Prescott Hillclimb, 23 – 24 May 2009
The Bugatti Owners’ Club hosted their third annual “La Vie en
Bleu” meeting at the Prescott Hillclimb course to the north of
Cheltenham, over the weekend of 23 – 24 May. As befits the
name of the event it was essentially a celebration of French
racing blue, with a definite Gallic atmosphere, from Legionnaires
and Gendarmes, through striped matelot and beret wearing
“artists”, a ‘20s Parisian bus, live music, to performances by
Can-Can girls.
As Prescott is the headquarters of the Bugatti Owners’ Club,
there was a wide range of Bugatti models in attendance, with
around a hundred examples ranging from a Type 15, through a
great selection of T35 variants, plus many others, to a quartet of
the latest model to carry the Bugatti badge, the spectacular
Veyron. All in all, a great selection for the enthusiast to enjoy in
Bugatti’s centenary year.
It wasn’t only Bugattis that featured at the event, as there were
numerous other French cars, including rarely seen pre-war
classics like Amilcar, Delahaye, Hotchkiss, and Talbot-Lago, and
post-war ones like the Alpine A110, Renault R8 Gordini, Venturi,
not forgetting the venerable Citroen 2CV, plus an extremely rare
CG Spider. There was also a British car with French power, the
ex-Ayrton Senna JPS liveried Lotus 98T, with a turbocharged
Renault engine, which did demonstration runs on both days.
However, it wasn’t exclusively a French gathering, as there was
also many other cars charging up the hill, including a 5 litre air
cooled aero engine powered JAP, Alfa Romeos, Austin Healeys,
Ferraris, Minis and Porsches to name but a few.
With perfect weather, sensible entry fees, a great friendly and
relaxed ambience, a wonderful variety of machinery, this was the
place to be that weekend, deep in the lush green British
countryside.
David O’Neill
05/2009
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