RALLYE 2019
This year it was the Amicale Salmson who had the honor of organizing the brand Clubs rally. The French Riviera served as the setting for the demonstration .
No Panhard & Levassor were present and we can deplore it, hope that we will be there in 2020 in Rambouillet.
Here is the report of the 2019 rally ( in french sorry..)
THE RALLYE 2018
This year it was the turn of the Doyennes to organize the Rally des Clubs de Marque. The choice of place went to Anjou in the region of Saumur. When the club was founded in 1997 we had already organized the rally in theses Angevin lands, then in 2008 in Normandy.
This year no less than 48 crews joined us. Only the marques Hispano-Suiza and Lorraine-Dietrich were not represented.
The rendez-vous was set in the afternoon of friday in the beautiful resort of Domaine de Roiffé. This former penitentiary for young boys has been beautiful restored as a hotel. Each participant of the rally was housed in pavilions separated by a wooded driveway.
The pavilions in which the participants were accommodated:
They were given a folder containingflyers, the road-book, a bottle of wine, a small book of the work of Rabelais ( a local child ) as weel as chocolate with P&L logos.
Some arrived by road ith their cars, others prefered to use trailers or carriage to save wear and tear.
In the evening a meal was taken together at the hotel restaurant. The evening as relatively shotrt because several participants traveling from Germany, Holland, Australia, Netherlands. All needed to regain strength to be in shape for the next morning.. The appointment time for breakfast being fixed from 07h30,
We had the pleasure to welcoming our friend and club memberColin Kiel and his wife who came specially for Australia for the occasion. Australian government red tape and new rules did not allow John to bring his car ( P&L X 45 )
Our Luxembourgish and German friends came in force with two cabriolets
On saturday morning everyone was ready and motivated for this first day visit, the departure time for each competitor was to leave no later than 09:30,
The engine began to spin, then purr and some to smoke, but we will not mention any brand…
It’s smoke…
It’s going to smoke…Yes, yes…
Hang on his rally plaque
Coupé Salmson S4-61 1939 preceded by a Delahaye 135M, on track for the roads of the Loire Valley!
The first visit took us to the riyal abbey of Fontevraud founded in 1101. Spread over more than 13 hectares, it makes it the largest monastic city in Europe. It’s a Unesco W World Heritage Site with the entire Val de Loire site.
The cloister of the abbey with generous proportions …
Beautiful alignment of Facel-Vega in the main courtyard
Beautiful work of the team of Doyennes to achieve this beautiful road-book effective pleasant to browse and full of freshness;
Lunch was taken at the beautiful Villandry Castle together interweaving architecture and french gardens. Built on the banks of the Loire, in the sixteenth century it was on of the last palaces built.
Back or front what class! Bugatti type 57 SC Atalante 1938
Old stones and mechanics, the perfect match.
Less known than other famous castles, Villandry amazed the participants by discovering its gardens and its daring architecture
After the lunch break the tour then took us to Saumur a city dominated by this imposant castle overlooking the Loire.
The castle of Saumur overlooking the Loire
The original motor museum was waiting for us and the enthusiasts enmeshed themselves to their heart’s content. This museum grouping internal combustion engines from the smallest waeighing 80 grams to the giant of 12 tons.
Under the 1900 Baltard metal hall, more than 400 pieces allowed a historical, technical and informative approach to the evolution of engines. Some regretted not to see any sleeve valves engines, but the message was passed on…
Have a Panhard engine … 12 cylinders flat derived from 6 engines contiguous Dyna …
Heavy in the background of the museum but also beautiful nuggets.
In the evevening everyone put on his 1930 dress for dinner. A family photo of all participants in the rally allowed us to immortalize this moment full of conviviality. The meal that followed was at the height of the reputation of the area, the dishes being accompanied by wines from the region of Saumur.
All rally participants gathered before the Saturday evening meal
All the members of the Doyennes for a souvenir photo!
