Flagged off from Goodwood Race Track by Peter Barratt 60+ drivers and navigators are keen to hit the road. Bright eyed and bushy tailed but how will they look after seven days of solid driving. Not for the faint hearted this!

A night cap in the bar on the overnight ferry helped some to sleep but served as a stimulant to others. The crossing was calm and the meeting up with the Dutch crew in Le Havre went without a hitch.

Driving through limitless fields filled with men with rifles and dogs a typical autumn Sunday in France. 25 Minis, a Subaru, a Volvo, a BMW and a Land Rover Discovery proved too fast a moving target for any of us to be hit. An easy break in to a week of solid and at times difficult driving.

A long day through a mixture of motorway and country lane. The French, never a race to pretend they aren’t looking, stare with fascination at the rally plated minis driving through their villages. No stopping at the Village Troglodyte.

An even longer day (330 miles!) This is getting serious. No time to buy Porcelain before setting off. Then autoroute followed by increasingly hilly roads through fields of geese with big livers. Then over that bridge – yes that bridge – Millau, breathtakingly high and gloriously graceful made even more impressive by a stream of roaring minis. Avignon itself proved a challenge to the locating skills of the navigators with two hotels deep in the city centre.

Now things really become extraordinary as the intrepid crews climb over Mont Ventoux (1900 m). A lot of posing for pictures at the top. The cars having a well earned short rest before moving on through Provence with glorious blue skies to keep up the spirits. Time to stop also at the Pointe Sublime which lived up to its name. Col followed Col until we descended into the Var Valley and found our hotel just outside Nice. Some crews took an evening drive into Monte Carlo - Casino or Grand Prix track? Most only confessed to the latter.

Smiles are still to be seen but alongside lines of tiredness. Gripping the steering wheel, heel and toeing, frequent gear changes are having their toll. The difficulty of the Monte Carlo runs in the 60’s is obvious to all participants. This is the day of deep gorges and hairpin after hairpin. The Col de Braus is series of deep hairpins and the straight-cut gear boxes can be heard whining from many miles down the valley until they appear at the bottom of the steep climb – some were taking this very seriously!

Last day – yes lots of sadness but quite a bit of relief – Lots of fun but very hardwork too. This last day sees no tailing off of the effort required from the crews. The countryside is chocolate box pretty and slowly the hairpins become wider and the views longer. True skiing and walking country complete with cows and bells.