Lauren 2259 Report post Posted April 26, 2014 Okay, now, we all have those trips we dream of making and driving on the kind of roads that rise and fall as they carve their way through mountains with views to die for and plenty of opportunity to get your foot down and drive. Now I admit, this dream was helped somewhat by having a good friend who has relocated to Lake Garda in Italy. So, the plan was set, we would drive to Switzerland, take in the famous mountain passes then hit the Stelvio pass the following day before cruising to Lake Garda and a rendezvous on the beach. All good trips need to start somewhere and given my mum lives on the Kent borders less than an hour away from the Chunnel, it started there. We opted to take Indy with us as we knew she'd appreciate seeing her favourite uncle in Italy: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr So the following day we set off with a rather daunting distance crossing France to Basel in Switzerland. We opted to stop in Reims to see the historic old circuit: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr And so on to the train for the trip under the Channel: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr A fairly uneventful cruise down the French Peage saw us to Reims. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr It's actually quite a cool place and is dead odd in that the three roads around the area provide a circuit with three corners naturally. Imagine a triangle and you're there. Like many other historic circuits that are comprised of regular roads, this one is no different. Racing here started in 1926 and even saw a Grand Prix. Motorsport stopped here in 1972 and the stands along the pit straight seen in the pictures were left to ruin. What is odd about this place is that there is a society there to restore it, though they haven't restored the stands, rather they have repainted all the decals and sponsors. This gives a strange effect with new paint contrasted to the decay of the actual buildings. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr What is it with us Brits eh? I can virtually guarrantee that if you decide to stop there with it being all of ten minutes from the National route which everyone has to drive it you are heading south on the east side of France, you will always find fellow brits there. We bumped into a couple of guys in Corvettes and a guy in a Porsche who had decided to drive to Stuttgart for a factory tour. Apparently he hadn't arranged the tour but was hopeful nonetheless. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr It's a place full of history and this certainly has it's appeal. You can drive the old circuit as it is made up of regular roads of course. We opted for the high speed drive by. A drawing of the old racing cars at Reims-Gueux circuit. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr And the front. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr The old control tower, note no windows and if you did climb up there (not advised) you will only see the remnants of where vagrants have camped overnight. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Back of the old grandstands with faded paint. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Back on the road again and one of our frequent stops at the picnic areas which was a perfect place to let Indy stretch her legs. Indy stretching her legs at an 'Aires' type service stop in France. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Then onto yet more peages. We reckon we spent around €40 each way. It was at this point that I had an unintended encounter with the Gendarmerie who subsequently had caught me travelling at 160km/h in a speed limit of 130km/h. But they have to give some allowance for error so I was done for 152km/h which really is a paltry 22km/h above the speed limit. The result was a long and hot ride in an ancient Renault Clio to the most remote cashpoint known to humankind. Perhaps predictably there was an option for withdrawal of €90 for the subsequent fine of the same amount! Once this was dealt with we were able to be on our way again. The Gendarmerie are perfectly polite, but be warned they'll have you and bearing in mind I received the minimum fine, it can get quite a lot more expensive should you exceed the speed limit by more than 30km/h. From there Switzerland beckoned. I must admit to a feeling of excitement as I noted the gradual change in landscape as the hills and mountains loomed. But more of that later. It took us around 13 hours from leaving London to arrive in Basel, so it's a long drive, though we did have a half hour siesta in one of the stops as I could feel myself struggling to keep going as we neared Switzerland. Finally the Swiss border. The Swiss border at Basel. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr And then the obligatory vignette required for travelling the Swiss motorways. CHF40 for the pleasure! Swiss road tax paid! A nice souvenir I'll leave on the windscreen. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr And so to the hotel. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr A very tired Indy, it had been a long day! Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted April 26, 2014 The next day having recovered somewhat we grabbed a nice breakfast at the hotel, then hit the road to meet Chris our Swiss guide and fellow GT86 owner for what was to be the drive of a lifetime! Chris as you can see doesn't mess about, his car was fitted with a full bodykit and also some very wide tyres of the 245 variety in a bid to ensure he didn't fall off the mountain roads. Christian's car. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr And so on to our first pass, the Klausen. This pass seems to be one of the lesser driven and I've heard it is used for events at times. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr As you near the top, the views simply become more and more spectacular. Here's Mark taking some nice pictures. Mark looking out toward the valley on the Klausenpass. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr A pic of my car atop the Klausenpass. My car on the Klausenpass. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr If you think the roads look good, they are. What is incredible is that as you round a corner you are hit with yet more spectacular views and the sounds of the car exhaust echoing off the mountainside is just pure nirvana. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Chris being a local has driven these roads many times and it was soon that we were on to the Susten and Grimselpass which really must rate as the best roads I've ever driven in my life. Chris's local knowledge was invaluable and he could peddle a fair old pace too. This was heaven for me, though Mark suffered vertigo for the first time in his life. Two GT86's together atop the Sustenpass. