1 Beast, 3 Ferries, Stanford Hall, Le Mans 24hrs and more....

[Parisien]

It all started sometime ago, on the board that now goes by no name. I discussed the proposal with Mme Parisien and it seemed as if it was a goer. Dates were checked, ferry times verified, friends and family consulted as it would turn out to be a 12 day tour of part of Europe!

The day finally arrived, it was an early start 3.30 am for a 100 mile dash to Dublin port, little traffic en route, good time was made and as we passed Virginia in Co. Cavan we noted a sign stating that the new M3 was to open the very next day, so a treat was in store on the way home! The beast felt good, confident, sure footed, just as I liked.

The crossing of the Irish sea was uneventful, the run across N Wales equally so, but the traffic was much heavier. We made directly for Autoshield where we found Marios in his office. His welcome as always was warm and effusive. I had emailed Marios beforehand to discuss my requirements, plus a few other bits and bobs which needed doing, which his mechanics, Russell and Kevin would have dealt with many times before.

A pleasant afternoon and evening were spent in Manchester, truly the 2nd city of the UK, leaving Birmingham very far behind in its wake. The next day dawned bright and warm, Marios confirmed the car would be ready at 2.30, nothing amiss in the standard 43.5K service schedule, which was a relief. The agreed price was stuck to even though Marios as always went the extra mile and threw in a set of bulbs and spare oil for the journey.

Marios delighted my wife with the parting present of a delightful Maserati coffee mug!




The next leg of the journey was down to Birmingham to stay at a friend. I had deliberately stayed off the thread about the Auto Italia Stanford hall meeting on the Sunday, as I wanted to keep the Sportsmaserati guys on their toes and spring a late surprise! The run across country went to plan, I arrived into the centre of Lutterworth around 9.40 am and spotted the Maseratis all parked up looking gorgeous in the early morning light.

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I strolled over the street into the Greyhound Inn just as they finished their breakfasts. I recognised Loz from his Silverstone pics and walked up behind him and planted a hand on his shoulder, much to his surprise and introduced myself. The look on his face was a sight to behold, the rest of the group introduced themselves Loz and Kaz, the two Pauls, Rob and son, Bal and his brothers, Roger, Lee and Spike, we had a laugh or two before setting off on convoy to Stanford hall. This was my first taste of a Maserati run, seven or eight cars in tight formation, wending their way along narrow country roads to the sounds of their respective exhausts, 3200s, 4200s, Gransports and a QP, what a fabulous sight!


In double quick time we arrived at the gates, engines purring, exhausts rumbling and growling in a most gentlemanly manner. The sight in the distance was of hundreds of Italian cars, broken up into their respective marques, quite a stunning vista with Stanford hall as their backdrop. We parked up amongst our fellow Maserati owners adding to the huge numbers of our unique marque.


PS And a special commendation to the wittest post on what exactly Loz was explaining to Parisien!!!










PART TWO TO FOLLOW............................


P

 

[lozcb]

Good write up Frank and yes it was a surprise , tought it was old bill with his hand on my shoulder , and it wouldn't be the first time hehehe

Really good to have meet up after such a long rappour, and le mans re-confirmed your a true masser nut , its gets worse Frank i can attest to that , look forward to the next time mate , be sure to give our best regards to Bernie who tended unasked to our bits and bobs


regards loz

 

[Andyk]

Thanks enjoyed the read and pics....

 

[Parisien]

Good write up Frank and yes it was a surprise , tought it was old bill with his hand on my shoulder , and it wouldn't be the first time hehehe

Really good to have meet up after such a long rappour, and le mans re-confirmed your a true masser nut , its gets worse Frank i can attest to that , look forward to the next time mate , be sure to give our best regards to Bernie who tended unasked to our bits and bobs


regards loz

Thanks for that Loz, will pass it on.........


P


PS And just what were you saying to me in that pic!!!..........

 

[Emtee]

"wonder if I can lick me elbow" Oh hang on, which one is Loz?

 

[Andyk]

"wonder if I can lick me elbow" Oh hang on, which one is Loz?

"Should have stopped for a break from driving on the way day....now I'll be stuck like this all day"

 

[Parisien]

Part two.....

Unfortunately we couldn't stay as long as we wished as I'd other family to stay with outside Crawley, we said our good-byes to all gathered from the board who'd camped by the river on a picnic rug, drinking in the occasion and enjoying the day amongst fellow Maseratisti.

The journey from Lutterworth was tedious at times, the volumes of traffic truly horrendous, three solid lanes of vehicles continuously jockeying for position and trying hard not to get caught out in the delays, roadworks and those coming onto the motorways from slip roads, less than ideal for a high powered motorway devourer like a Maserati! We eventually arrived in Crawley, already anticipating another 4 am wake up call for the ferry from Dover to Boulogne. Sure enough we were on the road again, this time, on an almost deserted M25 then onto the M20, the sun rising, the smell of dew in the air, a completely different driving experience. However even though there was little traffic on this journey, we were constantly aware of the ever present big brother lurking overhead, for every mile it seemed.


