The Renault World Series event is now, apparently, the second largest motor sport event in the UK, and to judge by the crowds, especially on Sunday, it’s easy to believe this claim. The fact that the event is free to attend, paid for out of Renault’s coffers, may have something to do with this, of course. But actually, with a varied race program, and lots of other entertainment over the 2 days, it does make a great day out, especially if blessed with good weather, as we were this weekend. There will be a lot of people suffering from an unprotected day in the sun, for sure, today! I attended on both days, and had the pleasure of the company of several forummers on each occasion. With my two week old S6 at my disposal, the enjoyment was clearly going to begin on leaving Chateau Colin, and indeed it did, with an early start made possible by Dan’s prompt arrival. There was not much of interest to see on the journey on Saturday, but on Sunday – when driving solo – I was overtaken by a McLaren SLR just a few miles from the circuit. He then slowed rather rapidly when he spotted the Truvelo camera on the A43, and entered the parking area just a couple of cars ahead of me. Although the driver was directed into the same field as the rest of us, for some reason, he then went through a different gate, and disappeared. Later, I found the car in one of the very central car parks, and here it is:
The traffic jams getting out from Silverstone are the stuff of legend, and although things are now a lot better, it was quite slow all the way down to the A420 turn off in Oxford. Most interesting spot, when I was nearly home, was a Tatra 603, with British plates on it. I was driving, so no photos, I am afraid. Renault World Series is all about a series of races, though, interspersed with some demo laps of the circuit. Last year’s Formula 1 car, the R27 made four separate forays onto the track, piloted by one Monsieur Grosjean, who was recording lap times in the order of 1 minute 24, which is not bad considering that the times in racing last year were 1:22. He did a few special pirouettes for the crowd, as well……….. what an awesome sight!
There were some static displays, as well, with a number of very recent Formula 1 cars that could be examined from reasonably close up.
With qualifying, and 2 race events for Renault 3.5 litres, Renault 2 litres, Formula Renault, the Megane Trophy and the Clio Cups, there was plenty of action on the track.
These 2 seater cars were on display, and ready for the lucky winners of some competitions who got the chance to be taken around the track
The Meganes were spectacular to watch – many of them had clearly been painted with a highlighter pen – and the drivers enjoyed many a spin before our very eyes! On the first day several of the cars – embarrassingly – got their sums wrong and did not have quite enough fuel to finish the race at all, or had to coast round the final lap on vapours, costing the drivers several places in the finishing order.
The Clio Cups ended up as battered as expected, with fearless overtaking manoeuvres costing many of the drivers a finish. The Safety Car was deployed twice, so the 11 lap race became a 15 lap race and then a 30 minute race, with close fought scrapping going on right up to the chequered flag.
One of the highlights was the possibility for Renault Owners to take their cars out on a couple of parade laps. Although I am not a Renault owner, I know a man who is, so I had the fun of being strapped into friend Steve’s Avantime, and joining the group of Sport Spiders, Avantimes, Clios and Meganes out on the first day. Although the laps were carefully controlled behind a circuit car there were occasions when some speed could be attained, and I can tell you that if you are looking backwards, trying to get photos of the cars behind, as I was, it can be quite exhilarating, as you don’t know when the next corner or the next change of speed is coming up! Here are a few of the shots I did get – with apologies for the rather evident heated rear window element lines!
There was a good display of Avantimes in the Renault Owners Club area, of course.
Here was where there was lots of variety, with a wide range of cars, some more original than others.The 4CV:
Dauphine Gordini. This UK-assembled car, dating from 1959, mustered a heady 39 bhp!
R8 – several of these were on show, all of them from the more performant end of the range!
R10: This was a slightly larger version of the R8.
R4. This was not a totally original car, as the interior had been modified, and there was a “4 Gordini” badge on it. The body work looked immaculate, though.
R16. There were 2 early cars on show on Saturday, and late model on the Sunday. I was surprised that virtually no-one seemed to know what it was.
