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Pau!!! What an event! Pau is about as far as you go
in France without dropping into the Med. Set in the foothills
of the Pyrenees, it looks fairly innocuous as you drive through
the commercial part of the town. However once we had negotiated
the very friendly staff they took us to the paddock. It was a
scorching day and we had had an excellent drive down from Calais.
A little hung over maybe due to the long drive and the over night
stop. This had not occurred until midnight as we had been delayed
on the ferry and had only got onto French soil at 1930. We pressed
on as far as we could until we found a comfy pull off near Orleans.
Not just a lay-by you understand; the French do things properly.
This had toilets and showers, phones if you wanted them.
Anyway we slipped into the "pod" our sleeping area in
the transporter and got onto the bunks. The fridge runs of the
van battery so the Stella was nice and cold. It was the whisky
that did for us. Inspection the following day revealed damage
to the extent of a half bottle
Anyway, I digress.
Here we were in a park in Pau in 25-degree heat and it looked
stunning. Pau is like a mini Monaco, except we had the luxury
of a decent size paddock on the inside of the circuit. With hindsight,
we parked the transporter on the grass but with our awning on
a tarmac square. More of that later. If any of you have the PC
game Spirit of Speed, you will have attempted Pau. Let me tell
you, it has not changed one bit since the 30's. Difficult to as
it's a street circuit.
We had taken both cars, as there was also a round of the BRDC
Sports Car Championship, so we had both the 11 and the 18.
We set up OK and had a very luxurious meal on Thursday night.
Friday was a virtual "no day" such was the relaxed schedule.
However, we got Mark out first for the free practice session,
so he would have a clear run. Soon he was round mixing it with
a couple of Listers and then - nothing, the rest were miles behind.
He ended up 3rd quickest in the, admittedly, untamed session.
Not 3rd in class, 3rd. Our spirits were sky high. He qualified
well in the 18; about 10th. However, when it came to qualifying
the 11, we were once again 1st in the queue to get out followed
by no fewer than 4 of the other class B cars. Word had obviously
got round that Mark was the man to follow. Mark drooped the clutch
to pull out onto the track and - nothing. The drive shaft had
gone and that was it. Zero, no points, and a major lost opportunity
to really get stuck into the BRDC Championship.
Fortunately, we were Ok with the 18 but there was the small matter
of the weather. It rained. It rained from Saturday morning until
(cruelly) the flag dropped after our race on Sunday evening. The
paddock, which had looked so picturesque on Thursday, now looked
like Viet Nam. And all those electric cable trailing through pools
of water.
Mark finished 9th with the 18 after a heroes drive from everyone.
Up at the front Duncan Dayton and John Harper put everything into
a quite brilliant scrap for the lead, with Duncan eventually getting
it. Great one guys.
So, it could have been better, but we enjoyed it. Here are some
pictures of the circuit. Hope they give you a flavour of the track.
Pau did a great job with all standing spectating free and a meagre
£6 for a grandstand seat if required. Everyone made us feel
really welcome and hopefully they will repeat it in 2 years time.
Go if you get the chance to.
Our
neighbours in the paddock had a very nice pair of Bugattis on
display.
