This event is sponsored by Zenith, MotorShow’s official timekeeper
The Tour Auto 2016 was a special celebration of the event’s 25th anniversary and ran over a new route for the 230 crews taking part: it finished with a night stage on famous rally roads in the Côte d’Azur hinterland. On this occasion homage got paid to the cars that have written the legend of the Tour like the Ferrari 250 GT Competizione, the Jaguar 3,8 l MKII and the Ligier JS2. In keeping with tradition the 2016 Tour Auto began on Monday 18th April with the cars on display in the Grand Palais in Paris. The next day (Tuesday 19th April) the crews left the French capital at the crack of dawn to go to the official start at the Château de Courances. They set off on French roads to do battle in the timed events (competition or regularity) on 4 circuits (Dijon-Prenois, Bresse, Lédenon, Paul Ricard) as well as 11 special stages on closed roads. Every year the route of the Tour Auto 2016 is changed, and in 2016 it included Beaune, Lyon and Valence after which the competitors arrived on the Mediterranean coast as the fourth leg ended in Marseille. Then they head for the Croisette in Cannes for the finish of the 25th Tour Auto after a journey of around 2000 kilometers. Two night stages To make sure that this anniversary event remains firmly engraved in everybody’s memory, Peter Auto has added a night stage to the programme for the first time! Thus, the crews who arrive in Cannes on Saturday afternoon had another challenge ahead of them. After a few hours rest they head for the roads in the hinterland on the Côte d’Azur for a night run, punctuated by two special stages, followed by the finish on the Croisette in the night of Saturday and Sunday bringing down the curtain on the 25th Tour Auto.
Nadim Mehanna with Aldo Magada, Zenith CEO
TOP-LINE ROAD-CLOSING CAR DRIVERS ARI VATANEN World Rally Champion in 1981 in a Ford Escort RS 1800, four-time winner of Paris-Dakar in a Peugeot 205 T16 Grand Raid (1987), Peugeot 405 Mi16 (1989, 1990) and Citroën ZX (1991), Finnish driver Ari Vatanen also hit the headlines by setting a new record for the Pikes Peak hill climb in 1988 in a Peugeot 405 T16 GR, a performance immortalized in the film, Climb Dance. After he hung up his helmet Vatanen became involved in politics and elected to the European parliament in 1999 and again in 2004. He is now a BMW ambassador and will be an official road-closing car driver in an M4 coupe. FRANÇOIS CHATRIOT François Chatriot, nicknamed ‘The Cat’ was one of the front-runners in the French Rally Championship in the 80s winning the title twice (1989 and 1990) in a BMW M3. He will be another new road-closing car driver in the Tour Auto 2016. He knows the event well as he won it in a Renault 5 Maxi Turbo in 1986 (the year of the last Tour de France Automobile). Chatriot also shone in ice racing clinching the Andros Trophy and victory in the Chamonix 24 Hours in 1995 in an Opel Astra.
