HISTORIC GRAND PRIX ZANDVOORT

I got up at 7:30 am to a very cloudy sky and a lot of wind. Upon arrival at Zandvoort the weather seemed to clear a bit but it the wind was still strong. For my friend Stefan this was his first visit to the Historic Grand Prix, and he was amazed by what he saw and heard. All the different types of race cars, classes but also the different types of teams. You have the teams with a big budget standing next to the guy who’s saving all his money to do a couple or maybe even just one race or event a year. Big luxury trucks and hospitality units next to the bearded race fanatic with his old beat-up Landrover and trailer. A lot of them are English, I love the English car culture and race passion. It is surpassed by none and there is always a great sense of humor. But there were also… Continue reading

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

VEYRON IN HIS BUGATTI TYPE 51 

Last Year, I spotted two Veyrons casually parked just 20 meters away from my house in front of the Montreux Palace. Montreux, Veyron… these words reminded me of one of my grandfather’s souvenirs: The inaugural Montreux Grand Prix, held in 1934. “This is where I met my hero Pierre Veyron. You know, Veyron was a great driver and even better when driving a Bugatti. He even won Le Mans with one” he reminisced, as he went back to the 1930’s, recapping his youth.

The 1934 Montreux Grand Prix? Most of you may never have heard of this GP, but I think that a race in which VEYRON, MOLL, VARZI, TROSSI and ETANCELIN all took part is worth remembering, don’t you agree?

Montreux, where I live, is a kind of Swiss Monte-Carlo which has always been very appreciated by High Society (Napoléon the 3rd, Strawinsky, The Shah of Iran and so on) thanks to its wonderful landscape, mild climate and quietness. Then, one day, some car enthusiasts decided to turn the peaceful historical city center into a roaring and spectacular racing circuit.

The result was… Continue reading

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