At the end of last year I was invited to do this rally and knowing the reputation of the types of cars involved was quick to give an affirmative answer. To clarify, the word "Bastides" means fortified town; not a castle, but usually a town built on top of a hill with a wall arround to protect it. Most of these date from the 100 years war so around 1300AD. They are to be found in the south west of France where the war went on and on and for a long time the south west belonged to the English. here's a shot of the entry to the fortified town of Domme where we were staying:-
Enough of ancient history, we'll move on to the present day and cars a trifle older. My good friend Len came over from England and was loaned the long nose Ecurie Ecosse car to do the rally. So, off we set with about 300 miles to do and an iffy weather forecast. The problem with D types is that all that is between you and the floor of the car is a thin, quite hard, cushion and there are two ailments particular to the driving of this type of car, one being "NBS" and the other "WBS". The first occurs after about 200 miles and is technically known as Numb Bum Syndrome; the second malady can occur at any time and is explained as Wet Bum Syndrome since neither car has any weather protection. Oh boy, and did we need it sometimes! Here is the first photo of an obligatory stop at about the predestined 200 miles.
This not a competitive rally but more a gathering of like minded people who love old cars, love good food and good company. The cuisine on all of these rallies is legendary and at no time were we disappointed, not even on the picnic stop one day where, true to style, we were stopped in the middle of a tunnel and handed our wicker picnic baskets. While out of sync I am just going to ramble and present pictures as they come to mind. All we were told was to take a pocket knife and corkscrew, something no sensible tourer would be without anyway, and here is a shot of the basket as presented. Wine, paté, foie gras, ham, cheeses - a royal feast.
The first day of the rally dawned bright and clear and we travelled through the exquisite countryside until we stopped for lunch which was set up on trestles outside, each table groaning under the weight of food. Here we were joined by a car I had never had the privilege of seeing, a Panhard Le Mans.
This being a leisurely rally a couple of hours was spent yarning and drinking and eating before the second part of the day started. Here we visited the Chateau de Biron, quite frankly one of the best chateaux it has been my pleasure to visit. Incredible history dating back to 1250AD, besieged, stormed, ruined, rebuilt, ruined, rebuilt and today contantly in the throes of restoration and maintenance. Firstly, a couple of shots of the cars in the courtyard of the original 13th century part with the chapel behind.
Inside, the castle has no furniture but is now in a pretty good state, showing here the kitchens:-
The dungeons are there with even the original rack but impossible to photo well because of the iron grille between us and the dungeon. However, here is a shot of the roof trusses. Castles of the period were built just like a boat, and if you look the timberwork is just that - an upturned wooden ship of war.
On we go back to the hotel and next day we had a coffee break in the simply atmospheric square of another old town. Here the D type needed a slight bit of spannering hence the bonnet up pose! The Delahaye naturally drew most of the attention.
It is here that we were offered the opportunity to visit the owner of the Delahaye's house, and the sight that met our eyes was beyond belief. His model collection; not just the Le Mans winners but every model that had ever taken part. I brazenly asked if he had a model of the illfated 1952 C type and he showed me not one, but two!
Here is a shot showing the vast collection of models he has, but I warn you this is just one side of one room. It goes on and on:
Here are more shots showing models at times but first let's start with a car built by Ettore himself for children - an electric scale model bug:-
More important things though awaited us which need no introduction so I'll just post the photos and let you tell me the makes in your replies. I'll just say that of all the cars it is the best Bizzarini I have ever seen.
What more can one say? His house was full of models - boxing rings, tennis courts, Napoleonic wars, even a scale boat on a mantlepiece which, if you flicked a switch, heated up the boiler and drove the winches and turned the screw. My favourite model though was without doub the scale model of the Hispano Suiza engined boat that raced across the Great Lakes carrying alcohol during prohibition.
On the other side of the courtyard a drinks bar was ready for us and next to it was this statue:-
I could go on for hours since I spent the evening at table with the owner but I'll move on. The next morning, to a sound of thunder, we were greeted in the town square by these two cars for the day:-
Did I mention rain? As the heat built up the sky went from bright blue to menacing in less than 45 mins. I spent an hour on the Sunday under a garage canopy but my mate Len carried on because, as he later told me: "It's the only time I'm likely to get to drive a D type and anyway, the skin is waterproof"! The Monday, a little more wary, I asked someone at lunch to listen to the weather forecast and was told worse than the day before, so being the proud owner of a long broad yellow line down my back I turned tail abd got back to the hotel as the heavens opened. Len carried on though, once again. I got a phone call at 8pm saying he wa still in a bar 20 miles away and that he'd get back when he could. A comparison to a drowned rat would be an insult to the rat and we are still, a week or so later, slowly drying out the seats of the D type. Ah well.
