Day 4. Valence - Marseille
I received this message from Kevin at 5:40 am!
"
Nik,The tour is a tough event by anyone's book, tough on cars and drivers.
Long days in hot cars with not much sleep.
There are five plateau's in the Tour,
The start times are varied to allow for at least a few days, where you don't have to get up silly early.
Today was one of our lie in days ( ie we get up at 7 and not 5am)
Today on our lie in day the hotel...
Fire alarm went off, so the lie in never happened !!!" Oh well, at least they had a hearty French breakfast to make up for it!
SO. Not the best start to a 400km+ blast across Southern France with 2 special stages and a circuit race ahead!
the Cobras don`t seem to mind an early start though:
Camaradrie, or holding each other up?!
As they prepare to leave Valence, Kevin & Charles de Villaucourt take a moment to show that despite being rivals, they can still share a smile!
Not only is today one of the longest on the road, but it starts with the longest Special Stage to date, Le Moulinon.
This is a fast, flowing stage, punctuated by a couple of hairpin turns at around 2/3 distance, and again Shaun & Kevin lose a little ground against the front runners, with the GT40 of Smith & Cottingham proving a good match for the Lajournade E-Type & Caron`s Cobra, what a shame for them that problems on day 1 have left them so far down the field:
1 (201) Jean Pierre LAJOURNADE / Christophe BOUCHET FRA/FRA Jaguar E-Type 12m18s
2 (205) Andrew SMITH / James COTTINGHAM GBR/GBR Ford GT 40 + 12s
3 (202) Ludovic CARON / Charles de VILLAUCOURT FRA/FRA Shelby Cobra + 21s
7 (204) Andrew BEVERLEY / Mike HUMPHREYS GBR/GBR Shelby Cobra + 1m11s
9 (203) Shaun LYNN / Kevin KIVLOCHAN GBR/GBR Shelby Cobra 289 + 1m17s
After this stage, time for a quick service, courtesy of the Moto Historic Support crew:
Lunch follows, and after yesterday`s Chateau, today sees a return to the familiar stop at an Abbey, Abbaye de Bouchet.
One thing Cobras don`t like to pass...Petrol Stations!
At least our chaps don`t seem to be showing the fatigue that early starts and late finishes must be inflicting upon them!
By comparison to the morning stage, the Saint Victor La Coste stage is polar opposite, lasting little over 4 minutes!
The results, however, look decidedly similar:
1 (201) Jean Pierre LAJOURNADE / Christophe BOUCHET FRA/FRA Jaguar E-Type 4m15s
2 (202) Ludovic CARON / Charles de VILLAUCOURT FRA/FRA Shelby Cobra + 04s
3 (205) Andrew SMITH / James COTTINGHAM GBR/GBR Ford GT 40 + 04s
4 (217) Ralf HUBER GUTIERREZ / Valérie DOT CHE/FRA Shelby Cobra 289 + 13s
10 (208) Frédéric JOUSSET / Paul MILIOTIS FRA/FRA Shelby Cobra + 24s
12 (207) Mark FREEMANN / Nigel ARMSTRONG GBR/GBR Shelby Cobra + 26s
15 (203) Shaun LYNN / Kevin KIVLOCHAN GBR/GBR Shelby Cobra 289 + 30s
Ever wondered how they get some of the great footage like
THIS? Well, here`s your answer:
One essential part of the team is the chase car... 1973 Porsche RS anyone? Lovely!
Some of the scenery in this part of the world is stunning:
The final competitive element of the day takes place at the Ledenon Circuit:
...And Oh boy, did Shaun make the most of it!
1 (203) Shaun LYNN / Kevin KIVLOCHAN GBR/GBR Shelby Cobra 289 13m43s
2 (202) Ludovic CARON / Charles de VILLAUCOURT FRA/FRA Shelby Cobra + 14s
3 (201) Jean Pierre LAJOURNADE / Christophe BOUCHET FRA/FRA Jaguar E-Type + 15s
4 (208) Frédéric JOUSSET / Paul MILIOTIS FRA/FRA Shelby Cobra 289 + 31s
7 (217) Ralf HUBER GUTIERREZ / Valérie DOT CHE/FRA Shelby Cobra 289 + 1m01s
Sadly we were denied the chance to see Andrew Smith in the mix on the circuit, as the GT40, and the Cobras of Martin Freeman & Andrew Beverley, were unable to compete on the circuit, Let`s hope they are all fit for the final Day tomorrow!
As the Tour beds down for the night in Marseille, the Overall Standings remain static for the top 3, it will take something quite dramatic to change that by the end of the final Extra-Special Anniversary night stage which brings the 2016 Tour Auto to a close in the early hours of Sunday morning:
1 (201) Jean Pierre LAJOURNADE / Christophe BOUCHET FRA/FRA Jaguar E-Type 1h 37m 55s
2 (202) Ludovic CARON / Charles de VILLAUCOURT FRA/FRA Shelby Cobra + 1m 15s
3 (203) Shaun LYNN / Kevin KIVLOCHAN GBR/GBR Shelby Cobra + 4m 26s
14 (217) Ralf HUBER GUTIERREZ / Valérie DOT CHE/FRA Shelby + 13m 25s
42 (208) Frédéric JOUSSET / Paul MILIOTIS FRA/FRA Shelby Cobra + 1h 04m 14s
44 (207) Mark FREEMANN / Nigel ARMSTRONG GBR/GBR Shelby Cobra + 1h 09m 27s
49 (204) Andrew BEVERLEY / Mike HUMPHREYS GBR/GBR Shelby Cobra 289 + 2h 01m 47s
53 (205) Andrew SMITH / James COTTINGHAM GBR/GBR Ford GT 40 + 2h 59m 52s
One final message from Kevin:
"
We started at 5am thanks to fire alarm,
Now 12:30 and just got to hotel, knackered with burnt feet!
What a great day" Anyone need a pair of 4-day old racing boots, light signs of wear?!
