unai ona
TEXT AND PHOTOS: UNAI ONA
A month ago we attended the Historic Grand Prix of Pau, held during the weekend of May 19-21. The Pau GP, raced on an urban circuit and from which its classic variant derives, has always been one of the great races on the calendar, being among its various winners drivers of the stature of Louis Renault, Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Jim Clark or jackie stewart, among others.
The first edition was disputed in the year 1901, being used for the first time in history the nickname of Great Prize. The second had to wait a long time, since it was carried out in 1933, to continue between 1935 and 1939. The Pau Grand Prix was contested after World War II between 1946 and 1963 (except in 1953) as a non-scoring event of the Formula 1 and Formula 2 championships, to later be part of the French and European Formula 2 championships until 1984 , and of the International Formula 3000 from 1985 to 1998. Since then and up to the present, it has been used for sets of various categories.
HISTORICAL GP OF PAU: THE CATEGORIES
Made this historical sketch, we will say that the historical grand prix evokes the best years of the buzzard street circuit 2.760 meters long, just a week after the GP proper. A sporting event for classics in which a cocktail of competitions, parades, clubs, collectors' exhibitions and private tours of the route is prepared.
Seven are the grills of which you can enjoy during the weekend:
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Formula Ford: The F2, presented this year, which retains the original technical configurations and does not tolerate any modifications. In this category, the highest priority is given to piloting.
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HTCC: Historic passenger cars participating in the European championship. This is organized into two different categories: Standard passenger cars (Groups 1 and N), which include BMW of all kinds, Alfa Romeo GTV and 75, Ford RS and Capri, multiple Peugeot, Honda Civic and Renault GT, among others; and improved passenger cars.
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Avenir Cup: Small seventies trailers with a six-cylinder engine and gearbox manufactured by Mike Hewland.
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Legends Car Cup: Created in 1992 in the United States, the LCC is today an international discipline in its own right, from Sweden to Mexico, from Brazil to Russia, through Morocco and throughout Europe. The contenders are a kind of racing Hot Rods.
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Mini Trophy: Pure bite between French and British pilots with these agile and tiny killers.
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Legendary Circuits Series: Made up of GT's until 1971 with engines of less than 2 liters. Adrenaline is guaranteed.
However, the highlight of the Historic GP of Pau are the Bugatti, that run on one of the few European tracks where it is exciting to see them thrown at full speed. For example, being able to contemplate around 20 of these racing cars furiously following and advancing is the closest thing to teleporting to the 20s; They go really fast and the picture and the sound, as well as the crusades, are simply overwhelming.
NOT JUST RACES: 450 CLASSICS ON EXHIBITION
Finally, to inform that this year there has been a change of organization, although this has not meant a decrease in the number of public or attendees with their classics. Rather the opposite: totally packed and ideal atmosphere. It seems that in the neighboring country everything is going smoothly, Pau having been full of exhibitions and, above all, meetings of fan clubs.
And the fact is that this event is not just about competition: The area set up for clubs and collectors at the top of the circuit, the Parc Beaumont, completes a perfect atmosphere. There, between more than 450 vehicles, we had the privilege of meeting the members of the Aragonese Association of Sports Classics, that they did not want to miss an annual appointment that no fan from the northeast of the peninsula should miss.