Finally, the Beast set tyre print onto French soil, it could almost sense the freedom, my right foot found it difficult to not press harder onto the loud pedal, the smooth roads beseeching me to abuse them, the non-existence of the gendarmerie, urging me on, how was a beast and its driver to resist?????

Once out of the bleak port that calls itself Boulogne, we quickly found our way onto fabulous N and D class roads, mostly empty roads, slow moving traffic easy prey to the fast excelerating Beast, it took all in its stride, swatting them aside like so many irritating bugs on your windscreen. Kilometre after kilometre were eaten up, the French countryside a vast blur of greenness, the lustful V8 pulling so willingly through the gears, straightening out the long, well engineered bends on their roads, utter bliss!

Small towns and villages were taken by surprise by the black Beast, its mildly crackling exhaust note disturbing the normal road noise. The wail of the engine as it excelerated in spurts from traffic light to traffic light. Admiring glances from old and young alike. Indeed some had never seen such a car before and were at a loss to identify just what car they'd just seen or indeed heard.

The hours seemed like minutes and before we knew it we were at our destination, Honfleur at the mouth of the Seine estuary and north coast of La Manche. This extremely picturesque and quaint port was to be home to the Beast for the next two days. The narrow streets ill suited to the heavy haunched car, parking proved difficult nearby our apartment but one kindly neighbour kindly "parked" his bicycle behind the beast to ensure it didn't recieve a nudge or two from other parkers!

It attracted quite a few looks and comments of "Belle voiture Monsieur", I became quite accustomed to this phrase over the next few days...........please enjoy the photos that follow........................




PART THREE TO FOLLOW



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[LeeH]

Ooooooh and that looks like my car hiding next to yours at Autoshield getting its rear exhaust and MOT sorted.

Will be at Stanford Hall next year.

Great piccies and write up by the way.

 

[Parisien]

Part Three.................

We naturally took the Beast on a drive or two......it didn't like being left to its own devices in a strange place, so we thought why not a day at the beach or a drive in the forest.






















PART FOUR TO FOLLOW.....................


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[Andyk]

Really sounds like you had a great time...

 

[lozcb]

Looking forward to the next instalment Frank, much better than Corrie or E/E

regards Loz

 

[ENZ525]

Thanks for the write-up and pics P...
looking fwd to the next installment,
Regards,
Enzo.

 

[conaero]

Excellent write up Frank. How did Bernie get on?

Was all that lads take and octane a bit wearing in the end?

Looking forwards to part 4!!!!!

 

[Parisien]

Excellent write up Frank. How did Bernie get on?

Was all that lads take and octane a bit wearing in the end?

Looking forwards to part 4!!!!!

She enjoyed all of it, as I said Matt, first time for both of us to ANY motoring event, plus a slightly steeper learning curve in the "get to know you" stakes, but everyone was very welcoming and inclusive, can't say better than that!!!!

A good time was had by all, and all the guys blended very well, had a laugh and gave and took!


P

 

[safrane]

Great photos Frank, Honfleur is the destination for our forum trip in October 1-3, so nice to see some photos of the village.

 

[Parisien]

We departed Honfleur on the Wednesday morning, traffic on the main N class roads was quite heavy at times, we were less dependent on the D class type of road but missed the fast open viewed, drive they offered. It was bright and dry, France in all her beauty looked as she had always looked, ravaging. We made good progress, albeit slow progress, able to take more notice of the towns and villages we passed through.

The was a coffee stop or two, the locals turned and nodded their approval of the beast as it stalked their quiet streets. I naturally acknowledged their displays of approval, its the Maserati way.

The last big town before we skirted Le Mans making towards the Loire river was Alencon, some of the bigger towns can be just a little anonymous, but Alencon made sure we remembered it, but not for the right reason!!! As we exited the town, there was a "Deviation"....not in the English sense of course but a detour. Unfortunately it was a single signed only detour ( cutbacks were hitting early in France!), it took us past a secondary school, hordes of French school children waved and shouted, 100 metres further on, we came to a small junction, tucked up behind us was an elderly Porsche 924 we turned left, they followed, we twisted and turned until we were back at were we started from, the school children laughed and shouted, we turned another direction, the Porsche still following and waving at us too, we ended up in a parking lot for a rubgy club down a dirt track!!

One's fuse was getting shorter and shorter, the navigator was expressing concern for my mental health, I huffed and puffed, the Porsche drove past and the driver spoke to me, he then sped off in the same direction we had just come; we looped around again and again and then said enough was enough and set off for the main road again to find the Porsche in front going down another side road which eventually led us out of town, just 20 mins of my life wasted, could have been worse!

The kilometres were ground out until we arrived at Saumur on the Loire, home to the famous Cadre Noir ( an equestrian division of the French army), known for their courage during the WWII, they held out til the last against an overwhelming force of Germans. The Saumurois are very proud of this heritage when all of France had given up and was on the run......respect was earned!

