Tour Auto Optic 2000
The Tour Auto Optic 2000 brings together well over 200 classic cars to form a major event in the historic competitions calendar. Traditionally the Tour begins with an unmissable day during which the cars are displayed at the Grand Palais in Paris. The following day the competition starts from the capital for five days of discovery on the roads of France – this year based around Brittany for the first time – where the competitors are timed through a series of events on circuits and closed road sections / rally stages.
British crew Andrew Smith and James Cottingham in their Ford GT40 emerged victorious at the end of this sporting adventure. As the stages unfolded the duo succeeded by winning eleven out of 15 possible victories – four on the circuits and seven in the special stages. Only Ludovic Caron-Denis Giraudet in their Shelby Cobra 289 managed to break their domination briefly by winning three special stages. The French duo were in second place in the overall classification for most of the race, but had to retire after an off in the second to last stage. Swiss pair Raphael Favaro and Lucien Charles Nicolet in their 3.8-litre E-Type Jaguar won the stage in question and finished on the second step of the podium in front of Germans Olivier Ellerbrock and Olivier Louisoder in another Ford GT40. All photos ©Mathieu-Bonnevie.