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When Janice and I attended last year's excellent MG Car Club European Event of the Year in Holland we heard that the 2006 event was to be held in Clermont-Ferrand in France at about the same time of the year. We, together with our travelling companions David & Carol Copeman and Jack & Barbara Haigh decided there and then that we would aim to attend this event.

So it was that, after months of planning and hotel booking, the same three couples in the same cars met for breakfast at Frankie’s Diner on the A1 near Blythe in Nottinghamshire early on Sunday 25^th June. Well fortified, we set off for Dover in our 1977 MGB together with Jack & Barbara in their 1972 MGB and David & Carol in their 1996 RV8.

We crossed the English Channel from Dover to Calais and travelled on to our harbour-front hotel in Boulogne. The next morning we set off with the intention to visit the Gardens of Versailles but the cross country journey took longer than planned so when we arrived we parked in front of the main gates of the palace for some photos before escaping from the traffic to our rural hotel.

We had planned to take the whole of Tuesday to travel to Clermont-Ferrand keeping off the autoroutes but after an hour or so Jack’s car started to emit copious quantities of blue oil smoke and was brought to a halt in the countryside. As the car was still mobile, the oil was topped up and we travelled on to the next town. The next town was Pithiviers and we set up camp in McDonald’s Restaurant for the next four hours.

David then got to work on the mobile phones. He phoned an MG Club de France contact and in an hour or so had established that a replacement engine could be fitted in Clermont-Ferrand. As this was about 200 miles away, the car could not be transported there that day so it was picked up and taken to a compound and Jack and Barbara were taken to a local hotel.

The two remaining crews then abandoned their plans for a leisurely cross country drive and headed, via the Orleans ring road in rush-hour, for the autoroute and a three hour dash to our hotel on the outskirts of Clermont-Ferrand. Here we were met by fellow Yorkshire members Alan Dakeyne and Beryl Mason and retired to the bar for a refreshing drink.

On Wednesday morning we set off for Royat on the west of Clermont-Ferrand following the instructions from a TomTom GPS Navigation System set on "shortest route". The resulting journey included a one-in three hill, which needed a second attempt by Alan and Beryl in their 1938 VA tourer, followed by a rough unmade road. As ever, the GPS did bring us unerringly to our destination in Royat where we picked up our event kit and were fitted with our yellow wristbands which were to be worn throughout the event.
click here MG France web site

After lunch we headed off to Boche Automobiles, at Aigueperse to the north of Clermont-Ferrand, to which Jack & Barbara and their MGB had been transported. The rear seats of the VA were then pressed into service to ferry the carless couple to the hotel.

On Thursday morning we made our way to the Charade Circuit, high in the hills above Royat and once the venue for the French Grand Prix. We had opted for the "Tour of Lakes & Mountains" which took us through the spectacular scenery of the Massif Central with Jack and Barbara joining Yorkshire members Graham & Anita Saunders in their ZTT. The excellent tour lunch at La Bourboule lasted about two hours but set us up for the rest of the day. The afternoon run took us to one particularly spectacular viewpoint and then on for a guided tour of the Chateau Dauphin castle.
click here Chateau Dauphin web site

We made an early start from the Aquatic Centre in Royat on for the Friday "Tour of Castles". The first part seemed to be all traffic lights and congestion as we headed east through Clermont-Ferrand and eventually out into the countryside, stopping to view and photograph the many Chateaux on the route. We eventually climbed into the hills to Vollore where we toured the Chateau and absorbed the spectacular views. Lunch was again a two hour affair featuring local cuisine. We only managed part of the afternoon’s run as time was running short and the last part of the route would have taken us back to Royat along the congested streets of Clermont-Ferrand.

After a quick dip in the hotel pool, we were off to the Gala Dinner, held in a large marquee at the Charade Circuit. For the second time that day we had a full meal, served to us by a team of waiters and waitresses working at a frantic rate.

On Saturday morning we made our way back to Charade Circuit and parked in the MGB Register area. The early part of the morning had featured track sessions – the kind with crash helmets - for those of a more sporting nature. This was followed by the first of the sessions of free track laps for those of a more gentle persuasion. Jack and Barbara were reunited with their MGB and, after a quick test drive, were out on the track for some gentle running-in! Our "Picnic Lunch" was taken in the Marquee along with numerous Yorkshire Centre members. In the afternoon we had our three laps of the circuit with its hills, chicanes and hairpin bends which soon showed the limitations of a pretty standard rubber bumper MGB – but it was fun and that’s what it’s all about!

So it was back to the hotel to freshen up and then a return to the circuit for the Jazz Dinner. This gave us all the opportunity to thank the organising committee of the MG Club de France for the excellent event.

We were back on the track for three more laps on Sunday morning, followed by another picnic lunch. In the afternoon we finished the event with the optional tour to various landmarks in the area along with David & Carol, Jack & Barbara and Graham & Anita – all of whom had been with us on the Thursday and Friday tours.

On Monday morning we checked out of our hotel and went to back to Boche Automobiles for the first service of Jack’s fresh engine. This delayed the departure of out three-car convoy on the next stage of our tour – the long haul to our next stop on the Bay of Biscay. A couple of hours into the trip our engine began to loose power with the symptoms of fuel starvation. We coaxed the car to a safe refuge at the side of the autoroute and checked under the bonnet. The transparent fuel filter was clogged with rust-red sediment – no doubt from the "Super" 98 octane fuel picked up the previous day. In a few minutes the filter had been removed, blown through and replaced. A few miles later we caught up with the others at the services for a nice cup of tea and a tankfull of clean fuel. Once again, the GPS system took us through the narrow congested streets to the door of our hotel right in the centre of the old town of La Rochelle.

We were in La Rochelle for four nights and took the opportunity to wind down – only taking the cars out on the Wednesday. This was for a trip over the splendid new 3 kilometre toll bridge - £10 return! - onto the Ile de Re for an afternoon on the beach.

Friday was a bank holiday so we had an easy start on our run to Le Mans. We must, however, have caused some amusement to a farmer when the GPS system took our three MGs along a farm track and then around the edge of a field with foot-high grass across the track.

The Le Mans Classic event is held over three days but we were only attended on the Saturday. We had obtained our tickets via the MG Club de France so were allocated parking in their area inside the circuit near the Dunlop Bridge – an excellent location. Our tickets included a paddock pass which allowed us to get up close to a huge variety of sports cars. Outside the paddock, in the display areas and car parks, there were cars of every type from the historic to brand new supercars. This is one event I must get back to!
click here Le Mans Classic web site

On Sunday we made our way back to our hotel in Boulogne with another stop to clear the fuel filter. On arrival, we were greeted with a cacophony of car horns and shouting along with enthusiastic Tricolour waving – it was Football World Cup Final evening. Things were a bit quieter when we went to bed.

The next morning, we made our way back to Calais, across to Dover and then back home on roads which seemed very crowded after a couple of weeks on the usually empty roads of France. We had, however, heard that the European Event of the Year 2007 is to be held in Heidelberg in southern Germany. Now, there’s a thought.