The last event of the trio was our Pyrenees & Alps Coast to Coast tour (PCTCT), which after over 2 years of planning and delays due to Covid, we finally got to fire up the McLaren and head for Portsmouth to meet up with everyone to kick off the tour with a crossing to St-Malo.
As transit days go, crossing France to Biarritz from St Malo was a pretty good start to the tour, with most of the group staying together for the spirited drive south to the surf capital of France, and the first of our coastal hotels the Sofitel Biarritz. Following an official drink welcome and drivers briefing, the guests enjoyed their first of 4 private dining evenings on the tour.
The first proper driving day of the tour from Biarritz to Pau on a hot day, on many of the lesser-known roads in the Pyrenees was the perfect antidote for the guys following the long drive south on the first day. The roads in the French foothills of the Pyrenees are a good warm up, but once on the Spanish side of the mountains, the curves are open and the sight lines clear, making them the perfect roads to start jump start the real driving of the tour.The afternoon included some stunning passes that are far less travelled than their more well-known cousins in the Alps, which resulted in us experiencing next to no traffic for most of the afternoon in the mountains ahead of reaching Pau!
The Beaumont Parc hotel in Pau, was the destination for night 2 of the tour, located on the side of the historic street circuit, where we were warmly greeted by the sound and smell of some historic action on track! The perfect end to day two of the tour was beers on a private veranda overlooking the action on track, ahead of a private dinner chatting about the first day’s route.
As morning alarm calls go, the Legends of Pau and action from the Ferdinand Cup qualifying was the perfect way to fire up everyone ahead of our second day in the mountains. It was a later start for the second day, and following breakfast on their balconies taking in the atmosphere of historic racing, it was time for the briefing and to head for the mountains.
Imagine if all your favourite features were found on one single day of driving, well for us day 2 offers everything any petrolhead needs to satisfy their thirst for action. The route is an incredible compilation of great passes that mingle into one great route of twists, turns and amazing vistas across the Pyrenees on route to Hotel Plaza in Andorra, that clearly suited all the drivers well, as they were all buzzing when they reached the hotel bar!
The following day was an earlier start as we headed down to the second motorsport action of the tour, the Spanish F1 GP in Barcelona. We didn’t take the direct route down to the circuit, we of course took the more enjoyable long way round as we wanted to avoid the motorways in Barcelona. The upside to taking this route down was a 30km section of technical, narly road we discovered on the recce in early March, as well as a 5km tunnel that entertained everyone listening to the guys with the V10 and V12 orchestra’s behind and in front of them?
The F1 was a great success, despite it being 40 degrees in the grandstands, but it was great to see the lead change a few times, with some great racing action on track that included seeing Lewis Hamilton fight back from last place on the first lap to finish 5th, great to witness live!
