Seeing off the Beaujolais runners
MONDAY Arose from the couch at 5.30am for a trip to Buckmore Park near Chatham, Kent. The country’s finest karting circuit was a superb sight in the sunny dawn. My mission was to meet the indefatigable Rob Bellinger, whose Beaujolais Run has grown from being a chaotic, breakneck 1970s dash from Rheims to Blighty in cars laden with new wine to a week-long driving challenge that treats its 30-odd entrants to a “money can’t buy” experience and raises funds for charity.
The Buckmore start was special this year; this was the latter-day domain of the late John Surtees, the 1964 F1 world champion. Before departure, entrants paused to remember JS’S unique contribution and support. This year’s cars varied from 1950s Bristol to 2017 Mclaren – via Mini, MGB and Triumph. Maybe I’ll have a bash myself one day, I thought as I watched the field disappear towards the Channel Tunnel, especially since having fun in France does so much good.
TUESDAY
Five frenetic hours in Paris, listening to PSA boss Carlos Tavares and an assembled body of experts describing an enhanced, real-world version of the group’s burgeoning mobility service, called Free2move. It already works in the UK and will soon extend to car sharing, car swapping, online car purchase, used car ownership, parts and repair shopping and more. Impressed, I immediately put the app on my phone.
As you would expect, I took the opportunity to ask Tavares a Vauxhall question: is your recent recovery plan speech a positive sign for the venerable British brand? Tavares (who always answers the question) good-humouredly agreed that it could be, provided Vauxhall could become profitable. “There is no hidden agenda,” he said. “People are not the problem; they are the solution.” I have tremendous respect for Tavares, whose wisdom and confidence are infectious. Vauxhall could not have a better custodian.
THURSDAY
I don’t believe the saga of Gordon Murray and lightweight cars will ever end. At the masterengineer’s 50th anniversary exhibition, it was revealed that 20 of his 40-odd cars weighed less than 700kg. Which reminded me of a comment he made 25 years back, when the first Mclaren F1 rolled out of the workshop, its body panels in raw carbonfibre. “Pity we’ll have to paint it,” he declared. “Without the colour, we’d save 5.5kg.”
I have tremendous respect for Tavares. Vauxhall could not have a better custodian
FRIDAY
It’s never easy to know what car industry bosses are thinking, but I make an exception for Aston Martin boss Dr Andy Palmer, whose Twitter account (@Andyataston) often cheerily summarises his exploits (notably behind the wheel) but also pulls no punches in its commentary on current events. What you see is what you get, which is very refreshing.
SATURDAY
Slowly, slowly the dynamic standards of B-sector SUVS are improving. Seat’s great-looking new Arona drives almost well enough to justify its looks (with impressive ride comfort thrown in) and Kia’s apocalyptically named new Stonic turns and grips better than B-class rivals launched previously. But there’s still room for improvement. How you view this depends on whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist. You can harangue the industry for not doing well enough, or point out (as I do) that there’s still room for the Great Leap Forward.