RtG The Daily Dispatch - Carrera Riviera - WEB - Flipbook - Page 1
4 to 15 June 2023
Pre start & Scrutineering
Deauville Rendezvous
4 June 2023
This weekend we’ve assembled in Deauville, a delightful French town on the Côte Fleurie known for
its casino, golf courses, horse racing and annual American Film Festival. The town has chic boutiques,
elegant belle epoque sea front villas and half-timbered buildings but, this weekend, a finely curated
collection of 42 voitures anciennes tops the bill.
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Andrew and Gina Long’s 1972 Datsun 240Z alongside Graham and
Marina Goodwin’s 1925 Bentley Supersports
The 1969 Porsche 911 of Neil Smith and Trevor Skillen and 1973
Chrysler Galant of Adrian Hodgson and David Gainer
The Riviera is our 4th Carrera and the first we’ve run
through France. Featuring an all tarmac route with visits
to private racetracks and circuits, this latest Carrera will
faithfully follow the ethos of its predecessors, eleven days
of friendly competition, great hospitality and plenty of
stunning landscapes.
With more than 3,300km of driving, through 31
departments and a varied 11 Tests to negotiate, the
Carrera Riviera will be in no way a cheese and wine
party - despite much anticipated visits to Camembert and
Saint-Émilion. Indeed, when the event was conceived, it
was decided that there was no better man to tackle the
route planning than Fred Gallagher who, after many years
navigating for French rally teams, is a man who knows his
way around the lesser known roads of L’Hexagone. And, at
the end of every day, he’s more than qualified to navigate
the carte des vins. Fred has been ably assisted by Denis
Giraudet, another renowned WRC navigator and, using all
of their combined savoir faire, they have put together an
excellent route for us, showcasing some of the very best
of La Belle France.
As well as breaking new ground, we’ve got a few notable
cars that are new to Rally the Globe events, including a 1950
Allard and a 1917 La France Roadster. The oldest and by
far the biggest beast in our jungle, this chain driven - and
no doubt fire breathing - monster of John and Catherine
Harrison has a 14,500cc engine. That’s more than nine
times the capacity of the two 1600cc cars we’ve got with us
and a full 57 years older than the 1974 MGB GT of Phillip
and Lynda Blunden.
There are plenty of distractions to amuse the crews here,
such as the wide sandy beaches, the Charles Trenet Karaoke
bar and Les Planches - a 1920s boardwalk with bathing
cabins. However, today’s most important tasks were to deal
with the pre-rally documentation and Scrutineering in the
opulent surroundings of Hotel Barriere Le Normandy.
www.rallytheglobe.com
