04-2015 The second round of the French National Hillclimb Championship took place at Col St Pierre, a magnificent 5.2 km climb in the Cevennes region. It was also the first round of the European Championship.
Col St Pierre starts with a series of hairpin bends, followed by a 'power' section with very fast bends. A challenging climb, commanding respect. It was not particularly suited to the two Marcadier sport racers entered because of their relatively limited power, especially Gilles Coursoux's 1300 which, additionally, was undergeared for this very fast course.
Despite this, Pascal Ferretti finished 5th ( winning his class) and Gilles 7th, sandwiching Michon's Ford GT40. Sadly the event ended with an engine problem for the Ferretti team.
As for Michel Champelovier in his F2/FL single-seater, it was also a problem weekend, firstly with overheating on his first run and then, his second run being interrupted by an oil slick (somebody else's , fortunately! ). He was barely satisfied with his third run, finishing in 4th place behind Almeras' Porsche 935. Fastest time was achieved by Edmond Guistarini's Chevron Hart, followed by JeanMarc Debeaune in a Van Diemen.