EXCEPTIONAL CARS The 25th Tour Auto gave pride of place to rare and exceptional cars that have left their mark on the history of this race, which is the oldest one in the world still taking place. Let’s begin with BMW (official car partner of the Tour Auto): a large number of 1600, 2002 TI and Turbo, 2800 CS and 3.0 CSL models will be at the start. No fewer than 24 Ferraris have been entered including a 250 GT Berlinetta from 1960 (chassis 2129 GT) entered by British duo Adrian Beecroft-Susan Roy, which won the 1960 Tour de France driven by Willy Mairesse and Georges Berger. Several other remarkable cars from Maranello will take part like the 225 S of Swiss driver Diego Meier that finished eighth in the 1953 Sebring 12 Hours and a 275 GTB/C with his father Arnold on board: it raced in the 1969 Tour de France Automobile as well as the Targa Florio in 1966 and 1967. Colin Kolles has entered a 1957 250 GT Tour de France. The Mk I and Mk II Jaguars won the touring car category in the Tour de France Automobile on several occasions thanks to the skills of Hermano da Silva Ramos in 1959 and Bernard Consten in 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1963. They will be represented by no fewer than five cars. Another overall winner, the Ligier JS2, which triumphed in the 1974 event crewed by Gérard Larrousse-Jean-Pierre Nicolas-Johnny Rives, will also come under starter’s orders. There are many other spectacular cars to watch out for including eight Shelby Cobras, four Ford GT40s and 12 E-Type Jaguars including chassis 49 FXN, one of the two Low-Drag models with special bodywork among the 12 lightweight E-Types produced in 1963. Porsche will be represented by a wide range of automobiles ranging from the 356 to the 914/6 as well as the 550 RS Spyder, 904 GTS, 906 and 911 2.0L, 2.4 L ST, 2.5 L ST (with its famous psychedelic livery), 2.7 RS & 2.8 L RSR models. Among the Italian entries are numerous Alfa Romeos including a 1900 CSS and a TZ, an Osca MT4 that raced in the 1954 event and a Siata 208 S. Besides several Mustangs, American colours will be flown by a Nash Rambler, a Plymouth Hemicuda and a Studebaker Champion from 1953. Other names on the entry list include AC, Alpine, Aston Martin, Austin Healey, Chevrolet, CG, Citroën, De Tomaso, Fiat, Ford, Jide, Lancia, Lotus, Mercedes, MG, Mini, Morgan, Peugeot, Renault, Simca, Sunbeam, Triumph and Volvo, which will also be cheered on by the crowd.
FAMOUS DRIVERS AND CO-DRIVERS! Ex-Formula 1, rally and endurance drivers, team bosses, TV host and Michelin star chefs are just some of the drivers entered for the 25th Tour Auto 2016. Among of the best known are: Jürgen Barth, Jochen Mass, Ari Vatanen (road closing car), Guy Fréquelin, François Chatriot (road closing car), Anthony Beltoise, Gérard Holtz, Michel Chabran, Michel Rostang and Jean-Claude Lacombe. Jürgen Barth (former works Porsche driver, winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1977 and boss of the German manufacturer’s competitions department) is down to drive a Porsche 911 3.0 RS (1975). Jochen Mass had a good career in Formula 1, the highlight of which was his victory in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. He then swapped to endurance with success and won the 1989 Le Mans 24 Hours. He will drive a De Tomaso Pantera Gr. IV (1971). Guy Fréquelin (several times French rally and circuits champion, runner-up in the 1981 Rally World Championship with Jean Todt as co-driver and former boss of Citroën Sport) also deserves a mention. He will be at the wheel of a 1974 Porsche 911 RSR 3L replica. Anthony Beltoise, Jean-Pierre’s son, who is a multiple FFSA GT champion, will again take part in the Tour in a Chevrolet Corvette with TF1 journalist (Auto Moto) Jean-Pierre Gagick as co-driver. American Robert Kaufmann, endurance racer and co-owner of a team in the United States, will team up with Rui Aguas from Portugal, recently seen in the world endurance championship (FIA WEC) in an ex-works Alpine A110. Ex-F1, Endurance and DTM team boss Colin Kolles will drive a 1957 Tour de France Ferrari 250 GT. Gerard Lopez formerly at the head of the Lotus F1 team will also be at the start in a 1980 Gr IV Ferrari 308. Other drivers who deserve a mention are Jean-Claude Basso, Michel Lecourt and Raymond Narac who have made a name for themselves in professional racing. French TV host Gérard Holtz is back again accompanied by his son in a 1966 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce. Three Michelin star chefs Michel Chabran (BMW 1600), Michel Rostang (Lancia Fulvia 1.6 L HF Fanalone) and Jean-Claude Lacombe (BMW 2002 TI) are also among the drivers. The winner of the 2015 Tour de France Auto 2016, Jean-Pierre Lajournade at the wheel of his 3.8-litre E-Type Jaguar, has returned to defend his title against his usual rival Ludovic Caron (Shelby Cobra 289) and a few other potential victory contenders including previous winners