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Beautiful scenery atop the Sustenpass. Looking back on top of the Sustenpass. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr The road I was about to drive. To say I was excited doesn't even come close! Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr On the final pass of the day and the highest, the Furka pass at 2200 metres. A look down from the top. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Spectacular views again over the Alps in the background. Another pic atop the Furkapass. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr One thing that you do notice when you get over 1500 metres or so is how the car is affected by the altitude. It's almost like you can feel the engine struggling and overtaking slower cars on steep inclines becomes far more of a challenge than you might expect. That said, the slower cars are just as affected to, but at times it feels almost painfully slow when you are trying to overtake. We had a brilliant day out with Chris and after a final coffee stop we headed off for Lenzerheide. This place is a ski resort in season as it's in the middle of the Alps. It took us till 9.30pm to get there and we did some driving in the dark which is odd in the Alps as the road shrinks around you and the scenery disappears. You have no idea if you're rounding a hairpin with 2000m drop on the side, which to be fair is maybe just as well. We got there late, nothing was open, in the end we raided the kitchen for cheese and cold meats to satiate our appetite. I was exhausted after all that driving. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted April 26, 2014 After a good night's sleep, breakfast in Valbella, Lenzerheide: Breakfast in Valbella (Lenzerheide). by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr And so onwards on a push to get to Italy and the famous Stelvio Pass. We actually made a navigational error and drove the Stelvio the wrong way which added hours to our journey. Finally, crossing the border into Italy: Border crossing into Italy. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr The beginning of the ascent of the Stelvio Pass. It was very, very busy which meant very slow going. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Still, though it was a bit of a chore to drive it on this occasion, it's still got some spectacular views. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr The view up for all the hairpins to come. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Yes, that is one of the many hairpins built out of the mountainside. Looking up to an exposed hairpin on the Stelvio Pass. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr It was a very long drive down the other side and back on ourselves to Lake Garda. Finally we arrived many hours later. Indy was keen to cool down a bit I think! Indy meets Lake Garda! by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Mark enjoys a much needed litre of beer in the piazza on Sirmione. 1 litre of beer seemed like heaven after our nine hour drive! by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr After a few refreshing beers we watched the sun go down over Lake Garda. Sunset from the pier on Sirmione. What a beautiful place. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr On the way back we had a much better drive up the Stelvio Pass. The hairpins are so tight it's first gear approaching every one and you almost have to give it some throttle to lock the diff and get the back round as it's really difficult to get a tight enough turn. Still, this time it was much quieter and we were rewarded with some spectacular views at the top at 2760m. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr This time we had Alex and Sarah in convoy, so two GT86's on the way back. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr The Alps really are stunning and almost everywhere you look there's a beautiful view. Here Indy stretches her legs. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr View across a lake at an impromptu stop in Italy, near the Swiss border. by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr We then got to drive through the Munt La Schera tunnel which is a very narrow tunnel that was built as an access road for a dam to be built. It is now a one way tunnel that alternates direction every fifteen minutes. Here's a video of our drive through it. http://youtu.be/yq5_Ugyolw4 Obviously its a place to appreciate your exhaust! Also a lovely way to cross the Italian/Swiss border. And so out the other side and a few more passes completed, but this was to be a very long drive for one day. You know when your in Switzerland when your sat nav looks like this! You know you're in Switzerland if your sat nav looks like this! by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr We took the main route back as we drove all the way from Lake Garda to Colmar in France in one day. Overall it is an amazing trip and I was fortunate enough to drive the best roads I've ever driven. The Alpine passes are simply spectacular and a must for any keen driver. Interestingly of the other nationalities we saw driving the passes, most were British! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keethos 842 Report post Posted April 27, 2014 Awesome stuff Lauren, plenty of info for me to take with me when I take my route through Europe in a couple of months time! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Special K 442 Report post Posted April 28, 2014 Yep, a great write up, Lauren.. as befits a budding journalist.. I wonder how a turbo would deal with the altitude problem? Better than a s/charger? Spec K Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rob275 1817 Report post Posted April 28, 2014 Yep, a great write up, Lauren.. as befits a budding journalist.. I wonder how a turbo would deal with the altitude problem? Better than a s/charger? Spec K Look he's trying to find some Pro's to the Turbo now I'm 2 hundredths behind him Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted April 28, 2014 Yep, a great write up, Lauren.. as befits a budding journalist.. I wonder how a turbo would deal with the altitude problem? Better than a s/charger? Spec K Cheers. Well forced induction does tend to deal with altitude better but will suffer a bit to the same degree as the air is less dense of course, but getting more of it into the engine certainly helps! There would not really be a discernible advantage with a turbo over a supercharger. The turbo could perhaps give more boost which ought to help it, which is harder to do on a supercharger of course. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