On sunday the sun rose and breakfast just caught the first cars rushing throught the countryside to reach the castle of Breze. No visit planned, just a lane in front of the castle. In addition to renaissance architecture of italian style, it has the deepest moats in Europe ( 18 meters )
The castle of Breze in the early morning, majestic
The cabriolets were at the party because the fine weather. We could not travel 5 kilometers without seeing a castle at the turn of a wineyard or the woods.
The traversing of the villages was greeted by some inhabitants aware of the passage of the rally. Especially in Montreuil- Bellay where the narrows streets allowed them to discover this unannounced machines.
Montreuil-Bellay stage of the rally towards the careers of Falun
The sun, the fresh air and the limpid atmosphere of a september morning delighted the owners of cabriolets when they did not follow a valveless car…
The first sop on sunday morning made a stop a the Falun Cathedral Caves, a magnificent underground quarry where a stone ( the falun ) has been extracted for a very long time.
Inside the animations embellish the visit: here jellyfish as they populated these places 40 million years ago …
A journey of a few tens of meters underground and nearly 10 million years were explained by the guide at the entrance: » Once upon a time in the territiry of the current Doué -a -Fontaine, 10 millions years ago, elephants, antelopes, tigers, and the shallow sea of white sharks, whales, rays, dugongs and sawfish resided. The effect of the tides, a submarine dune, gradually stratified, and the remains of all the animals that inhabited the area were accumulated within a layer of sand and this layers with it’s deposit created the rock called « falun ». Sephophages were first extracted and then, in the 19th centuray essentially, building stones » »
The Dynamic of the President of the club of the Doyennes with its brand new engine, takes a break in the old caree
Stone and steel..
The past the village of Doué-la-Fontaine, we arrived at the castle of Brissac. This castle built at the eleventh century by the Earl of Anjou, was changed many time by owners and was reworked several times before becoming owned by Charles de Cossé in 1502. He’s still in the same family and the current owner welcomed us in the dining room where there are still sumptuious paintings of his illustrious ancesters.
Château de Brissac: no comment
40 vehicles representing the old French prestige brands, not bad ?
The aperitif was taken on the terrace of the castle .
The dining room
The other dining room where we were served a meal worthy of the court of François 1er …
The meal as fine as the wines, that accompanied it was preceded by a few words spoken by Arnaud Blanc to thank all the participants and the organizing team of the rally whose effectiveness was unanimously reconized. Mrs Bailly representative of the club Salmson, who will organize the rally in 2019 spoke and finally the Marquis de Brissac, owner of the place, gave us a presentation of his venerable home.
It’s in front of this castle ( the highest of France with 7 floors and more of 200 pieces ) that our dear cars found a place on the lawns. Rows by marques, in a perfect alignment, with their beautiful mechanics were as successful with visitors as the castle itself.
Have you already seen such a non-valve alignment? And yet there was one missing, which he missed a few kilometers to reach his fellows, but it is forgiven!
The hour of separation was near; each one left with a light heart and a spirit as free as the course of the Loire.
The 2018 rally is over and will be a great moment for all participants, long live the 2019 rally!
See you in 2019 in St Raphaël from september 12 to 15 withe the Salmson club and congratulations to the Doyennes for the impeccable organization and friendly atmosphère.
The 2018 rally is over and will be a great moment for all participants, long live the 2019 rally!
Do not hesitate to read Eric Nicolas’s article on his Hotchkiss website, some very nice pictures waiting for you as well as a lot of very interesting comments on each brand.
See the report, click here
Rodolphe Massonnat covered the event with his expert photographer’s eye, click on the link below and admire the bodies under the September sun.
The domain of Roiffé where we were hosted during the weekend
The Abbey of Fontevraud that we visited on Saturday
Click here
Le château de brissac:
Tout savoir sur le château
Le château de Villandry:
Click here
Château de Saumur
Click here
Vidéo 2018
La Vie de l’Auto pays tribute to the rally of the Brand Clubs
The issue of October 4, 2018 presents an article (double page please) on the last rally of Brand Clubs held on September 7,8 and 9 in Anjou around Saumur.
Icing on the cake the weekly quiz presents a valve-free, but the question was not very difficult …
Vidéo rallye des Clubs de Marque 2017
