazalot then set about making his domination a reality to take his second victory of the weekend. The Lotus Seven just missed out on the double, with the young Savinien Legeleux leaving the advantage to the Porsche 911 2,8L of the Portuguese Vasco Nina for a small second.
The top 5: 1.Cazalot (Lotus Seven), 2.Nina (Porsche 911 2.8), 3.Legeleux (Lotus Seven), 4.Kohler (Lotus Elan), 5.Soares (Lotus Elan).
MAXI 1300 SERIES AND BRITISH GT
And two for Rallye 2
The turbulent cars of the Maxi 1300 Series once again offered a quality show in the corridor of the Palois track. At the wheel of his Cooper S, David Barrere held on to the lead for the first few laps before succumbing to an umpteenth attack from the fiery Alexandre Faliere. After the overtaking, the Rallye 2 driver took care to stay out of reach of his rival to repeat his success of the previous day. Far from them and alone, Tony Gruelles offers himself a new podium on board his Mini Marcos.
The top 5 : 1.Faliere (Rallye 2), 2.Barrere (Cooper S), 3.Gruelles (Mini Marcos), 4.Quesnel (Cooper S), 5.Dumoussaud (Cooper S).
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