Guest Blog: Asphalt Heritage>> Classic Races Of Today

Every now and then we publish blogs from our readers, such as Amaury Laparra’s photographer’s blog and road trip through the South of France. Currently studying Design and Architecture in Paris, Amaury likes to spend his off time photographing cars. In particular, Amaury has a love for the cars of yesteryear; and for this guest blog he and the folk from the Asphalt Heritage Club have decided to focus on the Tour Auto, Spa Classic and L’Age D’or.

Asphalt Heritage Club: During the 1600km journey of the Tour Auto I was overtaken by a Porsche 906…

…And it’s not every day that a Lancia Stratos passes you in the middle of nowhere.

The Tour Auto is a gathering of some iconic racing cars for a race on some of the most beautiful roads.

It’s held in the Basque Country in the South West of France.

At first glance the landscape looks more like something you’d find in Latin America!

The 2011 Tour Auto was dedicated to the Zagato. There were many different models from the Italian design company, but my favourite was the magnificent Alfa Romeo TZ. There were ten of them at the event.

In some ways the Tour Auto is a kind of Panamericana or Mille Miglia rally. Although they are each very different events, they share a similar spirit.

I’ll never forget this moment: 8am on a cold morning and hearing the unique sound of the Porsche 906 reverberating around the mountains.

The Tour Auto is not a regular rally that has stages on closed roads. It also includes competitive races on different tracks, from the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans to Montlhery.

Just a few moments after taking this photo, these two GT40s made some contact. It was the last corner of the last lap, with #205 winning by a narrow margin.

Another event I went to was the Spa Classic, held on the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. This is a race weekend that sees some delicious cars take to the track. But they aren’t here for a parade; they are here to race. There was plenty of diversity too, from a Group C Mercedes-Benz C11 to the Alfa Romeo TZ2.

These classic events don’t get the media coverage they deserve.

I’m sure many of the Speedhunters readers would agree!

These cars were about to find out who was the bravest of late-brakers as they entered the La Source hairpin.

There are only a few race tracks around the world that have such an amazing forest backdrop.

Seeing these old race cars hurtling through the forest at 140mph after Raidillon is so addictive. You can stay here for hours.

Pouhon corner: one of the many challenging corners at Spa. If you’re not convinced, just take a look at the tyre marks!

These are true classic events. Even some 40 years later they still have a special atmosphere in the paddock.

And finally, there is the L’Age D’or held at Dijon-Prenois every June. Here all kinds of vintage car categories race against each other in a friendly environment.

At this event there is no adulation for the drivers. The real stars of the show are the cars.

The Lotus Cortina was an exciting car to see in action.

They were also the fastest in their category, leading the Alfa GTAs and BMW 2002s.

Seeing a 300 SLR coming right at you at full speed made me very emotional.

As did the two original D-Types fighting for first place!

The spirit at events like these are truly fantastic. It’s amazing to see these cars out there racing each other rather than seeing them in a museum.

Words and photos by Asphalt Heritage Club

More articles from Amaury Laparra on Speedhunters

Amaury Laparra’s website | Asphalt Heritage Club

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1

Absolutely gorgeous shots, it's great to see classic racing cars doing what they do best! Also, it looks like you can view and download a LOT more images at the Asphalt Heritage Club website

3

Absolutely fantastic!

4

I'd love to see more of these classic events so much history and the cars are tits!

5

very much eye candy! nothing beats the lins of those old GT cars

6

Please make the 1st picture a desktop.

7

Beautiful photos.

8

Beautiful shots. I see grain and some amazing natural light. Props to the Tog.

9

Amazing. The picture with the silver GT40 looks like it was taken 45 years ago... until you notice the C5 in the background

10

I remember living in Flagstaff, Arizona and watching an historic car parade of some sort touring on route 66...it's not quite France but seeing classic cars rumble through the woods is breathtaking! Great feature!

11

some real thought provoking photography in this one... quality - Thanks

12

Dude, I hate you...





Looks like a truly amazing experience, glad you shared!

13

Vintage car's rule all.

14

wow, thumb up for your works. amazing.

15

DESKTOPS PLEASE! These are amazing.

16

With photos like that, perfection is the only word.

17

With photos like that, perfection is the only word.

18

Stunning Photos. They have a real vintage feel to them that is magic.

19

wow absolutely beautiful photography! i love how he shot with high ISO to get that cool nostalgic grain effect to his pictures. I had to do a double take on a few pics to make sure it was taken this decade! Great idea for a historic race.

20

Spa Francorchamps: an F1 event or a true classic race with a Ferrari 250 GTO, Maserati 3000 birdcage, 300 SLR, Porsche 906 and Ford GT?

No question about it.

Legend

21

wallpaper the sh!t outta this!

22

"These classic events don't get the media coverage they deserve."



YES! YES! YES! MOAR COVERAGE!!!



There are numerous historic races across the U.S. - you should cover them!

23

these shots are incredible!!!

what road was this guy driving on in the start?!

25

I don't always oh and ah at pictures, but damn! It looks like you used film too, yea? If not, I want to know what your editing is to make them like that.

26

there needs to be some desktops here, and I usually roll my eyes when I see people ask for this on pictures that are non speedhunters watermarked. But pull some strings or post a link or something guys!!!

27

We need more !!!!

29

Wow fantastic scenery.

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