L’Express
Edition Three
Spring 2017
With almost six months still to go to the start of
the inaugural Blue Train Challenge, the entry is
now over three-quarters full with a wonderful
selection of cars and competitors from all around
the world. As such, potential entrants who would
like to join these pioneering motorists on their
journey of discovery from Deauville to Cannes
are encouraged to get their entry in quick. There
are only a dozen or so places left!
Lunch that day will be at a private chateau/race
circuit where all the rooms are named after
famous Grand Prix teams, while Afternoon Tea
will be taken at a quirky little bar decorated with
thousands of photos of the Belgian owners’
sporting ‘heroes’(?). See if you can spot anyone
you recognise!
If it is clear on Day Three, you will literally be
able to see all the way to Switzerland and Italy
from the lunch halt, views only matched by those
from the Afternoon Tea stop on Day Four on the
very summit of the legendary Mont Ventoux.
And finally, the lunch stop on Day Five is not for
the faint hearted, balanced as it is on the very
edge of the largest canyon in Europe.
Mad Dogs and Frenchmen…
The Nations Cup
As we have such an International entry for the
Blue Train Challenge, we thought it appropriate
to introduce ‘The Nations Cup’. Don’t worry, you
won’t have to actually DO anything to enter, we
will automatically select the team cars based on
the nationality of the first named driver and
present the awards accordingly. Exactly how it
will work will be outlined in the first event
bulletin.
The final control on Day Three is at the Musée
Henri Malartre at Rochetaillee-sur-Saone where,
amongst a remarkable collection of unique
vehicles, stands an ordinary looking Citroen 11CV
Traction Avant.
On 22 July 1935, a 56 year old restaurateur
called Francois Lecot set out from his nearby
home to drive to Paris, and the start of a
challenge to drive 1150 km (715 miles) per day
for a year.
Feeding the Inner Man
and woman…
During the winter months we have been firming
up the arrangements for the lunch and
refreshment halts with the help of our friends at
IRIS Conseil in Paris. With the exception of just
one morning coffee stop, all are now in place and
amongst them we have some very interesting
locations for you.
Lunch on Day One will be in the new Porsche
Experience building at the White House
overlooking the Porsche Curves and start/finish
straight at Le Mans.
Morning Coffee on Day Two will be in a genuine
English Tearooms in a picture perfect riverside
village. These are run by Nadia and Nick, a lovely
couple from Lancashire. Nick owns an Austin
Healey 3000 and, as it will be his birthday when
you call, he is really looking forward to your visit.
He left Paris with an AC de France observer and
headed south, stopping at his home for a bit of
Rest & Relaxation before continuing on his way
to Monte Carlo where he arrived at 12:00. Just
30 minutes later, he turned back north, through
Lyon to Paris, where he picked up a fresh
observer and then did it all over again…
He continued this noon to noon run every day
until January 1936 when the AC de France gave
him special dispensation to break into his record
attempt in order to compete on the Monte Carlo
Rally - starting in Portugal.
Having successfully completed the rally, he then
went back to his daily Paris - Monte Carlo - Paris
routine until 7 June 1936 when he decided to ring
the changes by driving from Paris to the various
European capitals, still averaging the requisite
1150 km per day.
Dudley Noble’s early attempts in his Rover are
detailed in his book “Milestones in a Motoring
Life”, however Keith could find nothing about
E.J.P Eugster who supposedly beat the train to
Calais by three hours in his Alvis Silver Eagle a
couple of months later.
One year after starting, he entered Monte Carlo
for the final time having driven 400,000
kilometres (250,000 miles) single handed. A feat
that the much missed Philip Young, founder of
the ERA, would have appreciated…
Even Woolf Barnato’s famous run isn’t well
documented. His own account of the race wasn’t
written until sixteen years later in a brief article
for the Bentley Driver Club newsletter. And, as
Bentley enthusiasts will know, Barnato used a
Mulliner bodied Speed Six Saloon, not the Gurney
Nutting Coupe depicted in the famous painting
by Terence Cuneo!
Therefore, it is appropriate that we recently
received our first Citroen entry in the hands of
Wilfried and Ursula Bechtolsheimer.
The Mystery of the Blue Train Races…
Although Agatha Christie wrote a novel called
“Murder on the Blue Train”, perhaps a greater
mystery surrounds the various Blue Train Races
of the 1930s themselves?
Whilst researching their background, Joint Clerk
of the Course, Keith Baud, has found a number
of discrepancies in the various reports which
leads him to question their veracity.
And finally, in 1939, Peta Fischer allegedly raced
the train from Calais to Antibes in her Rolls Royce
Phantom II – accompanied by her faithful
chauffeur ‘Ratou’. The result is not recorded
which makes one think that this tale, like
Agatha’s, is a work of pure fiction!
However, if anyone can shed more light on this
golden era of motoring then Keith would be
delighted to hear from them. Keith’s email
address is [email protected]