A light lunch followed and we were on our way again to a small wine producing village of a tributary of the Loire, the Layon, manys a wonderful holiday was spent in this village over a 10 year period when we'd owned a small house there. Later that evening, the now grown up sons of our friend arrived, both drooling over the beast, one was already familiar with the marque as a neighbour in his apartment block had one. After a wonderful meal I asked them if they would like a blast in the Maserati, they both nodded in unison, "Oui oui, si'il vous plait!"

It was 11pm by now, the inky black night of the French countryside beckoned, I fired up the beast, all eight cylinders making a wonderfully ochestrated noise. We belted up, edged out onto the road, gently going through 2nd and 3rd gears until a clear and unrestricted road lay ahead. Suddenly a gasp escaped the lips of my young passenger, or was it a prayer, as my right foot tramped on the accelerator pedal, 6000 revs loomed on the dial, then 4th gear, 6000 again, til we were going over the ton, the black night enveloping us so very quickly due to the poorness of the beasts headlights. The night's moths lured to their instant death on the sharp end and windscreen of the beast, like leemings off a Norwegian cliff, I was almost driving blind! The buzz was awe inspiring, I looked over at thim, tense in his seat, but smiling, he was ready for the return drag run! I did the same with his brother, little did I know that there were two Cheshire cats alive and well in France!

The next day was the Le Mans 24 hours arrival day at La Butte, something else to look forward to!


P


PART FIVE TO FOLLOW

 

[Andyk]

There's more...Great write up Parisien..Keep it coming.

 

[safrane]

Ah the Loire Valley, Chinon, Saumeur, Sophie's home area with some of the best views in France...stunning Chateaus every 1/4 mile.

Will be retiring there in 12-14 years...if I do not have to work until I am 90!

 

[lozcb]

Ah the Loire Valley, Chinon, Saumeur, Sophie's home area with some of the best views in France...stunning Chateaus every 1/4 mile.

Will be retiring there in 12-14 years...if I do not have to work until I am 90!

Surely that depends how many maserati's you have by then Peter and how many kids , its those little buggers that really eat at the purse strings , but well worth it mate

regards loz

 

[Parisien]

We had been told by his family, that our friend was going into hospital for an operation, details of which weren't disclosed, however it turns out they got the day wrong and he had already had the operation the day before. They insisted we go visit even though he had a chest drain in and doped up on morphine, needless to say we went, didn't tell him in advance and as a result he nearly suffered a heart atttack when yours truly nonchalantly strode through the door! He was in good spirits and he should be home now making a good recovery!

We set out for La Butte, with a map of sorts, supplied by google ( not a very good one as it turns out), 45 minutes later we were in Mouliherne, searching for the exact location along Rue du Chemin Eglise, eventually we spotted the sign and turn in down the steepish drive, expecting Loz to be ever ready as a one man welcoming party we tooted the horn several times, nothing happened, no door opened or curtains twitched?! I went around the back, the door was opened, I called out, no response, went inside, nothing, until at last we found him, laid out of the sofa, catching flies!!!

After some prodding he came around, looked at me blankly..." I only nodded for 10 minutes Frank, honest!", that turned out to be 2 hrs ago! Surely but slowly Loz regained his conciousness, it took a good half an hour for the Loz I had met at Stanford Hall to put in an appearance!!!!! We settled in and spent a quiet evening listening and telling stories of sorts until midnight or so, then hit the sack for a well earned rest.

The next few days were a whirlwind of intense experiences, finally meeting a host of guys off sportsmaserati forum [ Matt AKA Conaero (wing man Graeme), Lewis AKA Marcos ( wing man Tristan) and Dave with Ken in a convertible Corvette), a series of high speed runs across empty French country roads, to a first visit to the Le Mans 24 hours event, being sat on the main strip at Arnage as petrolheads came roaring through, it was all quite a buzz and exciting!

La Butte itself was a wonderful place to spend a very secluded, indulgent holiday. We thoroughly enjoyed the banter, the meal making, the stories and conversations around the table and outside in the open air........a really good time was had by all! The next day was the Le Mans 24 hours event, as we hadn't organised parking it advance we decided to park out at Arnage and continue on with Matt to the course. It was a good 40 minute run to Le Mans, the 5 car convoy headed off, the Larini equipped Gransports rasping their way across the French countryside, sounding as if they were doing 100mph but were only doing 60mph!! Nevertheless, Loz's silver GS quickly became a noisy dot in the distance as it sped off, there then followed a 15 minute dash along the smallest class of French road til we came upon the next class of road.

WHAT A BUZZ............!!!!!!!!!!!!!............corners shaved, lines perfected through them, speedometers showing 80-90mph as we burnt our way to Le Mans, daring overtaking manouvres, startled French drivers in their 205's pulling in closely to the verge.......the Maseratistis from the UK were the Kings of the road!!! A truly memorable experience which was to be repeated on the way back and the following day too.....simply the best!!!!!!!!!!

Surely France is Maserati heaven?! As the Le Mans event is already covered on the board, I won't go over this part of my holiday again, but it was fabulous too!

Again, can I thank Loz for all his effort, committment and the organising of the Le Mans getaway for the forum!


P