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GRAND PRIX de PAU HISTORIQUE, 5/6TH MAY 2012

“Pau Porte des Pyrenees” is what the prominent municipal signs in the city proclaim and Pau is indeed the northern gateway to this magnificent mountain range.
Unobstructed views from the terrace high above the paddock in Parc Tisie afford superb vistas of the snow covered slopes which together with broad avenues & boulevards, alive with all manner of restaurants & shops, make this a very elegant city positively dripping with charm both old & new.
The “Grand Prix de Pau Historique” has been running for a great many years and for some competitors this is a regular annual visit, such is the attraction of racing on a GP street circuit effectively unchanged since inception in 1933.

The weather generally was kind this year with only a little occasional rain, however this did leave damp patches off the racing line and, most unusually for him, Stuart Roach slid wide on a pedestrian crossing after 3 Qualifying laps on Saturday. His Alexis pranged into the Armco at Station Hairpin resulting in a smashed rear upright and steering damage. This was a great shame because Stuart had been second fastest in Free Practice earlier in the day and his Qualifying time on only lap 3 was even good enough to have placed him 5th on grid.
Another to be sidelined for the weekend was Chris Wilks who slid, almost harmlessly, against the unforgiving barriers when one of his newly fabricated wishbones broke in his Deep Sanderson after just a single Qualifying lap and Patrick Jamin’s Lotus 22 and Don Thallon’s MRC22 were also out of luck with engine problems early in the session. Don’s sickly engine had overflowed the oil catch tank in Free Practice to the general detriment of the track surface and shortly into the Qualifying session the engine ran its bearings. Although he had a spare engine to hand the cause of the problem remained unidentified so Don decided that he was most likely to end up with two wrecked engines for his trouble and withdrew from the races.

Saturday night is party night in Pau, at least when the GP is on ~~.
The main avenues and the square are entirely given over to Basque folk bands and dancing troupes, traditional fairground rides and all manner of side stalls with very tempting local produce and wines.
Restaurants & bars do a roaring trade and streets are busy with all ages of people happily enjoying the festival atmosphere into the small hours of Sunday morning.
In the adjacent, and arguably slightly quieter, Casino rooms DCPR & Mair plus others of the FJ contingent had enjoyed the rather more formal Gala Reception on Friday, although this year it was something entirely different  - with 2 ballrooms each with a band, and stalls staffed by Ladies (and Gentlemen) in Regional dress, dispersing local produce (fois gras, Salmon, Hams , cheeses) and fine wines to everyone’s taste.
But wherever you end up in Pau, a good time is pretty much assured. 

Race 1 on Sunday morning saw a jostling start but first to arrive at Station hairpin from 2nd grid spot was modern F3 series racer Harry Tincknell. Given that this was a) his first ever race in a Formula Junior car and b) his first ever race at Pau he was astonishingly talented and sympathetic in his Frank Lyons run Adam Sykes Class E Lotus 20/22, but very experienced Pauist and Pole sitter Stephan Rey in his Lola Mk5A outfumbled Harry and led away to the chequered flag. 

Seasoned campaigner John Truslove equally caught the attention of the commentators for his really excellent drive securing 3rd place in his Brabham BT6 after passing spinning Peter Strauss’ similar car on lap 3. Considering that John has only very recently returned to racing following several years off he did exceptionally well on this demanding track.
Paul Alquier retired his Lotus20/22 with 4th & 5th gear selection issues and Jamin’s
Lotus gave up again after 3 laps, but in rather dramatic fashion this time when he arrived somewhat quickly in the pit lane with the rear of the car alight with an oil fire.
The problem had occurred at the Foch chicane but to avoid inconveniencing other competitors and to also ensure that he had clear means of escape from the car he made the decision to go for the pit lane, where immediate action by himself/fire marshals extinguished the blaze.

Unsurprisingly, the opening laps saw much jockeying for track position. Tupper Robinson made a great start in his F3 spec U2 MK4 but spun early on and only recovered a few lost places.
Michel Genre’s 1967 Brabham BT21 was the best of the three F3 cars finishing 5th, whilst Justin Fleming, having taken things very steadily in Free Practice probably still remembering last years capsize, came up from starting 8th to take 6th place at the flag in his Class B2 Elva 100 ~ this was a very impressive performance..
John Dowson’s Elva 200 and the Cooper T56 of Brian Jolliffe represented Class C2 now that Wilks was out of it and after a baulked start Jolliffe gradually closed on Dowson but was not able to make a pass, so Dowson took the honours finishing 8th.
The only Class A car, Mr John of B’s Stanguellini had a slightly strange exhaust note as it went by the pits but he sallied on regardless and having dropped a couple of places during the first few laps he then re-passed DCPR’s Alexis to finish 13th.
Aussie Kim Shearn was adopted by Cooper-500 racer Patrick Morin, who had come across from his native home in Southern France to stay with Equipe Jolliffe for the weekend and he rewarded Patrick’s close attention with an excellent 4th place finish.

Race 2 provided more drama when Strauss’ BT6 snapped a drive shaft as the cars rolled up to the grid markers. He was quickly pushed into the pit lane by the marshals which included teams from the UK stationed variously round the track.
At the front it was much the same order as for Race1 and although Rey was never challenged the fastest race lap went to Tinknell on lap 15. Truslove, Shearn and Gendre repeated their previous result but man on the move was Mauro Poponcini who moved his F3 Cooper T76 past Fleming on lap 8 and took 6th place, a great drive.
Jolliffe was beset by 2nd gear selection problems after a few laps and fell back from Dowson whilst this time Keith Roach’s Gemini remained at the rear just behind a close battling DCPR and “John of B” whereas he had finished ahead of them in Race 1, although two laps from the end the rear suspension started to collapse! Alquier had slowed on the first lap but recovered to pass Robinson near the end and take 10th place.

Official presentations, plus short driver interviews, were made on an elevated podium after each race and also DCPR had an opportunity to speak briefly about FJ participation at this famous venue.

Peter Jackson. The Cooper Cockpit Correspondent.    17th May 2012.