Historic Grand Prix, Zandvoort

[misteralz]

I can't even remember how I found out about this. I've lived here for a while now and see the sign for Zandvoort every time I head down the A9, and I always think 'hmmm, really should have a look...' And then I forget, until one weekend when we're invited to go camping in the dunes a few k down the road. It's the height of summer, so yeah, why not? A couple of minutes after peeling off the A9 I see a time-attacky looking MX-5 on a trailer. Then a time-attacky looking SLK. Then another, then another, then another...

The camping weekend was good. Sun, sand, sea that I never went into, because, let's face it, the North Sea is friggin' cold no matter the time of year, BBQ, and beer. And the near-constant howl of tuned MX-5s and SLKs.

4G is everywhere in mainland Europe. Google is literally in my pocket. Well, in my telephone in my pocket, but let's not argue semantics, kay? *tap tap tap*

'Track day, track day, concert, track day, trac...tor show, DTM, 7 and 7 lookalikes day, track day, Historic Grand Prix!'

I couldn't make the DTM. I wasn't missing the Historic Grand Prix. Not when the photographs on the site showed, well, lots of cool stuff being used in anger.

Opens Reisplanner Application on modern telephony device. 16 Euro return from my nearest railway station, about an hour there, same back. Got a ten minute change in Haarlem. I don't need an excuse to bask in the wonder of that particular railway station. Sold. Absolutely sold.

And so the weekend came, and Friday was minging. Properly minging - dark, cloudy, close and with proper full-on cloudbursts. Saturday was the same. curse word, thinks I. And then at around 6 it cleared. Game on. The next day came and it was glorious. I mean, seeing classic racecars sliding about would have been cool and all, but I hate being cold and damp. Or warm and damp, that's worse. And Saturday had alternated between the two. Sunday was glorious, though. So my boy and I jumped on our bikes, jumped on a train, then walked a kilometre from there, to be greeted with the arse end of a 964 on a roundabout:



Yeah, I walked around to get a pic of the front. It didn't let up any for the next six hours or so...

[misteralz]

'Een kind en een grote kind, alstublieft!'

Faced with the choice of being able to walk around the outside of the track, or for a few Euro more get access to the inside and the pits, well, it wasn't a hard decision. We're in. And it's a walk, again. But it's rewarded quickly as we pass the 356-specific parking area:



Yeah, just a bent-screen pre-A. Nothing special, really.



And another lovely 356 just cruisin' by. Ace.



The Porsche parking was split up into model groups. I may have laughed at the fact that the not proper Porsches were way up the back, huddled in a corner. No pictures, because Macans and Panameras are boring.

At this point we could hear lots of very old-sounding engines farting by, so figured we should probably go and have a seat in the grandstands to see what that was all about. Turns out it was the 1920s English Gentlemen's Sporting League proceeding around the track at about 40mph, six or seven cars a quarter mile apart. Bonny cars. Utter turd to watch, so we ate our lunch, played with our telephones and maybe had a nap. We'd need our energy for the next round, which was called something like Absolutely Mega-Powerful Masters Of ALL The Cool Races From The 60s And 70s or something similar. It didn't disappoint:



Annoyingly, I can't post the fire up or rolling start videos for some reason, but terms like Awesome and OMG are bandied about all too readily these days to describe something or other that's barely above average. We need some new superlatives, we really do.
So yeah, being at the start line at the start was amazing. The noise, jesus the noise. But after a few laps it's not exciting anymore - you want to see some racing. And Zandvoort is in the dunes so unlike anywhere else in the Netherlands you can't see over the horizon by standing on a flowerpot, which means you have to go for a walk. So we did:







I have no idea how big Zandvoort is. I have no idea how much the elevation changes around its circumference. I do know that if you stop for a picnic lunch halfway around, stop to watch the BMW Demo, stop to watch the Classic F1, have a look for somewhere discreet for your seven year old son to do a piddle and stop to watch the classic F3, well, it takes an absolute age to get around. I can also tell you that I wish I'd brought my SLR, because the optical zoom on a Galaxy S7 isn't much to write home about. Unless your dad is Carl Zeiss.

[misteralz]

Yeah, that whole dunes thing again.



And the 'wish I'd brought my SLR' thing, too. There will be pictures by proper photographers somewhere. Google is your friend. (Seriously, it knows everything about you, and it's still hurting over that time you thought you'd try Bing for a change.)

So let's forget my disappointing pictures of racing, and let's have a quick game of 'when the hell did you last see a non hi-po three door Sierra?'



I win. Check out the colour coded mirrors, full wheel wheeltrims, and rear seatbelts. This would have been the envy of all your neighbours in 1985. Possibly.



I don't think this is really this car's real numberplate. I could check, but then I'd know for sure. And then the mysticism is lost.



Again, when did you last...? I remember there was one of these on a driveway on my walk to primary school in the late '80s, and I remember thinking that it was rare then. It's not there anymore.



Need a race support vehicle? You'll need something reliable, something that can carry tools in specially-designed racking, something that can carry a few people, something that has been well-maintained. Thinking about it logically, I don't know why we don't see more ex-fire tenders at race meetings.



Because everybody loves an arched 240Z. Everybody.



So this bloke is telling his mate about how Minis are just the best wee cars ever, Italian Job, Paddy Hopkirk, production run almost half as long as the Morgan 4/4, look this one's got twin tanks, etc, and his pal's just looking at it and thinking yeah, yeah, I see the Lucas wiring smoke has gotten out and poisoned the wiper relay. Again.



Hashtag nofilters.

[misteralz]

Now y'know what? For the next few posts I'm just gonna let the pics do the talking.

[misteralz]

[misteralz]

[misteralz]

Porsche's area was a bit special - old fashioned pits, cool race cars, a kids' corner where they could do colouring, jigsaws,and make a 911 out of wood. Oh, and there were free posters and stickers. Which we all love.













Yep. Absolutely.

[misteralz]

And so to Porsches again...







Porsche's advertising was brilliant, wasn't it? :D

[misteralz]

Eventually it was time to go home, so that was a kilometre and a bit walk to the railway station, and naturally we walked back along the boulevard, because it was the direct route between the circuit and the dedicated pre-book only classic car parking area that had been set up on the boardwalk bitty. I think the rules were pre-1986 only, unless it's interesting.





















And that's it. Unless folk want to see pics of my eldest with the wooden 911 he made and the free shite he managed to procure?

[hot66]

looks a great event

every year now RVZZ keeps saying us northerners should head over for this event,, and every year it seems to slip by .. going to have to make an effort some time

[abzadams]

Must admit, I've been wanting to do this for some time now.

Like James says, every year it just slips by.

[23e Heure]

Great write up, and nice snaps...

Thanks for taking the time to post!

[jb]

What a great thread.
Thank you. I loved it.
You have a way with words and pictures too.

[misteralz]

Thanks guys! It was properly brilliant and I'd happily do it again. Easily doable from NE England or the borders as well, with the sailing times you'd only need to take Monday morning off and maybe Friday afternoon depending on how close you are to North Shields. Zandvoort is honestly only about 15 minutes from Ijmuiden as well. :D

[Bootsy]

Great pics and write up