Ragged Edge Moment of Zen

Weekend Watching: Tour de Corse Historique in 3 parts

This well-made 20 minute documentary has some fantastic footage from the 2008 Tour de Corse Historique rally.  The footage is a well edited combination of in-car and roadside camerawork, along with French language interviews with a very jolly group of drivers.  If you love Alpines, 911s and other vintage rally machines, this is a must-watch. It's incredible how bad these Corsican backroads are, and the occasional presence of animals on the course gives us a real step back in time to the days of the Targa Florio and other road races from when these cars (and many of the drivers too!) were young.

Close-Up Action on the Streets of Angoulême

The French town of Angoulême just might have leapfrogged all the way to the top of this Automobiliac's must-visit list after seeing the eye-popping photos and write-up by Ian Wilson over at Motorsport Retro.  Not only are the selection of cars at this historic racing festival fantastic but what really gets me going is how close the photographers are to the action. I have often complained about the boring flatness imparted upon racing photos by the mammoth telephoto lenses used by today's motorsport photographers. This is of course necessitated by the extreme safety measures that keep even pro lensmen fairly far from the trackside. Here in Angoulême, the photographers are close enough to use wide angle lenses just like the Klemantaskis and Alexanders of yore while the cars whizz by right under their noses. The results are nothing short of thrilling, and the photos feel just as vintage as the cars they are capturing. See the whole photoset at Ian Wilson's picasa album.  Additional pics from last year can be found here.

Last but not least, here is some onboard footage from a prewar car, looking quite at home racing through the streets of this ancient town. It really feels like a step back in time!

All photos: Ian Wilson - AutoGraph racing

Hat tip to Off Camber

Elf Scan 15: Jean Vinatier and his Alpine A110

Note the driving mocassins!

Elf Scan 8: Renault Alpine A110 Rallye de Monte Carlo

I love this dreamy night shot. The snow almost looks like a lunar surface.  Click to enlarge the photo. The A110 is one of my all-time favorite cars.  It's like a French Porsche 911! The video below is a must-watch, featuring breathtaking period footage of the A110 at speed on the Monte Carlo Rallye, including wonderful on-board views. Hat tip to Syed of IEDEI on this awesome video!

Here is the back of the photo card, with some awesome technical drawings and info for those who can read French. Sorry it's cut off at the top  -- my scanner is small.