R12 Gordini. Two cars on show, one an original from Italy, the other a rebuilt one-time Belgian car.
The coupe versions of the R12 were the R15 and the R17. The only representatives were these 2 facelifted R17s, in far from original state
The Alpine A110 was the first truly successful Renault-Alpine
The Alpine A310 is a rare sighting in the UK, as these cars were never officially imported here. Two different ones were displayed, one on each day:
A large number of the later GTA models were on show, especially on the Sunday.
First generation R5. This is a late model TL, from 1982:
This is an early, and very original R5 Gordini
Some original R5 Turbo cars.
R5 GT Turbo Cabrio. I believe that these were made by a Belgium company in about 1986, in very small quantities, This one was immaculate.
A (rather tatty) R9 Turbo. Not the most exciting car, by any means, but certainly a rarity nowadays.
Bigger brother at the time was the R21 Turbo, and a few examples of this once-coveted sports saloon were on show:
R19 – there were a couple of the rare Chamade saloon versions of this
Unsurprisingly, there were numerically more Clios and Meganes than anything else. Dozens of each, with every variant on show.Clio Williams – seeing this car alongside the second and generation models showed easily just how much the car has grown through the generations:
Clio 2
A good showing of Clio V6 cars, too:
Clios 3:
There were a small number of the first generation Megane, but most have been modified, and were too extreme to deserve photographic attention. The Megane 2s were mostly standard..
Renault-engined cars were also permitted. There were 3 DeLoreans on the Sunday, but they seem to have eluded my camera. There were also a couple of Venturi, and this 400GT is one I have now seen at several events:
Renault brought along a good selection of cars from their own “Histoire et Collection”, which were housed in a giant marquee for most of the day. Dating from 1898, this is one of the very earliest, and tiniest Renaults ever made:
This 1911 AX model was one of three at the event, as 2 owners brought theirs along as well. All three puttered their way around the circuit at a very sedate speed indeed, to the approbation of the crowd.
Also dating from 1911 was this larger CH model.
Absolutely amazing was this 1926 40CV NM model record car. Endowed with a 9 litre supercharged engine, it was capable of 190 km/h, and with a very high up letter box like windscreen being the only way of seeing where you are going, must have been a fairly terrifying thing to drive. It did participate in the parade on Sunday, and the rumble from its engine was quite unlike the sound of any other car at the event.
More elegant was this 1935 VivaStella model:
By 1934, a “sports” model had arrived in the “Viva” range, the Viva Sport
The other part to this display comprised a collection of more overtly sporting cars, and these were taken out on the track for several rather more fast-paced laps. None were more fun than the R5 Maxi Turbos:
The Renault-Alpine A110 was a very successful competition car in the 1960s and early 1970s, including notable wins at Monte Carlo:
Not quite such a success was the short-lived Renault Sport Spider:
This Alpine A442B was the 1978 Le Mans winning car:
This RE040 Formula 1 car dates from 1983, and it was piloted around the track by none other than Rene Arnoux
Since the event is funded by Marketing, it is not surprising to find an area with new Renaults on show, and there were some models new to the UK making their debut. The Clio Sport Tourer, for instance. Not a car I particularly liked, and when I came across the truly horrid blobs of nasty blue plastic on the dash, I moved quickly on.
To the Koleos. Although an SUV would not be my choice of car, this came across as one of the better ones of its type, with a much higher quality interior than has been usual from Renault, and some neat practical design features.
The Laguna GT appeared, in what seems to be its signature colour, both in hatch and Sport Tourer guises. This is definitely a car that would need a proper road assessment to determine whether it is actually any good or not.
And the Twingo Renault Sport, the 133 bhp version which is not on sale yet. 
Some more familiar models were there, too. The Twingo GT had some particularly nasty sharp-edged plastics, which actually drew blood!
In a separate display area, Renault Design had dusted off an old concept car, the Altica.
All in all, then an excellent event, vastly improved by the summer weather, and made all the more fun by the presence of several forummers from “The Motor”.2009-12-31 11:56:22
