Ignacio Saenz de Camara
Most long-distance traffic travels on highways and expressways. Thanks to this, the almost deserted second and third order French and Spanish roads have been used to enjoy the driving and the landscapes to the twenty-four teams participating in the II Paris-Madrid.
On May 23, the participants in this rally left Versailles at 8 o'clock. In total, twenty-four teams willing to enjoy and suffer on a tour that he was going to take them to Alcalá de Henares in three days, where they arrived on the afternoon of the 25th.
After taking a lunch at 12 noon in the French city of Mont de Marsan, on the afternoon of Saturday 24 they entered Navarra through the Urkiaga port.
STORM AFTERNOON
In the vicinity of the town of Eugui, we waited for his passage around 16:17,55 p.m., which was the scheduled time. However, the first of them would arrive at 8:1938 p.m. It was the XNUMX Alfa Romeo XNUMXC, rolling on wet asphalt, dark storm clouds looming in the sky.
For almost half an hour, we had the opportunity to contemplate in motion and with their own sound the joyous pace of the twenty long vehicles. Some of us were able to photograph them in better conditions, while others had to be photographed in the middle of a downpour.
Later, next to the hotel in Pamplona where they stayed, we saw a Riley with German plates on a trailer. Maybe a breakdown, or maybe the recall? Finally, that Riley Preston from 1934 reached Alcalá and finished in 19th place.
Meanwhile in the hotel garage the rest rested, who the next day had to continue the route.
1- In second position was this Hudson Century from 1937
2- Huge Bentley 4.5 Liter Tourer from 1927
Sunday came
At 7:30 am they left from Pamplona, with accumulated fatigue and the desire to continue enjoying driving and the landscapes.
We were able to photograph them again between the Navarran towns of Irurzun and Estella, already with dry asphalt and no traffic on the roads chosen by the organization.
They still had to pass through the provinces of La Rioja, Soria and Guadalajara. And according to the comments of a friend who came to see them between Tardelcuende and Almazán, all of them were behind the official program.
Of course, except for the Bentley 4.5 Liter with the number 19, they all arrived in Alcalá de Henares.
1- Beyond the drops, the elegance of a Lagonda LG 45 from 1936
2- Imposing cars. The 25 Alvis Speed 1939 of majestic bearing
THE THREE OF THE PODIUM |
| The winning team was the one formed by Alastair Caldwell and Laurel Smith, aboard a beautiful 8 Alfa Romeo 1938C SS Torpedino.
In addition, their 366 penalty points marked a clear distance with the second classified team, which was that of the Dutch Cornelis Willemse and Herman Schipper who finished with 500 points in their 1937 Hudson Century. With just 14 more points, Jean Steinhauser from Luxembourg and Anne Steinhauser-Collard from Belgium took third place at the controls of an elegant 4.25 Bentley Derby 1937 Liter. In short, the Rally Paris-Madrid is consolidating, despite the fact that this year has counted with lower enrollment than in 2013. By the way, the English magazine Octane He is one of the sponsors and he will surely delight us in a short time with an extensive report; meanwhile, we leave you with our article about the fateful original Paris-Madrid of 1903, which meant the end of the races disputed between big cities. |
Full-size images (1.280 px. Approx.)
SS Torpedino
SS Torpedino
to second place
Liter, I am third
Tourer from 1927
1939
Paddy hopkirk
